Me Time: The Importance of Stretching
My yoga poses are never this elegant, but it's the thought that counts right? Not only did I go to yoga class today but I've reflected on ways in which I'm stretching myself and how that's effecting me and my studio.....
Today was an interesting day in my little world of teaching and studio ownership. I taught two lessons, one was an hour theory lesson and the other a 30 min. voice lesson. A few hours after I recieved a phone call from a woman at Il Giornale, an italian newspaper that found my number and rates and asked if I wanted to advertise with her. The pricing was steep but it was cool to see that my name was circulating out there, that someone was mentioning me as a teacher or that my previous adverts had found their way into her hand. The price of the advertisement would be a stretch for me financially. Let's just say that for the price of 1 week in this newspaper I could advertise (which I am) somewhere else for 6 months! Aside from that, I do understand Italian but I am slow to speak it, and it would be a stretch for me to advertise in an Italian newspaper becuase it invites a biligualism I'm not quite sure I have.
I kind of shrugged it off, since I've decided to dedicate some money to creating my own adverts and Summer Special that will hopefully encourage people to sign up in the summer and then for September. Thank God I have some really dedicated students that continue through the summer otherwise I'd be SOL.
Since I have a lot of time off and becuase I've moved home I've been going to yoga a few times a week. Tonight I went to a yin class that is mostly about relaxation and deep stretching, calming the mind and focusing on breath. Done from a mostly seated position, the grace found in yin is holding the pose for about 5 minutes on each side and really finding peace. I find at these times my mind races the most. I am suddenly filled with ideas and to-do lists and running through the next days or weeks ahead and yin helps me to remain within myself. It is both a physically deep stretch and a mental stretch to go into a depth that is both unknown and familiar. I then found out that the yoga studio I attend is closing and among sadness something beautiful blossomed... an opportunity.
An instructor at the studio that specializes in yin and gentle yoga (which is the type of yoga I prefer, since I'm not that great at it) asked if I would consider doing an exchange. Piano & Voice lessons for private in-home yoga instruction. YES! This is fantastic. I absolutely love service exchanges becuase it's an opportunity for two artists and teachers to exchange their bodies of knowledge and their passions to work with each other. It will also deepen my commitment to a yoga practice and hopefully strengthen and challenge my physical and mental limits. One of the reasons I so love teaching is because I can fully experience being in the moment. Especially because children are always in the moment. They ask questions and love chatter, their reactions are not preconcieved or rehearsed and they keep me on my toes. As someone that struggles with anxiety, teaching has been the window into being present and combined with yoga and a few other things, the window has become a door. This is why committing to an hour of deep stretching and breathing with no electronics and the calming smell of incents is both very importnat to me and a well needed, comforting and sometimes challenging stretch.
Tomorrow is another teaching day, followed by another. Wow I am blessed.