Think yoga teachers have it all figured out? Think again. While certain aspects of yoga may become easier for instructors, other challenges can arise, such as self-imposed expectations about what it means to be a teacher. Identification with the teacher status can impact how teachers show up in classes as a student, particularly when they perceive themselves being witnessed or judged by others.
About a year ago, I flowed into my most aligned, intense variation of Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose), hypervigilant to the fellow instructor’s watchful eyes as she scanned the room for the next person to adjust. She knew I was an instructor and so did the other students; I feared receiving an adjustment or correction may undermine my credibility and deliver a considerable bruise to my ego. Would students still respect me if I were publicly corrected? Despite the instructor’s cues to modify and decrease the intensity of poses in favor of self-care—messages I conveyed in my own classes—I struggled intensely to do so, waging war with my ego and implicit beliefs that my self-worth was somehow tied into others’ perceptions of my asana.
