A couple of days ago I woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad feeling that I was coming down with a cold. This is never good news, but it is even worse if you know you have to teach in a few hours. There are a million arguments for not showing up to teach a yoga class when you're under the weather. Of course, there is the concern of spreading germs. Then, there's my personal dedication to embodying what I teach—and how can I really say to my students, "Slow down and take care of yourself," when I show up to teach sniffling and sneezing. Realistically, though, I knew it was too late for me to find a sub. I had two choices: cancel class at the last minute or put my game face on and teach to the best of my ability without hands-on adjustments.

It was the first class I had the opportunity to teach since my studio closed for the holidays, so I opted to teach. It was the only time I'd hoped for a small turn-out. Naturally, it was my biggest class ever. I had four brand new students—two who showed up alone, and two who were friends of my regular students. (One of them even brought her big sister who was visiting from college!)

I knew I had made the right decision when a number of my students wanted to chat after class. This was the first time I had ever been approached after class by any of the girls with anything other than questions about how much they owed for the class.

It didn't cure my cold, but it definitely warmed my heart.