I had low expectations for my class yesterday. Last week, not one student showed up. It's been so slow this summer I had been considering taking a hiatus while I re-grouped and put my energy into a marketing campaign for the fall. But, I was sitting in the empty studio, thinking "Why am I even here? No one is coming . . ." a new student waltzed through the doors.

This was not the kind of student I've come to expect . . . It was a BOY student! That's right, the first boy ever to walk through those doors and into my class. His story: he just graduated from high school, and decided to do yoga this summer to complement his baseball training.

This brought a whole new element to the class. My classes usually focus on strength building and relaxing—which I hope will bring balance to my students' naturally bendy bodies. But this is a different body type, and a new and exciting challenge.

What might have been even more gratifying that watching my athlete-student sweat as he learned the art of Chaturanga Dandasana, was watching the student next to him—the first student I ever taught. When she came to my first class more than a year ago she really struggled with the pose. Even with her knees on the floor her back bowed and her arms shook. It was amazing watching her do the full pose with ease as a muscular baseball player struggled.

And just like that my faith in the teaching and learning processes—and in myself—was restored. I can't wait for next week!

Posted by Erica Rodefer at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)