Every person has certain values that are important to them and by which they live. In our series we want to introduce you to the values of our society and our coexistence through yoga teachers. Today with Andrea from Hamburg, with the value:
authenticity
This is what Wikipedia says:
Authenticity (from the Greek authentikós “genuine”; late Latin authenticus “guaranteed, reliable”) means authenticity in the sense of “found to be original”. The adjective for authenticity is authentic.
I often hear in my private and professional environment, “You are so wonderfully authentic,” but when is a person authentic? There are enough situations in life in which you ask yourself whether other people are real or is there something fake here?
The following experience happened to me last weekend: I received a call from an acquaintance from a lady I didn't know who wanted to make an appointment with me, but actually all she wanted to do was sell me something. On the one hand, I had a hard time understanding her because she spoke so incredibly quickly and, on the other hand, because she showered me with superlatives in an exaggerated way. When this woman, with every hair perfectly in place, her lips unnaturally plump and her face perfectly made up (yes, I googled her and saw a photo) tried to tell me that the universe had brought us together, I felt myself Discomfort confirmed. I didn't experience it as authentic, it simply didn't fit together. And if she had offered me a bag full of money - she didn't seem real! This topic couldn't have been more topical, as I noticed while writing the article...
For me personally, being genuine is an essential part of interacting with other people, as is being honest. Higher, faster, further, these are values that determine our lives and if you don't want to be swept away by superficiality and fast-paced life, you have to do something to counteract it. Being authentic also means staying true to yourself and your values and not having to offer yourself to the masses just to please. Yes, authenticity also means that you're not always everyone's darling , but that you're annoying and accept the risk of not being there everywhere.
On the one hand, this is a big problem, because nowadays you only seem to be valuable if your external etiquette already reflects it and if you follow other people's words. Be it privately or professionally. But there is a lot of value in “being real” because with authentic people you always know where you stand and that what they say and do is reliable.
And, by the way, my being the way I am and my little rebellious refusal to adapt to the last degree opens hearts and doors for me in the vast majority of cases, because no one expects someone to wear their heart on their sleeve and name things how they are flying towards you. I don't miss that when I'm in public. If something is good, it is good if it is bad... is, then it's shit... and is named that way. Not the worst path to take...
Yoga and authenticity
As a teacher, I don't sit at the front of my mat like the guru and thirst for worship, selling the image of a perfect teacher. A good and authentic yoga teacher wants to convey to his students that he is neither all-knowing nor an overachiever. This can only be achieved with authenticity. If, as a yoga teacher, I manage to convey to my students who trust me that I too have to constantly learn and that patience is needed in practice, then they will also find this within themselves.
“For me, yoga and authenticity are inseparable and only then can I achieve the effect that I want to achieve both as a teacher and as a student.”
Being authentic in practice also means that you don't show off and show how great you can do everything or that you only choose asanas that fit perfectly, but that you also incorporate asanas because they fit into the flow and the students help you on your way, even though I can't put it into practice myself right now!
Why do yoga students come to our classes? They want to switch off, take a break from their hectic everyday life and, last but not least, they want to find themselves. At work or at parents' evenings at the children's school, many people play a role, whether willingly or unintentionally, at least in yoga they want to be for themselves and themselves. It is an honor for every authentic yoga teacher to be able to accompany these processes and from my point of view this is also possible if, for example, I incorporate an incident from myself during the short introductory meditation and reveal that x or y happened to me yesterday too has not been successful or if, as a yoga teacher, I cannot push away a tear that wants to flow while chanting a mantra together. This makes every teacher authentic and allows his students to take the time out in yoga practice that they are looking for. If tears flow, then they flow, if an asana doesn't work, then that's it for the day.
In practice, being real also means staying with yourself and on your mat. No matter what it looks like for me or my neighbor, both are right and good if everyone maintains and respects their boundaries. The greatest gift that each individual can give themselves in a yoga class is the teacher.
When is a yoga teacher authentic?
At this point I would like to address something important to yoga newbies: a good yoga teacher teaches his students about individual bone structure and pays attention to his students and himself whether an asana is suitable or not. That's called authenticity! When I myself sit on the mat as a student and see that my teacher of the lesson in question is sitting in the lotus and his knees are screaming to the heavens because he is simply not made for this position for anatomical reasons, then I can only be surprised and it I regret for him that he seems to want to portray something that he is not and follows the misconception that a good yoga teacher has to sit in the lotus, otherwise he is not a good yoga teacher. But what does he convey to his students?...
“For me, authenticity is something I don’t have to worry about, I can’t help it!”
“Go there, it’ll definitely be good for you.” This is how I came into contact with Hatha Yoga for the first time as a young law student 20 years ago. I was by far the youngest in the course and the exercises were too boring and strenuous for me. But I didn't want to make any effort, my life was already stressful enough. So I stopped going.
When, 17 years later, I was now the mother of three wonderful children, was going about my everyday life with excruciating back pain and wanted to cope with the challenge of juggling my job (I had meanwhile studied nutrition science and was self-employed) and the children, I decided to go to the nearest Bikram Yoga studio to march. Said and done! It was incredibly tiring and I felt great! I didn't understand on a conscious level what had happened, but I changed and the seed fell on fertile ground. The young, career-oriented, super-slim law student had become a curvy woman who was looking for herself and who didn't give a damn that she couldn't show off a six-pack in a bikini and had to keep going into the child's pose for breaks , while the other students went through their poses.
Six months later I found my yoga studio, where from then on I went to challenging power vinyasay yoga classes several times a week and then did the training there myself 5 years later. Many a time I swore on the mat, I was frustrated and yes, I swore at others who seemed to be better or, luckily for me, not. But, I persevered and learned to embrace and accept myself and be true to myself - authentically!
"Be patient and loving towards yourself."
And if my back hurts and my knees squeak, then it's not the powerful power yoga class, but the Yin yoga unit that brings me to myself and the underlying issues. I also had to learn this myself and I like to pass this on to my students, to stay with themselves and not on the next mat, to be patient and loving with themselves.
My big little role models in this regard were the children in my children's yoga classes (this training was before the big power yoga training and was worth its weight in gold on the topic of “being authentic”). These personalities go to work without reservations, have fun and do their thing, no matter what the others are doing or what pants x and y are wearing - wonderful! For me, being authentic means being who I am, not being fake and moving away from wanting to please.
Finally, an incident from my teacher training comes to mind. We were supposed to introduce ourselves and, in my opinion, the others were much better yogis compared to me. They lived vegetarian or vegan lives, wore modern yoga pants and drank Yogi tea. I, on the other hand, came with coffee and the corner and revealed that I occasionally liked to eat a steak, was up for good gin and also liked to smoke the odd cigarette. Silence…. Nothing more came at first, but my yoga colleagues appreciated and accepted me and through my honest attempt to be real, the others also increasingly dared to be real. That was an exciting experience for me and a confirmation that it doesn't always have to be comfortable, but real. (and yes, coffee still tastes good and steak twice a year, but alcohol and cigarettes haven't been there for two years)
A very appropriate mantra at the end. It's from a very wonderful teacher of mine and from my point of view it couldn't be more apt: David Lee Lurey - Light of my Soul
I am the light of my soul, I am bountiful, I am beautiful, I am bliss, I am I am!
I am Andrea, 43 years old, mother of three adorable children, a little crazy, but guaranteed authentic and also a self-employed nutritionist and yoga teacher in the beautiful pearl of Hamburg. I currently give courses and individual lessons on request and I can be easily reached by email at schopf.andrea@googlemail.com . I look forward to you!
Would you like to share your thoughts on a value in our society related to yoga? Then please send us an email to mail[at]findedeinyoga.org . We are happy!
You can find all previously published articles in the “Values and Yoga” series here .
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