Ups and Downs

The hardest part of having your own business is all the ups and downs. And learning not to take it personally. When I first started teaching yoga, if someone came to my class and didn't come back I took it hard, feeling as if they didn't like ME. It took me a while to figure out that it could have been that they didn't like YOGA. Not everyone does. It took me an even longer while to figure out that it may be my STYLE of yoga they didn't like or that I just wasn't the right teacher for them. Some days I am even able to accept that they just didn't like me and that is okay too. Other days.....

Same as with my regulars. I have an extremely loyal group of students spread over different venues. Most days my classes are huge, especially at the gym. Occasionally my classes are light, especially at the church. Again, learning to not take it personally has been a worthwhile life lesson. I had to figure out that sometimes people have other things to do or they just don't want to leave their houses, especially at night. It took me awhile to figure out that maybe it has more to do with THEM then me. Triggers that whole world spinning around yourself gene.
Branching out and offering new classes and new times in new places is terrifying. There's always that teenage girl "what if I threw a party and no one came" issue. I hate that one. One minute it's all excitement and the next the roller coaster begins it's rapid descent. Like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, "oh yeah, first it's all oooos and ahhhhs, and then there's running and screaming...".

The cool thing is that yoga really helps with those ups and downs. In yoga and meditation, you learned to not attach to results. Rule number one. So the pose is uncomfortable, just breathe.....so you balance for the first time, just breathe.....so you have monkey mind, just breathe.....so you don't, just breathe.... In other words, the outcome is never the important part. The breath, the moment, that's what is important. Past, future, they come, they go. The breath is NOW, the breath is the only constant. So, I have a big class....just let it flow. So, no one shows up for my event....just let it flow.

Trust in the breath. And the Universe to support you. Thats the Up. And the Down.