We Were Born To Give, Not Get

“We were born to give, not get.”

I heard that sentiment over and over again at Bikram Teacher Training.  I couldn’t agree more, and it’s at the heart of why I teach yoga.  

Students coming to class and sweating it out in the hot room provide me the opportunity to continuously learn and serve.  It makes my heart happy to be able to share my passion and lead others through a class.  Ask any yoga instructor.  It’s the greatest job in the world.

Being a yoga teacher is about serving.  It was continually emphasized in our training, that to become yoga teachers, we had to learn how to serve others.  Each student finds hot yoga for their own personal reasons.  As teachers we may be privileged to know what these challenges are or we may not.  

Every person who comes into class is unique with a unique set of circumstances for that day.  It's the teacher’s responsibility to set their own ego aside, be present, and figure out how to make each class about the students in the room.  That’s the tricky part, but it's also the part I love and why I teach yoga.

I went to teacher training in Los Angeles in the fall of 2012 and practiced twice daily with 450 others from all over the world.  Our class was considered unusual because it was the largest teacher training ever and for the first time the percentage of international students eclipsed the percentage of American students.  The classes were incredibly hot, long, and hard.  The hotel staff where we lived, practiced, and studied liked to gossip about the temperature of the yoga room.  One week, rumor had it at 120 degrees.  

We rarely got to bed before 1:00 a.m. and were up at 6:00 a.m. the next day to do it all again for nine weeks. Benjamin Lohr’s description of teacher training in his book, which he appropriately named Hell Bent, is spot on.

Even though we may not have shared the same language, culture, or opinion of our training, we all stuck it out because we did share the same passion about hot yoga and wanted to be able to share it as teachers.  We were driven because of the profound impact yoga had made on our lives, myself included.  

I started a regular yoga practice 8 years ago when a friend encouraged me to try prenatal yoga.  I found hot yoga 5 years ago when I was suffering from acute asthma.  Today I use yoga to help me manage my asthma, physical pain from injuries, and keep me centered. 

It's my intent as a teacher to share what I have learned from my countless dedicated teachers and students. RHY provides an opportunity for me to do this in an inclusive, supportive, safe environment that allows for student feedback both in and out of class.  This is important and a requisite for me, as a teacher, so that I may help the student in the best way that I know how.  

Jen Schell in floor bow.

Go to Revolution Hot Yoga website