Yoga Story: Being of Service

The Power of Giving Back

Inspiring Acts of Kindness

I began my yoga journey during the quarantine of 2020. It was March and I had been sent home from my desk job to wait out the initial scare. It seemed a divine chance of fate that I had previously inquired into evolation yoga teacher training program and, in that way, was a part of their mailing list.

As things go, I was not the only one adapting to the changes in the world. Evolation was making a big adjustment towards having teacher training offered online. I found myself under the guise of being in control once more. Here was something I could do for myself, in the comfort of my own home and even at my own pace. It seemed I would have a say in the course of my life again.

That is until I went back to work. The training was put on hold with only one module, eight days left to go. I felt so close and utterly miles away at the same time. It was then that I made another lofty decision to change jobs. I both wanted the life of a Yogi but needed the extra hours and cash flow to support the beginnings of such endeavors. As the universe would have it, the Divine answered my prayers and provided a more time consuming and fulfilling desk position. This involved a complete willful surrender of control on my end as I trusted this move was right for me, even while it felt very wrong to leave somewhere I had become so comfortable. The challenge had increased, and proportionately so had the reward.  

Then, when it came time to return to training, after earning the time off from my new job to begin module three, the universe threw me one last curveball. There had been a miscommunication. I had taken the wrong dates off from work. Instead of reenrolling in the Vinyasa teacher training, which I had started in, I was now the only flow student in a class full of Hot 26 & 2 trainees. My final test in letting go was also a lesson in service. Instead of focusing on how this set of circumstances would affect me, I tried to understand how my participation would affect others. How could my attitude and energies make this a more positive and profound experience for them?

I tried to attend every class with purpose. I was given the opportunity as a complete Hot Yoga beginner to be the perfect guinea pig for these teacher trainees. They had the newfound option to cue a first-time student. I also had the ability to offer feedback from a totally different background and perspective. All of this also worked in my favor as well. I, too, had the advantage of practicing on first-time students. This had the effect of making me acutely aware of the physical and mental cues I would need newcomers to hear. It also instilled a bit of the commanding style that the Hot tradition practices, which I wouldn’t trade for the world. I find it complements my natural personality. I would have never known this, or that I’m fond of the 26 & 2 sequence if it hadn’t been for a few strange twists of fate. Twists of fate lead to self-realization that tastes like “bitter poison at first, sweet nectar in the end.” As the Gita predicts. 

In learning to stop competing for control, and quite literally go with the flow, I learned some of my most valuable lessons: It is not how you arrive somewhere or when, but how you conduct yourself once there that matters most. The control you feel in life is false, but the comfort in knowing you are never in control is real. Serve others and your needs will be met. The Divine and the universe will provide exactly what you need.

#YOGASTORY

Courtney Coburn

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