Part 1 in a series from Andrea Rice
The first time I met Elena Brower was just over a year ago during my previous life as an editor. I had never taken class with her before, only knew her name as a well-respected teacher in the yoga community. And yet, there was an inexplicable familiarity about her that evoked a sense our paths were meant to cross.
When I recently left that job to explore the unknown, I reached out to Elena to inform her of my decision. At the surface level it was a gesture of formality, but there was also, admittedly, an underlying curiosity there. “Why did you really call me?” she asked. The simplicity and directness of this question caught me off guard. Why did I call her? What did I really want? The answer still eluded me, so I turned inward for clarity.
And in the stillness, there it was. As teachers, it is our job to never stop learning. We will always need teachers in order to stay fresh—to continue to grow as individuals and unearth our gifts as unique offerings to our students.
But what could I possibly have to teach that someone else has not already exhausted?
Teaching yoga has never come easy for me and yet, the feedback I’ll always receive is that I seem to possess a natural ability. I am the only thing standing in my own way. The same rings true for my other passion as a writer. Why is it that we create walls around the things we want most in life? Is it a fear of rejection? Is it a lack of confidence? Do we doubt that we are indeed original?
It was two years after my first teacher training before I finally mustered the courage to teach a class. Now I teach 4-5 public classes per week. And it took nearly a decade of internal struggle to leave the security of a desk job; to find freedom by creating the life I’ve always wanted to live.
So why did I call Elena? It wasn’t for advice; nor was it to “stay in touch” or gain reassurance. It was to rediscover how to walk the path as the eternal student; to step out of safety and forward into growth. To unveil my extraordinary journey.