Seems I post a lot about Spinning (Indoor Cycling) these days as we have to make sure everyone who wants a seat can have one! I’ve said before, it is the administration side of running a business that I dislike the most. The 
promoting, shouting from the roof tops what we offer because many folks just don’t know what we have here!
My true passion is teaching – not preparing to teach, not telling what we teach, and not scheduling the 100 some classes a month at the gym or the 30 some I travel to. Teaching is my passion. I fall in love with every student with whom I interact. I may struggle to remember the names of all 200 individuals I work with each week. It has been especially fun with about 8 new white belts – four of them blonde haired, blue eyed boys – each one’s name begins with C. But I love them all.
Each student has their own reason for attending. Each has their own path they are attempting to follow or racing to stay on. My students range from age 3 to over 80. My classes are yoga, Taekwondo and general fitness/cardio classes. All these students are on a different path, but the same path nonetheless. Each one holds a place in my heart. Each has different needs. Some work to be better athletes. Some to be better people. Some come to yoga to heal from their other athletic pursuits, or to heal their own hearts, broken by life. Some want to lose weight, build strength, or look good. Some come because it is part of their school curriculum and they have to. Some come just because their particular class may not cost anything. Some say they would pay double. Some come to de-stress or feel better. Some come to martial arts to learn a new skill or because someone has hurt or threatened them. Some need encouragement or hand holding. Others reined in a bit. Many are loyal and have been with us for years and years. Many come try something and then move on. Others leave because the go on to college or their jobs take them to faraway places. Some get bored and want to try something else. Regardless, my heart breaks a little when a student comes up to me and announces they are moving to Cincinnati or Arizona or Germany, wherever. I will miss them. I will miss hearing them share their stories, for there are many! Last week a preschooler asked if I knew his grandma. I answered, maybe. We talked a little and it turns out I did indeed know his grandma. I told him to tell her I said hello. He said, she wanted me to tell you hello, too. This stuff warms my heart. I had a fairly new student tell me he was being transferred for work, this would be his last class with me but that he would be sure to find yoga at his new home. I was touched that he made the effort to say good-bye and thank me. Teaching has changed my life – not the practice of teaching – the people. As humans, most of us need to be guided, to be told or shown what to do. With that guidance comes a mutual respect and many friendships. I laugh at myself. I never considered myself a hugger. I was the one who would be like, okay, hug, awkward pat….done…phew! People changed me though. Touch is so important – whether a hug or maybe just a hand on a shoulder to calm an anxious heart, holding a kid’s foot to show them how to hold their toes down for a side kick, a little pressure on shoulders to show how to let go of tension. Anyway, I can hug now without that awkward feeling.
I am so fortunate to do what I do. I love my job. I probably could not make a living at it, but boy have I made a life!
~Love, Jeannette, owner of LaGrange Yoga~