I messed up

Teaching didn't exactly go according to plan...

I was tired (barely slept), got tagged in as a last-minute sub to the sub who was planning to teach, and had a pregnant student sign up an hour before class who's due in 3 days. (!!!!)

The class I had prepped had a lot of work on our backs and bellies. So, I pivoted to make our prenatal student feel included. I decided to teach what I’d taught yesterday, sprinkling in little changes so it still felt fresh for the students who came both days.

About 3/4 the way through class, while my students were holding Lizard, I suddenly realized…I’d completely forgotten the left side of the warm-up.

I asked, “Did I totally forget the warm-up on the left?” Half the class looked unsure. One student confidently said, “Yes.” So I wove that sequence into the cool down, gave them space to balance things out, and let the rest of class unfold more intuitively.

While they rested in savasana, my mind started spiraling a little. I had a brand-new student there -- someone who came off a recommendation from a long-time student who had hyped me up. I felt like I’d blown it! 

The thing about holding space as a yoga teacher during savasana is that weeee sometimes can't escape the mind chatter, either. So I talked back to the mind chatter. I was like... "ok... I usually don't fumble like this... but how about I normalize the fumble. By saying absolutely nothing about it."

Once I woke them from Savasana, I held my tongue from saying "thanks for bearing with me" or like "thanks for your patience when I forgot the left side!" Instead, what I thanked them for was for being there with me.

And here’s what happened next:
The new student told me she hadn’t had an experience like that in years.
The mama-to-be said she was so grateful to have taken a class where she felt like she belonged + didn't have to heavily modify.
 One of my regulars hugged me and said it was the most grounded class she’s ever taken.

So here’s your reminder, yoga teacher friends:
You can miss a side. You can forget a pose. You can pivot completely.
And it can still be the class someone needed.

Let’s normalize imperfection + trust the practice (and ourselves) enough to move on exactlyyyy as we are. 

<3 Charlotte