Yoga Teachers are Influencers of the Highest Order
We teach and influence others by touching them; either physically, intellectually, artistically, emotionally or spiritually. Touch is our only symbiotic sense. Everything you touch touches you back. Everything you touch becomes changed and will forever be affected by your shared encounter. This rule applies to all of us. This is concept is called the “butterfly effect”, a term coined by genius MIT scientist Edward Lorenz in 1969 after realizing that the vibration created by a small butterfly flapping its wings could hypothetically stir a typhoon half way around the world, and there is no way to predict in advance exactly what the outcome may be. Small actions can have large consequences and everything is interconnected. The name “butterfly effect” was inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story, “A Sound of Thunder” published in 1952, which I highly recommend, and recounts the tale of a time traveler who crushes a butterfly while on safari in the past and the world he returns to is not the same as the one he left.
Think back across your academic career to the people who stood up in front of the room in the formal role of classroom teacher. Some certainly performed better than others. Some were more present, some cared more, some had more patience, some were really funny, some passionate and their enthusiasm was contagious. Others were very intelligent but couldn’t connect to their students, some were ego-centric, some played favorites, some were burnt out, some were really immature, some were just plain boring. So many different approaches, yet they were all called teachers. And each one of them influenced you in their own way. How did you influence them?
Now think about all of the other humans and non-humans who have changed your life by the way they touched you.
Is a teacher the same as an influencer? All of us are influencing others and also being influenced, all of the time, for better or for worse, and whether we realize it or not. According to Merriam-Webster, “to influence” means “to affect or change someone or something in an indirect but usually important way” while “to teach” means “to cause to know something”. Both of these verbs move in the same direction, albeit one is a bit more subtle.
You can be a yoga influencer without having a social media presence. You can be a yoga teacher without standing up in front of a class wearing a “yoga teacher” badge. You impact others around you, in your family and community, by living your yoga. You teach yoga through kindness, tolerance and having an open mind. You influence by the way you communicate, how you treat others, by setting boundaries and holding others accountable. In the end, you can only authentically teach what you practice. You influence others by how you show up. Two more definitions of “influence” from Merriam-Webster you may find interesting, “an emanation of spiritual or moral force” and “an ethereal fluid held to flow from the stars and to affect the actions of humans”. The choice is yours. 🩷