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Cafetalk Tutor's Column

Tutor David 's Column

Kindness and dedication.........

Sep 13, 2018

Despite the fact that there was a huge earthquake in Hokkaido, I was shocked to see that one of my Yoga students still attended my class!!! She was affected badly by the quake, as like us - she lived right in the highly affected zone. She loves Yoga so much and takes my class or private lessons when I am in Hokkaido almost every single day!

Her actions reminded me of why we practice Yoga. It's not a 'sport' like soccer or baseball, and true Yoga should not be about competing, a desire to succeed against others, or something which you can be 'good' or 'bad' at. It is simply a 'practice' which is in the same group as meditation or calligraphy, but yet still different.

You cannot 'win' at Yoga. You can only improve yourself. And to care about how your Yoga is compared with others is to completely miss the point. 

Yoga is about learning how to endure and remain calm when there is 'internal chaos' - inside the body. This is through a series of poses which may cause pain and discomfort, although the advanced practitioner will be able to stay at peace and keep his or her breathing smooth and deep, whilst not showing any signs of stress on the outside.

This can be enhanced further into mastery of body with certain poses like 'headstand' where you must use the body and mind in harmony, putting all fear aside to remain in true balance. And again - an erratic mind full of thoughts such as food, work, money and other stresses will lead to you falling out of the pose.

Through these actions we can strengthen our mind and body in unison, and the skills we develop can be used in order to remain calm and mindful when there is 'external chaos' - in the outside world.

The day we left Hokkaido for Kansai, this student presented us with a gift of matching towels which she had specially had embroided with our names in Katakana. I was completely touched at this kindness, and realised that as arrogant as it may sound, I am able to make a big difference in these people's lives through my teaching. Many of the patients at the clinic I am teaching and consulting for are aged 65 - 105! In fact the average age is about 60. So to see them smiling and enjoying their classes, as well as having a beneficial effect on fixing their ailments makes me so full of joy to see. 

I now feel that it is my responsibility to these people to put in 100% and dedicate myself to becoming the best teacher I can be. Treating every single person as an individual and realising their goals and needs. 

It is a lifelong journey, but one which I am more than happy to embark on :-)

Have a lovely day everyone and speak soon!

David

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

https://www.instagram.com/pb_fitness_zen_yoga/?hl=en - My personal page

or

https://www.instagram.com/thisnihonlife/ - The travel page for my girlfriend and I

Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.

 

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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