is there a lesson from your studies that has stayed with you and become part of your personal wisdom?

I learned a lot about myself. Not the easier to gain intellectual knowledge of saying “I know I am this way, and that,” but the understanding and observance of actually how I show up, how I want to show up, what the difference is between those, and most importantly, what I need to do to adjust. I saw I have the courage to take risks, but am often ill-prepared. Or that the answers I have to questions are like giant interwoven webs that need to be broken down into manageable doses. I’m also really great at making up stories in my head.

Practice and teaching don’t let you get away from your weaknesses: you can’t fake the work you haven’t done. I’m held accountable for how I show up, which for me takes more planning, step by step thinking, and overall balance in my life. This is how my strongest message gets through. The need for balance and how I learn to achieve it is a lasting takeaway.

what does the student/teacher relationship mean to you?

I’m very fascinated by how this evolves. I currently have a strong focus on being a guide and a companion. Most of my work with people involves them learning new motor coordination or alignments that feel foreign and uncomfortable regardless of objective landmarks. I am a guide by providing a protected pathway; ie. focused time, a safe environment, and direction. I am a companion because I get out of the way and let who I am teaching do most of the figuring out. Learning implies being a beginner and continually embarking into new territory in order to grow. I’m supporting my students by giving encouragement, feedback, and appropriate questions to keep them on-course while they navigate somewhere they haven’t been. That is my goal. My students have to do it themselves, but they don’t have to do it alone.

why did you choose your pathway?

I live a little intensely and passionately, with lots of effort so I don’t have much energy to spare. This acts like extra force and when in misalignment creates damage more quickly. I found the things that gave me energy and the things that didn’t, and I reached, and still do reach, corners where I have to alter-route for sheer self-refuge. I can no longer survive anywhere else but where my experience, inexplicable drives, and skills meet. I naturally gain energy by helping others, I feel inclined to, and I have experience being in difficult places. I hope that as a consequence of going through them I am a stronger guide and human.