On staying true to myself

Somewhere there was a study that stated that people that post those quotes in boxes are less intellectual or logical that others. I believe Deepak Chopra quotes were used in the study. Looking at my desk I have two quotes by him in my sight right now.

As a new yoga teacher, I often struggle with science and logic over holistic options. I recently expressed to my husband that I would like to start using aluminum-free deodorant. He looked at me with a sideways glance and called me crunchy. Contrary to Gwyneth’s belief, there is no science backing the statements of aluminum causing cancer, or any other health problems for that matter. #crunchyandproud

Despite my Chopra quote collections, according to a Myers-Briggs assessment, I’m an ENTJ. Meaning, among other things, that I turn to logic above all else when solving a problem. When I read the description on the website it is me to a “T”.

Some yoga teachers are taught to offer a theme to each yoga class. This means you offer some philosophy with your poses. The intention is to show how you can take yoga off the mat – apply other concepts of yoga (not just poses) to the class.

I REALLY struggle with this. While I do have a small collection of them, I hate quotes. They remind me of being a teenager and going to quote websites and finding quotes that supported my angst-y misery and posting them as my MSN messenger status. Reading them seems so disingenuous. I feel myself blush as I read them aloud to my classes. So, I’m left speaking off the cuff, which is fine, but I only have a rotation of about 5 things that I can make work. When you have the same students over and over, I’m certain they start to notice. So I’ve dropped the “theme” element of my classes.

While reading an essay over lunch today, I found this quote:

“Anger, resentment, envy and self-pity are wasteful reactions. They greatly drain one’s time. They sap energy better devoted to productive endeavors.”

Who said it? Thich Nhat Hahn? The Dalai Lama? My dear Deepak Chopra? Nope. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Very yogic, right? Also a tad academic, and political. That’s my problem. I can’t bring myself to use quotes from people I don’t know, or don’t believe in, or don’t align with philosophically, or people I don’t understand. I’m not going to do it. I can’t open a yoga class with a quote from a Supreme Court justice. I, of course, love it, but I can’t start politicizing my yoga classes. I also can’t just start Pinterest-ing quotes to use for my classes. My ENTJ logic gets in the way and I end up fumbling my way through a theme.

So, I’m doing something I’ve never done, posing a question to my readers. As a yoga teacher, how do you stay genuine in your themes? As a yoga student, can you tell when the teacher’s quote or poem doesn’t come from the heart? If you’ve never done yoga, does all of this seem silly? What do you think? Am I the only one struggling here?

If you don’t want to be public, send a message through my website or email curvyyogadsm@gmail.com.