The Big Pause: Acceleration

Photo Credit: Luciana Aranha

Literally overnight yoga teachers used to teaching in a physical studio, and sharing their practice with 20 or 30 students are now teaching from their living rooms and ZOOM-ing themselves into their students’ homes all over the world; and finding themselves teaching to a virtual room of hundreds at a time.

The world just got HUGE.

If you are like me, you spent the first few weeks drunk on the plethora of virtual offerings - the hangover is just now wearing off.

In this unprecedented time I’m able to practice with my beloved teacher who lives in Mexico and my Bhakti teachers and family still in San Francisco -all without leaving my tiny studio in Paris.

More than this, celebrities who once seemed so far away are now serenading me in my home, I’m watching them create in their home studios and share live on Instagram; it’s better than any concert really.

Experiences that once required me to travel, near and far, are now just a click away and with the technology and time we have to master it I’m learning that the experiences CAN be pretty damn close to the in-person retreat experiences I’ve felt in the past.

Welcome to The Big Acceleration.

To participate in this big acceleration there is no hiding, it requires many of us to step into the ring. The ring of technology, the ring of vulnerability, the ring of being fully seen, the ring of being fully present and available, the ring of value and worth, the ring of content…and the ring of abundance of all kinds.

I have literally watched every teacher and healer around me that I love step into the ring over the last few days. And as I watch this great acceleration take place I wonder if they realize that they can never go back to the way it was, or to who they were.

It will not be possible to ignore the larger opportunity to continue to connect globally once things resume to a familiar pace; especially for those tapping into a global community of celebrity size right now. It just wouldn’t be smart to stop offering this experience to a larger audience now that the larger audience has expressed an interest to connect in this way.

Sure the “in person experience” that once was ideal will be something of great value again, but we are learning every single day the pandemic continues that we can also benefit from virtual connection with these teachers. And the teachers are learning every single day the great value of their shared virtual practice - and the scope of their global community when they make it available on a larger platform.

Acceleration.

Part of this acceleration also requires us to step into the idea of value and worth. If it hasn’t become apparent yet it will soon enough, this new economy and world we are redesigning with every shared bit of content and every click of a ZOOM link isn’t ending anytime soon. The gifting, donation-based, free content economy will leave teachers burned out and students overwhelmed with options and mindlessly tapping through the options until they are numb.

Continue to serve for free or on a donation basis if you are in a position of financial security right now and you feel the need and desire to offer your services as Karma Yoga, the world surely needs this now more than ever. (I actually have an even better Karma Yoga project idea for those of you in this position: charge for your classes and donate the earnings to buy masks and other essential things greatly needed right now - especially if you have a huge community and your influence and teaching can garner funds for this purpose and you don’t need the money.)

But if you are a yoga teacher who just lost their job, or who no longer is collecting a paycheck of any kind and you need money, I want to ask you why you might be offering free or donation-based classes right now.

How did your $25 yoga class just become free? And at what cost to you?

Some teachers feel that an online experience should cost less than an in-person one, I understand, but try telling all of the online yoga companies this who are continuing business as usual right now and who make a great deal of money selling online yoga classes (and have for years).

And even if you feel like the experience is “less than” because it’s on ZOOM, you can still charge for it - free just doesn’t seem to be equivalent to what you are offering.

As I do the math for the classes I’ve attended recently with hundreds of students attending I cannot help but think if each teacher only charged $1 per student, many of these teachers would make $300-600 per class based on the classes I’ve attended in the last few weeks. This is more than what I made as a full time yoga teacher in one month in San Francisco - granted I did not have the celebrity-size student community that these teachers have, but you get my point. These teachers are currently teaching 3-4 classes a week, and they will thrive in a time that many will not; and they should because in-home yoga is now a top commodity in this new economy.

Acceleration.

Whether your new global community is 5 or 500, welcome to the new world we have created. It will require you to step into your power, it will require vulnerability and grace and a sense of humor. It will be messy as we all try to figure it out together, and it will require you to value your skills, your offerings, and your services…and even more than this, it will require you to feel deserving of asking people to pay you for them.