I don’t know

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I DON'T KNOW

As a child, I was an annoying “know-it-all” (or try to be). I chuckled when I first watched Harry Potter in the scene when Hermoine always has her hand raised and wanted to give the answer. That was me.

Being raised in a traditional Chinese family and attending a competitive school taught me to impress – impress my parents, impress the teachers, and SHOW you’re a good student.

When I first started yoga, 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Then I learned a few poses. It seemed like I knew something.

One thing that yoga taught me, is that the deeper I get into the study, I realize how little I know, even though I am not a “professional” (and when I write professionally, I feel uncomfortable!)

Perhaps it’s because it’s a vast subject and it’s a vague one as well.

Or perhaps, is that yoga, eventually teaches me, both as practice and as a teacher, the wisdom of not knowing.

A teacher might be knowledgeable in teaching alignment, but less in philosophy.

A teacher might be specialized in vinyasa but not in yin or restorative.

That’s what makes yoga interesting as we can’t be the “know-it-all”.

There are times in class I would say, “𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”

And when we create an environment of “not knowing”, it allows us for a LEARNING experience for both of us, as a teacher and as students, to emerge.

I learn from my teachers, for sure. But I can’t tell you how much I learn from my students every day.

What we create here, is a co-learning experience.

And together, we discover and explore.

This is our yoga.