Have you ever felt like a fraud while teaching yoga? I have. Despite being well prepared, I struggled with self-doubt and felt inadequate. I didn’t even know this had a name: Imposter Syndrome. Luckily, the cure is surprisingly simple, although it took me forever to realize. Let me share my story.
It’s been three years since I stopped teaching yoga. Time flies, seriously. It feels like it was yesterday when I was giving those final online yoga classes from my little flat in Varkala, South India.
I stopped teaching because of my fibromyalgia. It’s something I’ve been dealing with for more than a decade already.
I don’t suffer unbearable pain like some people do. But it’s enough to make practicing asanas more of a struggle than a joyful experience.
At some point, I got tired of that struggle. On top of that, I had a couple of knee injuries from doing sports and surfing.
But I recently realized that there was probably another reason that pushed me to stop teaching.
Imposter syndrome.
That’s right. I always felt inadequate as a teacher teaching asanas, meditation, and pranayama. I felt as if I didn’t have enough knowledge and experience.
The truth is, I was overqualified as a teacher, even better prepared than many teachers out there.
I visited more than fifteen ashrams in India and completed several yoga teacher training courses both in the south and the north. I also had a consistent daily practice, not only of asanas but of meditation as well.
After my classes, I often received positive feedback, without even asking for it. But for some reason, I kept doubting myself.
This constant self-doubt didn’t allow me to be fully myself and enjoy my classes.
Surprisingly, the exact opposite happened when I decided to teach Sanskrit and create an online Sanskrit course for beginners.
I don’t have a Sanskrit degree. I haven’t done any formal studies in Sanskrit. I’m pretty much self-taught, and I’m still a beginner.
Yes, that’s right. I can’t understand everything I read. I can’t even have a conversation in Sanskrit. Yet, that didn’t stop me from deciding to teach it and to create an online course.
Although every other Sanskrit teacher out there is far better prepared than I am, I don’t feel like an impostor at all.
And the reason is simple.
I don’t believe I need to be an expert to be able to teach what I already know. I’m not promising something that I haven’t attained myself.
I’m simply offering what I know I can offer. I want to help complete beginners in Sanskrit reach my level faster than I did. And I know that I can do this really well, in a way no one else can.
This was the mindset I was missing when I was teaching yoga.
Back then, I always felt inadequate because I believed I needed to be pretty much a fully realized yogi to be able to teach.
As usual, the perfectionist in me was getting in the way
I believed I needed to have complete mastery over my body, breath, and mind to have the right to even talk about yoga.
But the truth is, like every other human being, I was still struggling with body pains, stiffness, anxiety, stress, depression, and so on.
I failed to see back then that I didn’t need to be a master to share what I already knew. I didn’t need to pretend to be someone else, or unconsciously expect to bring students to a level I hadn’t reached myself.
All I was supposed to do was simply share what I had learned and experienced through my self-studies and regular yoga practice. That’s all.
Maybe that’s something for you to think about, too.
If you are struggling with imposter syndrome, you can remind yourself that you don’t need to be perfect. Just focus on sharing what you already know. There are people out there who need exactly that. Your authenticity will attract them, and they’ll appreciate you for it.
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