Surviving or Thriving? Strategies for Teachers in Times of Uncertainty

The big picture: Kali Yuga
I can't talk about current times without referring to Kali Yuga, which is how the yogis called the time we are in. Kali Yuga, the dark age, is characterized by materialism and both crisis and destruction are needed in order to create space for the new. All seekers will find resistance in their path. In general, the environment will be more conducive to numbing ourselves through TV, overating and overconsuming, than to sit and meditate. Around us, we may find more examples of selfishness than generosity. And teaching yoga, especially meditation and pranayama will probably be harder than to teach pilates or be a personal trainer. So we should expect resistance, even if we are following our bliss, even if we are aligned with our dharma. The Universe is still supporting us, and the more we practice, the more we experience that.
To learn more about Kali Yuga, I recommend the Prophecy of the Sages book, but it's almost impossible to get it, unless you are willing to pay $200 for a used copy (does that tell us something about the dark ages?)

So what can you do when business slows down?

Practice.
In times of uncertainty, as yogis (I like to think that we are yogis, yoga teacher is what we do), our first duty is to remain a harbor for peace ships. People come to your class wanting refuge from darkness, so you better be shinning very brightly. So what would it take for you to show up radiating love, even if your class is now half of what it used to be? What would it take for you to feel protected, guide and safe, even if your bank statement is sogged with tears (this is why I prefer to get them on line)? The sages have the answer: silence. Silence cures it all.

There's no better time to rely on your own practice to find the strenght and the inspiration to be the best teacher you can be.

Find ways to stay connected with your students.
If they are not coming to the studio, go to them. Choose a medium that you feel confortable with (Facebook, email, newsletter) and share your goodness. Short and light tends to be more accepted than long and serious (though I rebel against my own advice too often). Link it to your blog, if you have a blog, where you can take more freedom both in terms of content and lenght.
Also, stay available. Continue showing up early for class and staying a few minutes after. This makes a difference, even if no one comes to talk to you. Some students need to see you iddle many times before they decide to ask a question.

Continue growing
Even if everything around you may look and feel stuck, you can create inner movement. Use the extra time you are having in ways that create value for yourself and others. Be resourceful. Travel to places where you can stretch your money. Volunteer - give and you shall receive. Weren't there times you wish you could do more karma yoga? Study - consider work/study programs and apprenticeships. This NY Time article talks about how hard times are jamming the ashrams. That's exactly what I am talking about! Create and nurture your community - either on line or in person. Stay in the company of like-minded people who can remind you of all that you already know.

Adjust to the situation
The power of now. Be here now. Can you temper the expectations that things will get better with a radical acceptance of what's going on right now? So that you can live it fully and complete whatever needs to be completed?
Find out what this means for you. Maybe is a shopping embargo. Maybe it's falling in love with cooking. Maybe it's creating a personal budget. Whatever it is, find a way to acknowledge and honor the fact that it's time to conserve resources.

Be practical and the philosophical
A student in California asked me if one really had to go that deep into philosophy before going into practicalities. My answer was that I don't know about other people, but for me, I really do need to go back to the philosophy. And that is probably going to be the case for most yogis, that's how we make sense of the world. Besides, in my case, I don't think I have anything better to offer to the world than a business perspective steeped in tantra and yoga. Hope you agree with it!

Advice for the current economic times: Combining Schumpeter's Creative Destruction, Shiva and the Doshas.

"(this process of) mutation-if I may use that biological term-that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in."

Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950), Austrian economist who popularized the term "creative destruction" amongst economists.

Was Schumpeter talking about Shiva?

Acknowledging that the messy, painful way that capitalism and free markets use to regulate themselves is part of their essence is hard, especially when going out of business, job losses and unbearable debt become personal. Yet, yoga reminds us that birth-decay-death is the nature of everything in the material world, so how could banks and business stay out of it? Through this imperfect process called crisis, the economy will evolve, the fittest will survive, new business will emerge, some old will thrive and some will die, becoming food or fuel to something new.

So what can we do? Well, if we oversimplify reality, and that's what all models do, there are only two strategies:

1) sit and wait, conserving resources for when the recovery/renovation begins;

2) go out and find opportunity within the chaos.

Sit and wait is a good strategy, as long as you can really wait patiently. You have to have enough resources, material and non-material, to endure the dark night of the economy, and you have to be able to really stay relaxed even if you are in the path of the storm. Otherwise, rather than saving energy for new beginnings, you are draining yourself with worry that is not even getting expressed as action.

Finding opportunity within the chaos is also valid, and the caveat is that you have to truly believe this is possible. Your sense of adventure has to be greater than your risk aversion. Your faith has to be greater than your fear. And if that does not sound like you, don't feel frustrated. Instead, take it as a sign that there's a better way to use of your energy.

I can't think of anything wiser than finding what your natural inclination is and working with it. Treat it as wisdom, as guidance from the forces that always accompany you. One starting point is to look at your dosha, your body-mind type from Ayurveda.

Can you see how kaphas can sit and wait? It's the best thing form them to do, given their patience and stability. The same choice would make vattas space out and pittas spin on their wheels. Vattas and pittas will be drawn to taking risks, vattas because their essence is change, and pittas because their fire makes them go-getters.

Whatever your strategy is, as yogis, we know that power is made available to the extent we can remind ourselves of our nature, our purpose and our practice, specially as we go through turbulent times. How do we manage ourselves when there's a gap between what we want and what we are getting? Isn't that what we practice yoga for? The more I read the media, the more I turn to yoga and my tradition for guidance and inspiration. And in case you need some of that too, here's a message from my teacher Rod Stryker.

This reminder may not be very practical and yet, it's really the most valuable thing I can offer you. My endless curiosity for the convergence between practical and mudane aspects of life and the mistery and power of spirit leads me to think that, at this very moment, it's inspiration, more than specifics, what we all need.

A message from my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker of Para Yoga

Rod sent this message on his year end newsletter. To subscribe to his newsletter, go to www.parayoga.com

Dear Friends and ParaYogis,

Some final thoughts to close out a historic and, in many ways, ground shaking year....

Everywhere I've travelled, its impossible not to notice the palpable sense of fear and uncertainty. Our global economy is in peril, many are suffering as a result, and the great majority of us are facing questions about our basic security.
Is there anything to be learned? What can the teachings provide in the way of solace and a solution?

These times and these questions are exactly what yoga is meant to prepare you for. This is exactly why you have been practicing. Taking time for stillness and awakening the kind of discriminative knowledge that allows you to navigate through times like these is precisely what practice is meant to be giving you. A lot of you know that, but it's helpful to be reminded. However, that is just the first step.

It's time to collect yourself and determine what you want your future to look like. The Gita reminds us to, "Reshape yourself through the power of will, never let yourself be degraded by self-will. The will is the only friend of the self and the will is the only enemy of the self". Swami Rama said that, "On this path you must first awaken your Samkalpa Shakti, the power of will and determination. Never say that you cannot do it... Instead, overcome your resistance, and expand your capacity. You must order your body and senses to function under the leadership of your mind".

To my dearest friends and ParaYogis, the vows and promises you hold the closest to your heart speak directly to the universe, compelling it to act on your behalf. When you choose the ones that point to a worthwhile and fulfilling future that naturally embraces the best of you, you will surely create a life worth having. If enough us were to do this, and exemplify fearlessness and centerdness, then we will collectively create a secure and more promising future.

"Cling to a certain thought with dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible outward form. When you are able to employ your will always for constructive purposes, you become the controller of your destiny", wrote Yogananda.

What will your future look like? It depends upon you, more accurately on the world you want and choose to commit to see. When your Samkalpa bears fruit it will bring with it feelings of contentment and joy, it will make you stronger and, by helping to make you better and more powerful, it will help to improve the world we live in. That is a yogi's job. The world needs you to be strong and committed. This is the time to prove to yourself that Yoga works (thoughts from The Four Desires to be released in 2009).

Wish you and your family the very best for the coming year. May God bless you.

With love,

Yogarupa

What if Krishna was our financial advisor?

"Why this timidy, Arjuna, at a time of crisis? It is unworthy of a noble mind; it is shameful and does not lead to heaven. This cowardice is beneath you, Arjuna; do not give in to it. Shake off your weakness. Stand up like a man."

dialog between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita

Yoga is a balance of action and introspection, of practice and surrender. It promises a life of freedom, where through practice we find ways of acknowledging what's going without being sucked into a downward spiral of bad news. The realization that we can be responsible by being present brings us back from a sojourn into worrying land. "Only the very wise and the very fool do not worry about things". Considering ourselves very wise is usually a sign we are not; yet, if we have to choose a direction, isn't there where we are leading?

I encourage you to find ways of remembering that this is precisely what our practice has prepared us for: being a force of peace and goodness in the midst of chaos. Like Arjuna, we must fight! And that means being an unshakable source of joy and peace. If not you, then who? We need to counterbalance the negativity we receive from the media by practicing random acts of kindness, gratitude and whatever makes us happy. Sing, dance, get on the mat, make love, laugh, play with kids...

And yes, this IS business advice! Can you agree your students will be looking for something or someone who can reflect beauty for them? We are all receiving enough gloominess from other sources.

There's not much more you can do about the current situation. If all stress is either something that requires action, clarity or a change in attitude, what would you say this is? Even if you work at the FED or as a Bloomberg analyst, chances are it's the change of attitude that will lighten your heart.

Worth mentioning: look for the subtle distinction between being joyful and yet aware of what's going on, and being joyful at the expense of ignoring what's going on. Though it's "just" another manifestation of maya/cosmic illusion, overemphasizing that can feel really dishonoring to someone who has just lost a house or a job.

Last but not least: raise your hand if you have you ever criticized how materialistic and consumption obsessed our society is. Now raise your hand if you can see Kali, the benevolent destroyer behind this recession (or however you want to call it)? Throughout human history, that's how space for change is created. Let's go dig gold inside folks!

To the infinite source of prosperity within you!