(originally sent 13/07/26)
As yoga teachers we spend a lot of time alone. Although most of my “face to face” work involves teaching groups, I don’t work in a team, I don’t have a boss per se, and I operate my own business without employees. This is one of the things that attracts me to this way of living — I enjoy my own company, and I enjoy being able to adjust my schedule and workflow to suit my energy levels.
However, it can get lonely. I felt this especially once I left Jivamukti Yoga Sydney after teaching there for over a decade. It was in the midst of covid lockdowns, so it was a weird time for everyone, but I remember feeling quite lost when others were able to return to in-person classes, and I had nowhere to go for community besides the internet.
Moving to Lutruwita, though so exciting, initially created a deeper rift between what had once been a sense of belonging to a “workplace”. No one in Nipaluna knew me, and I knew no one in the yoga industry down here, so I essentially had to start from scratch.
This selected verse known as the Moha Mudgara (Destroyer of illusion) by Shankaracarya has served me well as a reminder that I don’t have to do it all alone:
satsaṅgatve nissaṅgatvaṁ
nissaṅgatve nirmohatvam
nirmohatve niścalatattvaṁ
niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ
“Good and virtuous company gives rise to non-attachment. From non-attachment comes freedom from delusion. With freedom from delusion, one feels the changeless reality. Experiencing that changeless reality, one attains liberation in this life.” – Translation + commentary by Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati
It was about a year ago that I decided to focus on this “good and virtuous company” and spend more time in satsaṅg. Specifically, I wanted to stretch myself and collaborate with other teachers. Now, I don’t consider myself a complete control freak (my family might disagree), but I do enjoy a certain amount of “calling the shots”, so collaboration can be challenging for me. Knowing this about myself, I started with people I know well.
I’ve known Keith since I was 19, so starting a podcast together was an easy risk to take, and here we are, more than 60 episodes in, and we now teach international retreats together.
Next was teaching with my friend Kiki — as many of you know, we hosted a wonderfully successful Dark Yoga workshop a month ago. We now have a full day retreat coming up, where we are not only teaching together, but cooking together to feed all in attendance (I cannot wait, and there is still space if you wanna join us).
The most recent collab is that I have booked in a kirtan with a newer friend — Lydia. We’ve been online buddies for ages, but are finally living in the same city. Lydia has been amazing in organising a drummer to join us, so we are stepping up our kirtan game and cannot wait to chant divine mantras with you on August 8th at Udara (more info here).
If you are in a similar situation, working independently, or spending a great deal of time on your own, this is your reminder that it’s wonderful to thrive in your own company, but also totally possible to create community — satsang.
And in fact, according to Shankaracarya, it is the fastest way to jīvanmuktiḥ — liberation in this life.
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