Navigating through Social Media

photo: SweatNET

Navigating through life is hard enough, then you throw social media into the mix, and whew. This shit is tough. We talked about it in our teacher training a few weeks ago. I felt like I needed to have an honest conversation with everyone. Like, hey - this is a real part of being a yoga teacher in 2018. Saying the words out loud made me cringe, but it’s the truth. People talk about how the number of followers or likes you have don’t matter, but somehow, in the last few years, the amount of people you have observing your life through a screen took over for the amount of hours you’ve spent learning and teaching.

I taught two classes this morning, and I always talk about how when it comes down to it, the shapes you make with your body don’t really matter. The postures are just a tool to understand the way our mind works. We use them as a mirror to get to know who we are and where our work is. Now, I'm sitting here getting ready to post a photo and I’m critical of the ones where I’m not in “perfect” alignment (what does that even mean, anyway) and I almost didn't post this one. Luckily, I caught myself. Took a deep breath. Told myself the same words I said to my students this morning.

The photos don't actually matter. It's the message I'm trying to share that does.

Recently, I had a conversation with my friend Wes Knight where I told him how much I’ve been struggling internally with all of this, and he made a fantastic point. It was something along the lines of:

What if you can use social media as a place for storytelling, or delivering the same messages you offer in class. What about the people who are drawn to yoga because of one of your posts, or find a way inside themselves from your words because they can’t make it to class.

His wise words definitely helped ease some of the struggle, but it's still hard sometimes to navigate through. I guess my point is, if you’re trying to figure out how to build your brand and stay true to who you are, you’re not alone.

Social media is powerful. I hope we can all find a way to use this power for the greater good. I'm trying my best and I love connecting with people through these platforms who are, too.

Let's keep raising the vibration together.

XX,

Jaimis