When people approach me and ask me how they can find their life’s purpose, I often ask them the following question: What did you do with enthusiasm as a child? What did you enjoy the most?
π§ As a child…
…I already knew that I wanted to become a teacher. I invited my schoolmates to my house after school to play school. I was the teacher and they were the students. My mother was always surprised that my friends got involved. Who on earth wanted to go to school after school, let alone pretend to? π ME!π
π©βπ When I entered secondary school…
….this enthusiasm was quickly taken away from me because “to teach, you must understand what you are teaching.” In secondary school, it was all about following the curriculum, following the motto: understand quickly and be able to implement it. I always needed more time to explain things to myself and to question them. And so I fell through the cracks and a path of suffering began for me that lasted until the end of my school years. The childhood desire to become a teacher receded more and more until it disappeared completely into the depths of my consciousness.
π§ Many years later…
… when I was already living in Portugal, I was invited to teach German for the Portuguese employment office as part of a hotel training program. They were looking for native speakers who had some kind of connection to the hotel industry. I did indeed have one. And from the depths of my consciousness, my childhood wish slowly rose again. For almost 4 years I felt pure joy, became one with the students, absorbed every happy moment as well as every downfall with them.
π©βπ¦βπ¦ I owe it to my sons…
… that I went to university again, at the proud age of 42. In doing so, I finally brought my long-held childhood dream to fruition. For three and a half years, I studied educational sciences and succeeded in working as a teacher at the local German School. Now I was an officially recognized teacher, but I still didn’t feel happy with what I was teaching. I had been handed the necessary cutlery, but my favorite meal was still missing. One that would always taste good, that you just wouldn’t get sick of. And that’s how yoga came into play π
π§ββοΈ It took me…
… three and a half years and 900+ hours of yoga to become an official certified Vijnana yoga teacher. I already knew my calling for teaching as a child, decades later I had now also found “the means” through which I was to share my purpose, my passion.
Wow, reading these lines now gives me goose bumps. I am grateful to have been granted the possibility of living my childhood dream. I have selected a practice of Yoga that demands understanding, reflection, and at times even doubt, both on and off the mat. It serves as a guidance for life.
π Tell me…
Do you ever feel like you’re trapped by fear and unable to reach your full potential? If so, you’re not alone. Many people experience this sense that there is more to them than what they’re currently living. But the truth is, you have the power to overcome your fears and pursue your passions. It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone and embrace what moves you, but the rewards are worth it. So don’t hold back β take that first step and start living the life you were meant to live.
π Please share with me in the comments below how you became a yoga teacher.
Yours Sandraπ