When the student is ready, the teacher appears

I love my Forrest yoga class. It’s not that I know much about Ana Forrest or that I dig keeping my neck relaxed or my toes lifted or that I really enjoy all that lower ab work. It’s the teacher and my classmates. Rich gets us all to give our best for 90 minutes and to try new (sometimes scary) things. And my classmates and I take the risks. We do handstands and headstands—or at least try. It’s a wonderful, challenging, and nurturing environment.

This weekend I participated in a workshop led by Gabriel Halpern, a devoted student of Iyengar. As Gabriel told me more than once to lift my head and rattled off asana names in Sanskrit, I realized that I needed to find a class to complement Rich’s class (Forrest uses English names for asanas, so I've forgotten the Sanskrit names for many poses).

The day after I documented this observation in my journal, Rich dropped a bombshell. He was moving to Vermont to become Dean of Faculty at a small college, a dream job for him and near family. The class was of course supportive and congratulatory of Rich’s accomplishment and decision. And while I did feel bad about the loss of this particular teacher and class, I was surprised at my overall reaction: this is happening for a reason. As the Buddhist proverb says, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

I’m going to enjoy the hell out of Rich’s classes until he leaves. And I know I’ll miss the Tuesday nights that I’ve become so fond of. But I’m also filled with anticipation about what a new teacher will bring. Who will it be? What will the class be like? I’m not sure of anything except that this is happening for a reason and this will be another significant turning point in my yoga journey.

The student, she is ready!