Choosing Your Guru or Mentor

I have blessed with my life as a movement teacher and practitioner because I had incredible mentors and guru's along my journey. The terms mentor and guru may be analogous to a teacher, who has the experience and knowledge of a particular subject, is an influential and trusted guide. I chose my influencers by being in their space through sessions, workshops or work place. I did not search them out before having interaction with them. Nor did I ask them if they would be my mentor. It happened organically. I felt the strong desire within myself to learn from them. I did what ever it took to be around them creating a relationship. I knew in myself that their work with the body was so transforming as I observed and experienced their work. And I knew this is how I wanted to work. Guidance became the gift of being with my teachers. We all have blindspots in our life, the inability to see others clearly without our own projections. I recognized how difficult it is to see one's own perspective or narrative that blocks the ability to see what is possibly obvious to others. I also see a similarity of a blindspot with the ability to see a person's movements for assessment purposes and how to approach their body for the best outcome. It takes a mentor to lighten the dark place by speaking their truth, and simply pointing out the obvious which of course was not so obvious to me!

As I grew, developed my work and embraced a way of working with the body, my teachers became my friends and colleagues. I still look to them for advice as I would a dear and trusted friend. Life and work with the body is a constant progression of waking up to ourselves and our perspective. I learned to ask my self, "Is this true?" "Is it kind?" Is it necessary?" When I become overwhelmed, it is easy to fall into the dark place and forget the obvious. We fall asleep or slip into a blindspot, then we wake up. Like trying to be stable, one is always falling away from center to then find the pull to return to our true nature.