“Every time I leave your yoga class I have to adjust my rear view mirror because I’m two inches taller,” Ron said to me as he left my 9am Monday morning class.
I first met Ron when I was subbing for another teacher in the Yoga Basics Class. Ron came up to me after that class and said, “I really like the way you teach. I don’t want to just roll around on the floor anymore. I want to be challenged.” Ron is in his 70s or 80s (I’m not really sure even though I don’t think he’d mind if I asked him outright). “Can I come to your other other classes” he continued, “and will you help me even if I can’t do all the poses?”
I smiled, thrilled inside that he wanted to continue to deepen his practice, “Yes, of course!”
I’m so inspired by Ron’s commitment to keep learning and growing and challenging himself even at a rip “old” age. Even though he can’t do all the postures, and for the first month he came to my class he used a chair most of the time, his desire for learning new things and expanding his own sense of himself is what keeps him coming back.
I admire Ron for his willingness to engage the yogic principle of constant change even in his aging body.
After a month of him coming to my classes, Ron showed me the silver rings he wears around the middle finger of his right hand—it reads “Namaste” in Sanskrit. The divine light in me honors the divine light in you, which is the divine light inside us all.
He always thanks me when after each class. This is how I remember my students.
Update: August 14, 2017—Ron no longer uses a chair, he’s breathing easier in every posture, his balance has improved, he’s letting go of the stiffness in his upper back, and he’s still smiling when he leaves my class. “Namate.”
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