{"id":38090,"date":"2015-11-26T14:57:26","date_gmt":"2015-11-26T19:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=38090"},"modified":"2016-05-04T11:19:39","modified_gmt":"2016-05-04T15:19:39","slug":"finding-my-dharma-why-i-teach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/es\/journal\/finding-my-dharma-why-i-teach\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding My Dharma: Why I Teach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you have an advanced practice that you\u2019re ready to deepen even further? Find your tribe at a Wanderlust Festival. <\/span><\/i>Find out more<\/span><\/i><\/a> | <\/span><\/i>2016 lineup<\/span><\/i><\/a> | <\/span><\/i>Buy tickets<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

In the yoga world, everybody loves talking about Dharma<\/a>. In Sanskrit, the word translates to the idea of having a sense of worth, the idea of “Life\u2019s True Purpose.” Dharma, however, isn’t always\u00a0so black and white.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t start teaching yoga until I was nearly 40. I didn\u2019t come out of the womb playing the piano like Mozart, nor did I possess any other talent that could be clearly named and nurtured. As such, and like many people in my generation, I\u2019ve had many careers: I was a CPA,\u00a0a stand-up comic, a massage therapist, and a soap opera actor. There was that seedy gay bar that I managed in downtown Manhattan in the early 90’s. My search for Dharma was a painful study in trial and error. I was often called a wanderer, but I felt more like a seeker. Not all wanderers<\/a> are lost. I was.<\/p>\n

Amidst all the uncertainty, there was one thing of which I was certain: My spirituality ran deep to the bones. Granted it was shapeless, inarticulate, and homeless, but it was there nonetheless, propelling me forward to find Truth.<\/p>\n

On that fateful day, when I took my first yoga class, my spirit\u00a0found an expression and a home. Yoga became the fertile landing pad onto which the seeds of my soul\u00a0could take root, find potency, and thrive. Soon thereafter I took my first teacher training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teacher training gave me a voice. It gave me a vocabulary and a platform through which I could express my Truth. Prior to that, my message to the world was vague and abstract. Now it had context and focus, and it placed me squarely into my Dharma. It was time to pay it forward. When I really boil it down, here’s why I teach:<\/p>\n