Patience, Persistence and Serenity

Going on a full weeks work at the new gig for the summer. The preparation it took to get to this point was almost impossible, with nothing but problems everywhere I turned.  This week has definitely shown me what I am capable of, and gave me the opportunity to rediscover myself in ways I haven't seen in years.
Within the first 3 days of arriving at the resort,  all technology went down, power outages, servers malfunctioning, no internet service with 37 guests arriving in 48 hours.  All of these things are way beyond my control, however, frustrating nonetheless.  I managed to get an amazing amount of work done with 4 hours of sleep a night.
One of the most interesting things that I learned (aside from not feeding the technology gremlins after midnight), is how quickly my team came together.  We have 3 returning staff from last year, but 3 of us are brand new, and we became a family and a support system almost instantly, or so I thought..
Sunday rolls around and the 37 guests come pouring in from all directions, and what I thought was a completely organized system ended up being a train wreck as we fell farther and farther behind on doing their entry assessments.  We were TRYING to get all of them done on Sunday, however, now looking back at the math- 37 guests with a 1/2 hr session each x 3 trainers/5 hours= NOT ENOUGH TIME. But again, I keep my cool and we move ahead with assessments the next day.
As the days roll by, each guest has more and more "food allergies" driving my poor nutritionist and dietitian crazy. More small fires to be put out, no big deal.. I finally get my first day off on Tuesday and boy do I NEED it, and just like that WHAM- my team falls apart!  Suddenly we are having communication issues, I am at my wits end, and everyone needs to just stop and take a breath... including me.
My first reaction, as always is "F*ck This!" I am OUT!.. and then Rational Stephanie showed up a little while later, and sat back and thought about the situation at hand decided that with Persistence and Serenity- this too shall pass.
We are now on day 6 and things are finally falling into place, running like a semi-rusty machine as the technology gremlins are STILL at work, but, now I just shrug my shoulders and pull out a notebook and pen and start writing.
Its an interesting thing to be thrown into a situation like this, professionally its a change, personally is a HUGE change, and spiritually... well I haven't found that side of me in quite a while.. i'm working on it.
One of the things I HAVE found is my ability to smile when things get hard, breathe when the stress begins to creep up.. and not be afraid to cry when I feel like I just need too...

Teaching Under The Influence Of..

Teaching under the influence of self, is the hardest thing for me personally.  There are so many factors that go into designing and implementing a class, and the last thing that should play a part in it is your own emotions.  Normally, I am able to put aside anything I am dealing with personally, but for some reason, tonight was a different story.
Stress can play tricks with your mind and body, making you feel sad, angry, disconnected from others, or even feeling sick.  Yoga teaches you to move through the stress you are harboring, allowing you freedom of expression in your own practice, connection to your breath and the ability to put aside the things that are causing you stress to focus on yourself.  Considering I am a yoga educator, you would think I could manage my own stress!
Stress manifests it self in many ways for me.  I have learned over the years how to react in stressful situations, diffusing them before they become more than they should.  However, I have yet to manage all the little things that tend to creep up on me and finally ignite with a simple little spark.  Breathing techniques, and my own powerful yoga practice will usually put my mind and body back into a more clear and focused place.
Teaching others these techniques when you can't implement them on yourself proves to be quite difficult. Trying to stay focused inside the whirlwind of thoughts that circulate throughout your head is a task all on its own.
I could easily take this experience tonight and beat myself up about it, or learn from it.  I will always learn from every experience.  Coming back to the reasons I chose the life I lead, loving the way I feel after teaching yoga, embracing all that is good in my life lets my stress just dissipate on its own.  I will just sit back.. and feel..

Namaste