Commitment may have a bit of a negative air for some. It sounds like a chore, an obligation. Yet it could just as well translate as “devotion” and “dedication”. It is an integral ingredient in the formula to success.
Every hero or role model you may look up to; An Olympic champion, a successful dancer or a singer, an admired professor, had dedicated their entire life to the pursue of their passion. They had put hours, days, weeks and years of tirelessly training, practicing, or studying. That dedication and commitment is at the core of these individuals’ success story. Talent can only get you started, and so is the spark of interest or allure. But it is the constant and consistent work you would put in that would tease out your true potential.
It is common knowledge that when you enroll in a biology or accounting class, or any other college course, you are expected to show up to class regularly in order to hone that skill. Your teacher will not be able to effectively deliver the material if students would randomly come and go. However, somehow in our modern society, movement based classes such as dance and Yoga have the culture of “Drop-in”. Dropping-in breeds superficiality, or perhaps it is superficiality that breeds the habit of “drop-in”.
Yoga and dance classes everywhere are catering to the lowest common denominator, the basics, without actually going beyond the initial benefit of the fleeting “feel-good” moment. And I get it. We yoga and dance teachers, who cater to professional adults, are working with an over worked over extended population. Everyone are busy, already accomplished in their career path, or full time student, or over their head with familial responsibilities, (or in many cases both), and the repose of a movement class fit into the “leisure and play” category, something to ease into and unwind.
I do get it.
Yet, I aspire to provide my students of every age and ability with the full blown transformational power of cultivating themselves as a sacred dancer. It is not about “performance”, it is about process, and fully applying oneself, dedicating oneself to developing an intact skill, with all of its layers of subtlety and complexity. It is the submission itself that nourishes the sentiment of dedication. It is the commitment within that carries you through the ups and the downs of practice into the shores of interconnectedness. When you show up fully, your teacher shows up fully too, and the ocean parts to let you proceed. You are plugged in, riding the waves of your own devotion.