Upset by teacher

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I’m not sure if I am being a little oversensitive, but I have been thinking about this yesterday and today and I am still upset.

This week, I have three classes booked in with my yoga teacher; one is a one-to-one and two are regular classes of about five people.

So, I had an email from her yesterday asking if I could either pay twice as much as we had agreed for the group class on Tuesday. Her reasoning was that people had cancelled on her and so the class would be much smaller (two people) and therefore was almost a private session - warrenting higher prices.

I said I wasn’t prepared to pay more and have cancelled the class. I made it clear I was upset and she replied with a long email of excuses.

It sounds ridiculous, but I feel a bit like she was going to take advantage of my obvious passion for yoga. I travel a long way to her classes, sign up to every single one and book in for privates, and so I feel disappointed that she seems to be taking advantage.

I’m considering cancelling all my future bookings and travelling twice as far to yoga classes now. Is that ridiculous? I’m just not sure I could leave my cares at the door if I’m annoyed with her now. When I step onto the mat, I want to be breathing, meditating and moving, not seething.

Tell me if I am a drama queen. I can take it… :wink: I suppose I just had high expectations because all my other yoga teachers have been brilliant. She has only been my teacher for a few weeks.

#2

Though I obviously don’t have all the evidence such as your correspondence, based upon what you’ve said, you’re feelings are absolutely valid in my opinion.

You communicated how you felt which is primary. I personally would never dream of charging more like that teacher did.

At the same time, when the time is right, you may want to explore forgiveness. It takes a lot of energy to hold onto that anger. Did she make a mistake? In my opinion, yes. But she’s human and prone to them, just like the rest of us.

#3

Hi David - thanks for your answer. I think you’re right.

I don’t like holding grudges, and it won’t benefit either of us if I turn snotty, so I will try ot just exhale and move on!

I’m not sure why I felt this disappointed. It seems a disproportionate reaction.

#4

Wise words from David. You feel disappointment because your teacher is your guide and you respect her. When people fall short of our expectations it can be devastating. Someone once told me something very profound. "Expectations are the death of serenity."
I thought these were very wise words.

While I would never dream of doing what she did, we do not know her motives. I would explore forgiveness as mentioned above and if that doesn’t work out, I’d seek out a new teacher.

Best of luck!

#5

Was it disproportionate? If you feel it was, maybe it was. When I first read your post, the following jumped out at me:

It sounds ridiculous, but I feel a bit like she was going to [B]take advantage[/B] of my obvious passion for yoga. I travel a long way to her classes, sign up to every single one and book in for privates, and so I feel disappointed that she seems to be [B]taking advantage[/B].
It may be nothing, it may be something deeper within you presenting. I don’t know, but if you feel moved to, it may be something for you to explore. Lotusgirl above also makes a good point.

#6

Hello Hanu,

To follow David’s theme…
Forgiveness is a wonderful trait to learn, express, and master. However it is not synonymous with Welcome Mat. Forgiving and going to another class are not mutually exclusive. In my view you can be completely forgiving (understand that the other person makes mistakes, is human, has issues, et al) and still discern that this is not a class or way of doing business for you. So the concept must be tempered otherwise it can lead to imbalance.

As a teacher I don’t think I would do as the teacher has in this case - though I don’t have all the details. Students who come to class understand the fee structure in advance and that structure doesn’t change except in the case of a group private (a misnomer I suppose) where the rate is distributed amongst the attendees.

When a student arranges a private session there is a fee quoted. When that person asks to include another in the session then the rate changes, overall and for both the original student and the added student.