Do you believe you have to be perfect to be worthy of teaching others?
Do you think your face needs to be “perfect” and blemish-free to become a Face Yoga teacher?
Or that you need a “perfect” business plan to be a successful business owner?
Or that you need to shout on the mountain tops when you reach another birthday, to be a pro-age leader?
I once thought that too, but let me be real honest: I’m not perfect and I’m still a great teacher.
I’m still squeezing in Facebook lives from my car when Nina is home.
I still “slip up” and get nervous when I’m pitching a new program.
I don’t always show up as a beaming light to our team meetings.
I get tired.
Yes, I, Fumiko, the expert on embracing my age, still long for the vivacity of my 20’s!
But, that’s not all…I sometimes go days without doing Face Yoga.
Yes,
Not hours.
Not seconds.
Days.
I’m not the woman who obsesses about every movement my face makes during the day. Sometimes I sleep on my side (gasp!) and I always allow myself the deliciousness of a good belly-laugh when it happens, not worrying about the creases on my face.
Really.
And still, I deserve to be
a leading Face Yoga teacher.
What’s more, I don’t always make myself a priority…
Sure, I meditate every day. But I still “flip my lid” as Nina says, when I have given too much of myself to others that day.
And yet, I give tips and advice to hundreds of thousands of people every day.
I don’t think anyone would say I don’t deserve to teach or lead the way I do…
In fact, it’s the realness and the struggle that makes me an even BETTER teacher.
Why?
Because if I had never struggled with acne, or had never had that moment of “who’s that” when looking in the mirror, what foundation would I possibly have to teach all of you?
If I never knew how it felt to be completely exhausted and touched-out as a new mother, what would I possibly have to say to you when you also find yourselves triggered, angry, shut-down, and behaving in totally childish ways with your family?
Nothing.
I would have nothing to say because I wouldn’t know what it feels like to be overwhelmed and I never would have found this solution for myself.
I wouldn’t understand the shame and regret around that.
And I surely would never have been able to make video after video and blog after blog about self-care being fundamental in our happiness.
Or how to squeeze in Face Yoga during your packed-to-the-brim day (everyone goes to the bathroom!).
It’s not my perfection that has made me an excellent coach and teacher.
It’s all the things I had to struggle with each and every day that shaped me into the compassionate and truly understanding teacher that I am.
And so, when you ask me what qualifies you to teach Face Yoga, I hope you hear the truth.
The truth is that you — YOU, with all of your imperfections and struggles — can be an excellent teacher, too.
But obviously, being imperfect and struggling isn’t the only thing that will make you a great teacher, or else being a hot mess would be the ticket to success.
If all you do is struggle and stay muddled in your imperfections, then are you really shaping yourself into leadership material?
It’s not perfect vs. imperfect that makes you a great teacher: it’s the way you approach your imperfections.
An excellent teacher will study the places where she struggles.
An excellent teacher will apply tools and trial-and-error to discover what supports her and what hinders her in her quest to thrive.
An excellent teacher will hold a higher vision for herself and her life and continue to move towards that.
If you’ve heard me talk about the deep struggles of aging that completely shuts down your life and makes you hide your beauty from the world…do you know where I learned that from?
Personal experience.
And I’ve helped SO MANY women embrace their age and love themselves BECAUSE I was willing to study my own fears internally and externally.
So I can hold space for you and tell you as many times as you need to hear it, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL because I was willing to study my own imperfections and my own flaws.
I’ve studied my own imperfections and found perfect.
I’m not saying you have to be a mess to be a great teacher.
Or that you need to struggle over a lifetime.
Or that you should be out of integrity about what you can truly teach about.
No, not at all.
You need to be grounded and mature enough to hold a safe space for others.
You need to have studied and explored and practiced the material that you will coach.
But you don’t by any means need to be perfect in those domains.
Great coaches and teachers apply themselves rigorously to the problems that their clients will face, and there is no better workshop than your own life and your own face.
So please, bring your issues and imperfections to the table.
They hold the key to your greatest wisdom.
Show up imperfect so that you can humbly be on a curious journey of exploration.
You don’t need to be enamored with what you look like every day to teach self-love.
You don’t need to have found nirvana to teach women how to create moments of self-care in their day.
You don’t need to have mastered your own struggles to coach women through theirs.
All you need to do is be willing to apply yourself wholeheartedly and be honest with your clients about who you are and what you’ve learned.
If you’re ready to embrace your perfect and imperfect parts and jump in heart-first.
If Face Yoga has called out to you.
If you know that you’re on a journey of your very own and that’s what makes you perfect.
Then please consider joining my Face Yoga Teacher Certification Course.
It’s a 6-month dive into the science, teaching, discovery, and tools you need to masterfully teach and create total transformation.
But please don’t show up perfect.
Instead?
Let’s explore together and learn together and grow together and use our imperfections as our perfect lessons.
Still thinking? Read HERE about 5 reasons to become a Face Yoga teacher.
