Who is your teacher?

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind." -- Kahlil Gibran

I don't know about you, but this time of year triggers the "back-to-school" in me.  No matter how old I am, I can't seem to escape that feeling of anticipation and excitement to see who my teachers were, to see old friends and meet new ones and to learn new things. I always considered myself fortunate to have had amazing teachers throughout my formal education and in my life.  And, beyond the classroom, there are the great teachers who come to us in expected forms and places.  I recall how illness has been one of my greatest teachers, calling on me to slow down and listen to my body rather than to continue on a path of imbalance and oblivion.  It was the teacher of illness that lead me back to yoga, another of my great teachers.

I found myself sharing that back-to-school nostalgia with my yoga classes this week. Beyond nostalgia for school, I asked them to draw one of their great teachers to them during their practice and I did the same while I was guiding the class.  As I continued to weave the idea of great teachers into class, I continued to connect with teachers who had shared their wisdom with me.  One of the teachers that popped into my head was one of my high school math teachers--someone who I had not thought of in a long time.  Math was never one of my favorite or easy subjects, yet, that did not seem to matter when I sat in my seat in this teacher's classroom.   It seems a teacher's wisdom can take us beyond the confines of a certain topic or subject that we have labeled "good" or "bad" and lead us to unexpected places.

After yoga class, several students mentioned to me that they found themselves in tears during their practice as they recalled the teachers who had touched them.  What would happen if you took at few moments today to pause and remember and thank your great teacher?