Beware your judgemental thoughts

I was at work the other day, and a coworker asked me about Yoga as way to address some pain issues she has. I have sort of inadvertently developed a reputation as the go-to girl about exercise and health questions. But this particular person is not someone I would have ever expected to ask a question like that. She seems very healthy. Just not someone who would need or want advice from me. It took me completely by surprise. Pleasantly though. And I had to scold myself for my judgmental thoughts.

It seems it's the quiet ones you wonder about. The verbal or otherwise expressive people who share their thoughts and feelings with you are usually known entities. You pretty much know when they're pleased or not, and you can react accordingly. But the ones who keep to themselves, or seem to be displeased, those are the ones you have to work to understand. But it gets even more complex with some people. Expressive or not, you just never know.

I teach a few classes at my gym. Mostly BodyPump, but also Sculpt, and I'll soon be adding BodyFlow to my repertoire. So when you're at the front of the room with anywhere from ten to sixty pairs of eyes on you, you get a variety of reactions. There are the people who set up front and center where the action is. They usually laugh at my jokes and chat with me before or after class about this or that. There are the ones that hide in the back and try not to be seen. There are the ones who just sort of hang out in the middle and react some of the time, and everything in between. So I often wonder whether people get what I say, enjoy the class, wish I were dead, whatever. You just want to know.

But I have to remind myself that just because someone doesn't speak, doesn't mean they don't love my class. Or just because they're in the front row doesn't mean they're happy with me either. So I try to treat everyone as though they're just as happy to be there as I am whether they show it or not. And more often than not, I get very positive feedback for treating people this way.

I always try to encourage the new people taking that leap into something new, and I try to touch base with my hard core regulars. But it's a little more difficult to interact with the middle group. I want to help them along without "calling them out". I want to show them I'm excited to have them in class without putting them out of their comfort zone and even worse, make them shy away from coming to class. I do my best. Sometimes I suck at it. But sometimes I get a huge heartwarming smile or a very thoughtful comment that I would never have expected. And it's so rewarding and makes it all worthwhile. It makes me wonder why anyone would want to do anything other than teach group exercise. It's wonderful.

I mean, who knows, my class might be the high point in someone's day. It might be what keeps them going. Exercising might be something they hate doing, but my class makes it bearable. You just never know. So I remind myself to put my smile on my face, give my class everything I have, and beware my judgmental thoughts.