I know what it is like to stand in front of a group of people and feel completely out of my depth.
Even though I had all the qualifications that say I have every right to be there, I had all the certificates to say I had studied this thing I am about to teach, and I know that I know my stuff – like really know it. And yet, I know what it is like to stand there and feel like I know nothing!
Many people might label this Imposter Syndrome. And there’s 1000+ ways in which different people will tell you how to get over it.
But what if you ARE an Imposter?
What if you don’t know the answers to everything your students/clients/peers/children are going to ask?
What if you’re a movement teacher and you don’t know everything about yoga, pilates, the muscles, the fascia, the best adjustments, when to breath, what to do if you can or can’t …(fill in the blank)?
What if you don’t know which diet is the best one for you? Which type of meditation will work best for you? Which yoga pose or somatic exercise you should practice more? What if you don’t know if you should breath in or out when you go in to a forward fold?
This was me!
After I trained to be a secondary school teacher, in English, I felt like I had to be able to answer all the brown questions in Trivial Pursuit, or know the titles of all the Shakespeare plays.
After I trained in Nia people would approach me to ask me advice on their issues with this, that, and the other part of their body and I felt like I should know what to say to them.
After I trained in Aerial Yoga, people would approach me to ask if it was good for helping to get in to ‘blurbleblahblah-asana’ (some Sanskrit term for a yoga pose) and I felt like a fraud because I didn’t even know what it meant!
After I trained in Somatics people would tell me how they had an unpronounceable condition (either ending in ‘-itis’ or ‘syndrome’) and ask if Somatics could fix that and I felt obliged to convince them that it could, even when I had no clue what the condition was.
Why did I feel like that?
Because I believed that a teacher was someone who knew the answers to everything in their field of expertise/interest; was someone who knew how to fix the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual problems of every student that came in front of them.So yes, in that respect, I was an imposter!
And what if that is OK?
Actually, what if that is more than OK? What if we are not meant to be a walking encyclopaedia, or answer every hypothetical question that we can think of in advance…
After a while, once I immersed myself more and more in Somatics, I began to realise how much power I had given to everything and everyone outside of me: teachers, authors, speakers, people who had letters after their name (I had even forgotten that I had the right to put letters after my name!). I had given my power to science, technology, awards, achievements, trophies… the list goes on.
But the more I listened to my sensations, and the more I noticed my own shifts and changes, then the more I began to experience my own intuition, my own felt-sense of what was right for me. And in this way I started to gain confidence in my body and in my body’s way of communicating.
AND, (lo and behold!), this coincided with my teaching becoming more confident, more present and authentic. I didn’t have to feel like I knew the answers to anything; I simply stayed centred in my own somatic experience and my body gave me the answers or the guidance or the next step.
I am really pleased now, that I am an imposter of the kind of teacher I once thought I had to be. I now love getting asked those questions that I mentioned before – not because I now know the answer, but because I love guiding people in to their own felt sense, into their own awareness and sensations, so that they can find their own answers for themselves.
This is why I am so passionate about teaching Somatics. I don’t offer a ‘learn these exercises’ kind of teaching. I don’t provide a ‘this movement is good for XYZ’ kind of teaching. I don’t even promise a ‘this will give you perfect posture’ kind of teaching. I offer and provide a ‘come and learn about yourself, somatically’ kind of teaching, by exploring a variety of movement sequences through which you can learn your body’s unique language (sensation) and navigate your body’s unique operating system (your neurology/nervous system) and that way you are never out of your depth.
In fact, our Somatics teaching guides you to be absolutely in your depth and be fully resourced to share your depth with others.
So…if you want to start, or re-start, connecting to your inner resources and sensations so that you can make better choices and decisions for yourself, not always look to others for the right answers, and really start trusting yourself and your body so you no longer feel like an imposter, you can start your journey now, with us!
We have our 5 Day ‘A Taste of Somatics’ course available and with lifetime access, so you can explore each session in your own time, at your own pace, and find your own ‘right way’.
Click this link to sign up and start with the most important lesson: tuning in and centring with a Soma Scan.
After that, every day for the next 5 days you will receive an email to remind you that the next lesson is available, with a link to easily access the course. Be sure to stay tuned to the end and receive your free bonus!
Wishing you a wonderful somatic exploration in to your abundantly resourceful Self,
Amanda
To find out more about our online courses, click here
For more information about our Somatics Training for Movement Teachers click here
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