Our students are real people!
Many of us get into spiritual work to “help people,” but the world of spiritual learning can be fraught with dehumanization and forced vulnerability. When we are taught practices through experiences that demand we leave our own needs and perspectives behind, it can be easy to turn around and pass that on to our own students.
What becomes possible when we strip back the layers of ego and remember that we are working with real people?
This week on the podcast, I am thrilled to talk with Chauna Bryant. Chauna is a Breathwork Meditation facillitator, and GYROTONIC and Pilates instructor who has just launched her own trauma-informed, anti-racist, inclusive breathwork facilitator training.
In this episode, Chauna and I talk about the ethics of leadership and becoming spiritual teachers. We talk about the corruption we have seen passed down from gurus to teachers and the recent wave of pushback we are seeing from students. Chauna shares her experience of pulling away from her teacher’s lineage to teach breathwork that integrates, rather than erases, the politicized experience of living in this world.
This episode is about building the trainings we wish we’d had access to, so we can disrupt the egocentric guru bullshit that is so rampant in spiritual teaching and mentorship. It’s about the power of collaboration, the wisdom of giving credit, and the grace of admitting when we are wrong.
Tune in this week for more on trauma-informed teaching and a reminder that you should be able to bring your whole self to your spiritual development.
SHOW NOTES
8:53 – What are breathwork and pilates?
15:37 – Stepping into leadership and why Chauna created her own training.
25:53 – Guru bullshit. Learning to embrace that we don’t know everything and the ethics of spiritual training.
45:38 – Chauna’s virtual Breathwork Facilitator Training.
Breathwork Facilitator Training Registration
Connect with this week’s guest, Chauna Bryant:
Instagram
Breath Liberation Society
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