Why I Switched Up Some Stuff on Sol Space: Embracing Change and Authenticity

This is a pretty short and sweet ramble for the month of March to note some of the changes I’ve made in Sol Space recently and how it’s making me feel!

Happy Spring Equinox! Spring is such an optimistic time of year. We can see summer coming soon and can really watch the beautiful changes in nature as the spring months roll in. I hope you’re noticing the colors emerging, the birds singing a little bit louder, and the air warming up, little by little!

Just like the seasons of the year, we as people also go through seasons and changes. It can be scary and daunting to accept change, and even harder to embrace it, but I’m challenging myself to go with the flow and embrace what’s happening right now. The AA Serenity Prayer has really been grounding me lately (I’m two years sober, so this one’s a big anchor for me):

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

In this situation, I realized I needed the courage to change the things I can, and although it was scary, I feel a little bit better now.

I worked really hard (with a lot of help from people who worked even harder!) and with so much support to create the Sol Space online studio. I truly had a vision that this would be my main career path.

Side note: While I’m explaining some things here, I still 100% believe that my Dharma (life’s work + devotion) is living yoga, teaching yoga, and working towards a life centered around yoga. That’s actually why I had to make some changes.

Like many people (and like I explained in one of the first Sol Space Substacks), I deeply struggle with imposter syndrome. It’s a practice not to let it take over, and I’m really working on it. I’ve been trying to commit to being a better yoga practitioner and teacher, and like I said in my last blog, I really don’t want to be culturally appropriative, I want to be authentic and accessible.
Part of working through my imposter syndrome has been following and reading the work of Indian teachers like Susanna Barkataki and Nikita Desai. Their work helps ground me and reminds me there’s always more to learn, and that sharing their voices is as important as sharing my own. If you’re curious about going deeper into yoga’s roots, I really encourage you to check out their work too, I’m learning right alongside you.

I’m a non-Indian yoga teacher who mostly teaches asana, doesn’t use Sanskrit enough, and is still learning how to live and teach yoga off of the mat, because I’m still learning and growing, like we all are. And that’s really why I stopped having a paid monthly subscription for my online yoga classes and decided to put them on YouTube for free!

This is honestly way scarier for me and my social anxiety, like wow, having videos of ME talking and moving on camera that the public can see is terrifying! But maybe, just maybe, I can be a little bit more accessible by making my classes free, and maybe help someone out a little bit. I also feel like there’s less pressure to “perform” (I don’t know if that’s the right word), but since I’m learning and growing as a teacher, it now feels more like a playground where I can record, practice, upload, and see what feedback comes back, positive or negative. And I realize that the people (you know who you are) who subscribed and paid for the monthly Sol Space subscription wanted to support me, and part of me felt guilty for canceling the paid option. But there are other ways to support me!

I decided that instead of having the Zooms be completely free, they can be donation-based, more of a pay-what-you-can scenario, so YouTube can be free and accessible anytime, and for the Zooms you can even pay just $1! And eventually, when the studio here in Nicaragua opens, I can practice with more people, and maybe people will want to come on retreats with me, I don’t know!

All I know is that I’m really striving to be a betterperson and yoga teacher, and I feel like, especially in the world of social media, I can get so in my head and so confused about whether I’m doing the right thing or not. But then it circles back to imposter syndrome and Dharma, which I’m currently learning more about in my second 200-hour training with Alexandros Liatsos. Our Dharma is our individual life path, and our imposter syndrome will fade out the more we keep walking in our light and following the path that is meant for us.

This decision to move the online studio to being free has literally made me feel more free. I feel more excited to experiment with different classes and to align with what I authentically want to be as a yoga teacher.

Thank you again for being here and for listening to yet again, another ramble! 

With love and gratitude, 

Tori<3