You People Are Amazing!
Next month marks the third anniversary of me getting serious about yoga. I’ve had a lot of great yoga teachers in the past three years. Many of them have had a lasting impact on me on and off the mat.
Preston Scott is one that really stands out for me. I was a Saturday morning regular for Preston’s class when I lived in the Washington, DC area and was still very new to yoga. Preston moved to Florida a couple of years ago and, with his wife, Christen, opened a studio called The Power Yoga Tribe. From what I’ve seen on their web site, it looks like a great community.
One of the reasons why it would be is Preston’s presence. I’ve taken close to 1,000 yoga classes over the past three years and Preston’s rank among my all time favorites.
Every Saturday, Preston would totally kick your butt and have you loving every minute of it. He is this amazing package of motivation, challenge, inspiration, compassion and laugh out loud humor. He has his catch phrases. On those Saturdays, he was usually assisted in class by “the lovely Melissa” (who you can see doing a headstand next to me in the photo that accompanies this post). The Preston catch phrase I will always remember is “You people are amazing.” He had this highly attuned radar system that prompted him to say that with a unique mix of love, awe and good cheer that made you want to keep going when you felt like taking a few plays off.
In the hundreds of yoga classes I’ve been in since Preston’s his stand out because of the mindful presence and intention he brought to the room. I’ve written here before that leaders change the weather. Preston does that. He literally changes the energy in the room with what he says and does.
If you want to see a mindful leader in action, look him up the next time you’re in Jupiter, Florida.
In the meantime, on this Mindful Monday and every other day, what will you do to change the energy in the room through what you say and do?
And, by the way, you people are amazing!