The Art of Compassion: Feeding the Lotus Within

By a Yoga Teacher, for Yoga Teachers

Reading time: 2 minutes

As yoga teachers, we are often seen as the keepers of calm, the givers of light, the ones who hold space for others. Yet in this offering, we can forget to hold space for the most important being in our practice ourselves.

The mantra HOM MANI PADME HUM is not just a chant. It’s a reminder. The jewel of awakening rests in the lotus of our heart. This sacred lotus doesn’t bloom from receiving alone it blooms from being fed, nurtured, and honored by the one whose heart it lives in. You.

Imagine your heart space as a vibrant lotus, resting gently on a calm pool of inner stillness. You are the sun, and your self compassion is the light that allows that lotus to bloom. Not by striving. Not by performing. But by simply being present, patient, and accepting with yourself.

When we cultivate compassion for ourselves not driven by guilt or expectation but by love we unlock the true art of compassionate presence. A compassion that is free from attachment. Free from the reward. It becomes like the subtle scent of a blooming lotus, carried on the breeze through the valley. You don’t need to shout it. You don’t need to prove it. It’s felt, sensed, and received by those around you. Quietly. Powerfully.

We can’t change the whole world. But we can change our world: our own nervous system, our responses, our corner of the studio, the way we greet a student, or the way we rest our own head on the mat when the room is empty.

HOM MANI PADME HUM - The Jewel in the Lotus

As yoga teachers, compassion is not just an offering outward it’s an inner practice. It’s in the way we recognize and sit with our samskaras; our deeply carved patterns. It’s in the way we witness our habits and ancestral learnings and say "I see you, I honor you, and I choose differently today."

Working with our inner patterns is like weaving light into shadow. As we do this work, we fill ourselves with understanding, gentleness, and truth. And from that fullness, compassion overflows naturally not as a performance, but as a presence.

Like in Garudasana Eagle Pose we cross, we bind, we twist, but from within that intensity comes clear, focused vision. Compassion for ourselves gives us that same clarity. It allows us to see others as they are, not as we need them to be. And from that space, our teachings become more authentic. Our boundaries more sacred. Our rest more restorative. Our “no” more loving.

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Let this be your reminder, dear teacher:

You are the sun. Your heart is the lotus.

Feed your own light.

Let your compassion bloom for you,

and trust that its fragrance will reach farther than you know.

In breath, in truth, in compassion.

Your heart. Your practice. Your jewel in the lotus.