The Gift of Both Praise and Criticism

On Sunday I was walking through the Minchinbury Bunnings with my family, on a very specific mission: cut keys, buy batteries, and grab some garden soil.

Both girls were in the middle of “sharing” a mini trolley, and as you can imagine, the trolley negotiations were not going smoothly. The eldest had claimed victory in this round, but another trolley was just being returned, so I dashed over so that our family could now be blessed with two mini trolleys.

In the middle of my trolley quest, a lady who was on the phone stopped me.

She asked if I was the owner of Nin Yoga.

I’ve never gotten used to this question. For some reason, my brain always jumps to, “Oh no, am I in trouble?”

But instead, she went on to tell me she had done just one class at our studio, at a really hard time in her life. She said she often thinks about that class and wanted to thank me for everything I do.

Of course, I was extra awkward in my reply. I asked her name, thanked her for sharing, and then blurted something like, “I’m just a normal person!” (What does that even mean? Cringe).

But afterwards, I thought about her words.

She was going through a hard time. She did one class. Just one.

And it made a difference.

How incredible is that? That even a single class can shift something inside a person.

It reminded me that so many people are quietly going through hard times. Some speak openly and share with whoever will listen. Others keep it tucked away, protecting others from their pain.

This reflection came at the same time we just celebrated our 8th birthday over the weekend. Our St Marys studio opened on the 20th of September 2017, and we marked the occasion with free classes, treats, and a brand-new Gratitude Garden wall—where students wrote down what they’re thankful for.

We saw new faces, familiar ones, and even old friends who had helped me build the St Mary's studio all those years ago (throwback to one of the many, many days they helped with the build pictured below).

But here’s the truth: not everyone has fallen in love with us over the years. We’ve had plenty of people who didn’t resonate with Nin Yoga—for their own reasons. In the early days, I took it so personally. I’d stay up all night trying to figure out what to say back to a complaint, or ugly cry in the car after packing up class.

Now, I see it differently.

Those people were just as important as the ones who stayed.
They taught me who we do not serve. And that’s ok.

In life, and especially when building a community, not everyone will like you. Some might even actively dislike you. Some may even reply to your email with exclamation marks about how much you suck.

To those people too—I say thank you.

Because in their own way, they’ve helped shape this community as much as anyone else.

Annika xx