In this workshop, we explore a part of teaching many yoga teachers overlook: the subtle stages through which something comes into being.
In yogic philosophy, creation is not random. It unfolds through three expressions of śakti that shape how ideas, classes, workshops, and whole bodies of work come to life. When teachers understand this rhythm, creativity becomes steadier, clearer, and far more grounded.
Creation begins with śakti
Within tantric philosophy, Śiva represents pure consciousness and potential. Śakti is the energy that animates that potential into form. In practical terms, this matters because teaching yoga is deeply creative work. Every class theme, sequence, workshop, retreat, and training begins as potential, then needs energy to become real.
This is where the three śaktis come in. They are icchā śakti, jñāna śakti, and kriyā śakti. Together, they describe how something moves from inspiration to embodiment.
Icchā śakti: the spark of desire
Icchā śakti is desire, impulse, longing, and the first spark of an idea. It is the moment something stirs.
In teaching, this may be the sense that you want to explore a certain theme, create a new event, or bring a new offering into your community. It is not yet the full plan. It is the inner pull.
This stage is often rushed. Teachers can either dismiss the idea too quickly or jump into action before it has had time to deepen. Yet desire needs space. Ideas need time to percolate. If they are pushed too soon, what gets created can feel thin or underdeveloped.
A useful question here is simple: what do I desire? Not what should I teach. Not what might perform well. What do I genuinely want to explore, experience, or share? Very often, that desire becomes the most alive and compelling seed for teaching.
Jñāna śakti: the wisdom that shapes the idea
Jñāna śakti is wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Once the spark is there, it needs form, reflection, and discernment.
In teaching, this means asking what you need to know in order to bring the idea to life well. Do you already have the knowledge to hold it? Does the idea need more research, more study, more planning, or a collaborator with different expertise? Is the concept strong enough yet, or is it still vague?
This stage is where ideas gain depth. It is also where teachers can get stuck. Some rush past wisdom and go straight into action with half formed ideas. Others stay in learning mode indefinitely, always studying, planning, and refining, but never actually creating.
Jñāna śakti is not there to trap you. It is there to strengthen what you are making.
Kriyā śakti: the action that makes it real
Kriyā śakti is action. It is the movement that takes an idea from the inner world into tangible reality.
This is where the class gets planned, the proposal gets written, the page goes live, the email gets sent, the venue gets booked, and the thing actually happens. Without kriyā śakti, even a beautiful idea with real depth stays imaginary.
This is often the stage where procrastination appears. The most helpful response is not to think about every future step at once. It is to ask: what is the next right step? Then take it.
Not the final step. Not the whole map. Just the next one.
That is what makes action possible.
How these three śaktis show up in real teaching
These three forces are not abstract. They appear in very practical ways.
A class sequence may begin with icchā śakti, a feeling, an image, a theme, or a desire to explore a part of practice. Jñāna śakti then asks what needs to be understood, refined, or supported in order to teach it well. Kriyā śakti is the actual sequencing, teaching, and delivery in the room.
The same is true for a workshop, a retreat, a training, or even a moment of decision while teaching. There may be a subtle impulse, then an inner knowing, then the action that follows.
Understanding this rhythm helps teachers stop forcing creativity. It also helps them notice where they tend to get stuck. Some stay in desire and never shape the idea. Some stay in learning and never move. Some rush into action before the work is ready.
Teaching becomes stronger when you honour the rhythm
There is a real intelligence in this sequence. Desire gives life. Wisdom gives clarity. Action gives form.
When teachers honour all three, their work becomes more conscious and more coherent. Ideas are no longer rushed, overthought, or abandoned. They are felt, understood, and then created.
That rhythm can shape not only your bigger offerings, but your weekly teaching too. A class can begin in desire, deepen through understanding, and land through action. So can your business.
Creation is not about waiting for the perfect idea or forcing constant output. It is about learning how to work with the energies already present within you.
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