The Responsibility of the Teacher
Why Leading Sacred Work Requires Embodiment, Not Just Charisma
There is a moment on the path where you realize:
It’s not enough to know the words.
Not enough to memorize the script.
Not enough to “look the part,” speak well or gather a following.
Because when you step into the seat of the teacher – the guide, the mentor, the facilitator – you are holding fire.
And fire can either burn… or illuminate.
Not Everyone Who Can Teach… Should.
I know that’s an edgy thing to say. But if we’re being honest, haven’t you felt it too?
The abundance of “certified” teachers who don’t feel safe to be around. The mentors with beautifully branded programs… but no inner integration. The leaders who can teach the chakras… but haven’t transmuted a single one in their own lives.
It’s fairly easy to complete a certification program. It’s easy to buy the course. It’s easy to string together the lingo and sell a vibe in-person or online.
But true stewardship of sacred work is not something you purchase. It is something you live.
Leadership in Spiritual Work Isn’t About Being Seen
…It’s about how deeply you’re willing to see yourself.
The ability to sit with your own shadows.
The courage to confront your patterns.
The willingness to dismantle your projections and take radical responsibility for your impact.
Because if you haven’t done that work…
You will inevitably leak harm even with the best of intentions.
Unintegrated teachers don’t just stall healing, they distort it.
They unconsciously center themselves. Or create co-dependence with their students.
Or model nervous system dysregulation as leadership.
This perpetuates a shallow, performative spirituality that looks/sounds good… but leaves people starving.
This is not a judgment. This is a call to maturity and authenticity.
Charisma Is Not Capacity
Charisma can attract people. Charisma can fill a room. Charisma can get you paid.
But charisma without integrity is dangerous in spiritual work.
Because people don’t come to teachers with just curiosity. They come with vulnerability. With trauma. With wounds they don’t even know how to name yet.
And if you haven’t been trained to hold that…
If you haven’t built the nervous system to stay grounded in intensity…
If you haven’t sat in the fire of your own work for years…
Then you are not yet ready to hold others in theirs.
And that’s okay. But it needs to be named.
This Path Is Not a Performance, It’s a Pilgrimage
Being a teacher is not an identity.
It’s not a role you step into and brand yourself around.
Teaching is a living devotion.
Living the work before you ever teach it.
Walking with reverence before you ever hold the mic.
Staying in the seat of the student… even when you're guiding the room.
I’ve been leading retreats, trainings, and facilitator mentorship for almost a decade.
And I’m still unlearning.
Still deepening.
Listening.
Grieving where I didn’t know better in the past.
Sitting deeply in my own seat as student. A seat I forever plan to have.
Because this path asks everything of you.
Not to be perfect. But to be present.
Not to be polished. But to be honest.
Not to be followed. But to be responsible.
The Invitation to Real Teachers (and Those Becoming)
If you’ve read this far, I know something about you.
You care.
You’ve seen the distortion.
You’ve probably felt disillusioned.
You’ve likely had to step away from spaces that looked “right”… but didn’t feel true.
Maybe you’re a new teacher wondering how to do this differently.
Maybe you’re an experienced guide feeling the pressure to keep up with trends that don’t resonate.
Maybe you’re not teaching yet but you know you’re being called… and you want to be ready.
To all of you, I say this:
May you choose depth over display.
Embodiment over aesthetics.
Devotion over dopamine.
Sacred responsibility over spiritual performance.
Because this work is holy.
And it deserves more than just charisma.
It deserves teachers who are living the truth they’re here to teach.
Are You Leading with Embodiment?
Take some time to reflect by meditating with these prompts:
Am I living the practices I offer?
Can I hold others without making it about me?
Do I understand trauma, power, consent, and nervous system regulation?
Am I committed to ongoing integrity and refinement?
Do I still sit in the seat of the student?
If not, it’s not a failure. Actually, the opposite. Instead, you’ve just accessed powerful feedback.
Authentic awareness; awareness that is the doorway back to devotion.
Want to Learn to Lead From Integrity?
If you’re ready to deepen your path as a teacher, space holder or true trauma-informed facilitator, explore my work:
ShaktiSOMA™ Facilitator Mentorship – a space of real training, somatic depth, trauma-informed guidance and devotional leadership
The Feminine Remembering Retreat – our gateway experience into this lineage
The Sanctuary – An entry-point for all. Join our unique online community for embodied living & sacred study (free first month for new members!)
