Praise & Criticism

A few days ago, I read a great, sweet, honest online review of my Warrior Flow class from a new student. (No, I won't share it!) Of course reading a good review made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day.

But then I remembered the times when I received reviews that weren't warm and fuzzy at all. In fact they were kind of stinky and left me feeling like you know what for a few hours.

Criticism (constructive or not / sweet or not) is always challenging to accept. When it comes to online reviews, it's especially challenging because you don't know who else might be reading it. It's out there in the public domain. But that's part of what comes when you put yourself out there as a teacher or a writer or a public figure of any kind. You have to have a thick enough skin not to let the negative reviews get you down, while being open enough to let some of the light in from the positive ones.


I'm thinking that the next time I get that notification email telling me I've been "rated" or "reviewed," I might just simply take a few deep breaths, send some loving thoughts out to whoever wrote it, and click delete without reading it. Just keep doing my thing and listening to my students and to my intuition. Those are the voices that matter most.

What do you do when it comes to praise and criticism?

Adrian Molina is a yoga teacher, writer and meditation practitioner living in New York City. He developed the Warrior Flow style of yoga and teaches at Equinox fitness centers, in private sessions, and at retreats. He shares inspiration and teachings frequently on his web site Warrior Flow, his Facebook page, and his Twitter feed.