There’s a delicate balance between teaching and learning; between giving instruction and taking over the task.

And it takes a nimble soul to figure out when to let someone falter or fail.

A student sent an email recently to make an appointment and I set the date we agreed upon.

The student followed up the next day asking where my office is located and I paused before responding.

I could easily take a few minutes and provide directions but decided that a teaching moment had arrived.

Better the student do the work oneself and find my office, which is as easy to discover as my email–which the student had already accomplished.

Recently a yoga teacher seized the teaching moment when a student asked him to repeat a stance. He did.

The student asked the teacher several more questions, which he answered patiently.

But when she asked the teacher to show her the stance again the teacher paused for a few heartbeats and said, no.

I’m not a monkey.

The teacher resumed class and the rest of us continued stretching. The student stopped asking questions.