Exciting news: I’m going to be a yoga teacher!
I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for about 10 years. After my first knee surgery at 14, my mom signed us up for a set of classes through our local rec center. I hated it: I had such a hard time slowing down, controlling my breathing, stopping my mind from racing. I took yoga as my phys ed elective in high school, and received a B: mostly because I skipped too many classes (it was my last semester of senior year!), but also because I just couldn’t take something so slow too seriously–I was an athlete! I took classes off and on through college, but it wasn’t until I spent a month in Bali doing yoga almost every day in early 2012 that I really grasped how life-changing it could be.
Since moving to New York, yoga has become an essential part of my life. It’s been a place where I can escape the chaos and the crowds, the pressure and the priorities: 60 or 90 minutes of being able to focus on nothing but the flow and an ending shivasana of pure, quiet calmness. It’s made me stronger, physically and mentally: able to summon serenity with the same ease of moving through sun salutations. It’s how I discovered the joys of silence and the power of meditation; I’ve made friends and been inspired on weekend retreats in the Berkshires. One of my favorite date nights is hot yoga; one of my favorite weekend activities with my roommate is a vinyasa flow followed by breakfast burritos and fresh juice.
I’ve been interested in doing a yoga teacher training for a while. Primarily, I love the idea of deepening my own practice: proper alignment, Sanskrit definitions, how to sequence a flow. It’s been a while since I’ve actively educated myself: not since college have I had homework, required reading, an obligation to learn. Now that the seed has been planted, I’m intrigued by the possibility of actually teaching classes: perhaps in the yoga-saturated culture of Brooklyn, perhaps in leading retreats. I’d love to be able to to contribute to the non-profit Yoga Across America: their project Yoga in the Park is one of my favorite things about my hometown.
While I was in the Berkshires, I came across a journal entry from last summer in which I said I wanted to complete a yoga teacher training by January 2015. It was then I realized that there was no reason to keep putting it off, that there was never going to be a perfect time to commit. It was never going to be fewer than 200 hours, it was never going to be less expensive. I have money in savings, I have an incredibly supportive network, I’m healthy and happy and as ready as I’ll ever be. I write a lot about following your dreams and doing what makes you happy: I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t follow through.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m embarking on the path to becoming a yoga teacher, starting tonight. If all goes as planned: I’ll have completed a 200-hour advanced studies program by mid-June. It’s an incredibly intensive four-month program in which I give up many, many weekends: the ultimate sacrifice for my traveling heart. But it feels right, right now–and I’m looking forward to sharing this particular journey.
