A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.

~Thomas Merton

First Yoga Teaching Adventure

First off, let me tell you that I have NO prior teaching experience whatsoever. I mean, I taught my brother's boy scout troop how to do the Roger Rabbit when I was 12, but I'm not going to count that ( even though it was awesome). I may have mentioned before that after I started yoga teacher training, I quickly acquired an entirely new respect for all yoga teachers everywhere. It is a lot of work! Creating sequences for your classes and then adjusting them if they don't fit, picking out the right music for the style of class, giving your students the most succinct cues, helping with proper assistance in the poses, keeping students safe, giving directions and walking around at the same time while not actually doing the poses yourself, not getting the right and left sides mixed up- for heaven's sake, it is crazy how much work, coordination, and effort goes in to this endeavor- not to mention, keeping classes fresh and new every time and speaking for an entire hour to an hour and a half pretty much non-stop!

OK... maybe it's because I don't have much teaching experience, I'm somewhat lazy and, even though I love being social, I don't really consider myself an extrovert or enjoy the thought of public speaking. Well, that's not true- I actually don't mind public speaking because I can use notes; using notes to teach a yoga class is practically unheard of and I imagine, heavily "frowned upon". I've never actually experienced a teacher using notes in class myself but it seems like it would definitely be no bueno.

 I had my first teaching experience last week. I was more nervous than I think I've ever been in the history of my existence, but one of the greatest lessons teacher training has taught me is that doing the things that I fear the most usually produces the strongest and most satisfying sense of fulfillment and reward. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what I want to do with my life, this is my passion. I can feel it in the depths of my pelvic floor, my root chakra, my uddiyana bandha- whatever you want to call it- I have a knowing like I've never had before that this... is... it! So am I going to let a little (ok maybe more than a little...a lot more) fear stop me? HELL NO!!! 

I prepared as best I could, said a little prayer before the class, then I went in there and did my thing. Time flew by like I had never experienced before, I could not believe when I looked up at the clock, that an hour had passed and we were almost done! After class, the students did not rush up and regale me with how amazing my teaching was and say that it had changed their lives forever (as I had secretly fantasized about in the deep recesses of my colorful imagination) but I did get some good feedback- some very positive feedback actually. One person also told me that I sounded like I was nervous...which I was. Ok- I can work on that, but the best realization I received from the overall experience was that I didn't have to have the positive feedback to feel ok about how I taught. I knew in my heart I did the best I could and I felt great about it. It is my hope that the students enjoyed the class and left feeling more centered, calm, and relaxed, but ultimately- I have no control over their experience. All I can do is be the best teacher I possibly can and attempt to relay my love, appreciation, and knowledge of Yoga to others in the most effective way possible for them. It's not about me at all actually, it's about helping the students have an experience with Yoga that will ultimately bring them closer to their true selves. After class was over, I felt like I was walking on sunshine, floating on marshmallow clouds and riding a pink unicorn in a glitter-filled sky (their goes the ole imagination again) and all I could think about was how I could not wait to do it again!!! Finally... finally, after years and years of searching and wondering and waiting, I feel like I'm doing what I was born to do. Let the journey continue...

via YogaDork

Yoga Teacher Training Finals!

Well my friends, the day has arrived!!! I have my final yoga teaching exam today at Prana Yoga Center and graduation is tomorrow evening! I am so excited, thrilled and beyond eager to start teaching after I get my certification. Enrolling in yoga teacher training is probably the BEST life decision I have ever made and I can say that with full knowledge and confidence of everything I have accomplished in life thus far. I'm not one of those people who has known from a very young age what she wanted to do. In fact, I have NEVER been sure of what my passion was, until now- Yoga is it for me. I finally feel as if I have a purpose and there is no grander feeling in the world. Today I dedicate my practice to all those in the world searching for their purpose- that they may discover a world of opportunity, creativity, imagination and abundance in their life's passion and that they find it right when they need it the most. I would LOVE to hear about your life's passion and purpose as well if you would like to share!

Wish me luck today, I don't think we say "break a leg" in the yoga world but I think "break a sweat" would be completely appropriate! :)

My teacher helping me in Pincha Mayurasana or forearm balance.

How Yoga Affects Your Life - Ahimsa and the Yoga Diet with Kino MacGregor

Natural Flow

"Your mind's ability is limited in the way it thinks about itself, by the way you think about you. The process of Yoga is one of undoing the obstructions and limitations in your body and mind that inhibit the free flow of the creative life force." 

~Erich Schiffman

My Boycott Against Lululemon Ends in Happily Ever After

Well, here's another one for the "things I used to hate but now love" list.  I think I've had a grudge against Lululemon from the beginning, that is- when I learned how expensive their athletic wear was, in combination with the fact that it seemed EVERY single woman in my yoga classes was wearing head to toe Lululemon. 

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I'm kind of a rebel- at least in my own head. If "everyone's doing it", I want to do the opposite. Sort of like a reverse peer pressure I suppose, or just being a brat, more likely. So I've been living high on the hog (or in this case, low on the hog) and buying my yoga wear on sale at Marshall's and Target, with a few pieces from Sport Chalet which the hubs gifted me for Christmas. All the while thinking- take THAT Lululemon- my yoga wear is just as good and 1/4 of the price!!! Ha! 

Then it happened... I actually tried on a pair of their yoga pants last week for the first time and my resolve melted like hot fudge on an ice cream sundae. I have to admit it- Lululemon has THE. BEST. YOGA. PANTS. EVERRRRR. I don't even want to say that but I have to because it's the truth! They are insanely comfortable, the fit is perfection, the coverage is total- meaning no one can see through the pants (a fact I discovered about certain pairs of my yoga pants a little later in the game than I would have liked) and they make my bum look PHE-NOM-EN-AL. When I turned around and looked in the mirror in the dressing room, I had to do a double take because the vision of what I remembered my bum looking like was now a lifted, plumper and perkier version of it's former self. 

Lululemon, you had me at "OMG- that's MY butt?" Game over. I bought three pairs. 

The first, must-have purchase was the cropped Wunder Under  a basic cropped pant that fits like a glove and feels like a second skin.

image via Lululemon.com

the second is the Will Pant- a full length stretch pant with pockets and a higher rise (perfect for my long torso) that can also be folded over. These are SO comfortable that you will want to sleep in them and wear them all the time (and maybe you will for the first week or 2 because you're so excited but that's totally ok because you can do whatever you want- you spent $98 on these friggin' pants!)

image via Lululemon.com

Then to top it off, just for fun, I also bought the Wunder Under Crop *Special Edition which is exactly like the first pair only with a little extra length at the bottom that also houses a secret pocket for cards, keys and/or a phone supposedly- but I haven't tried that yet. All Wunder Unders have a secret pocket in the lining of the waistband as well, and you know how much I love secret pockets!

image via Lululemon.com

Lululemon- I'm pretty sure you have officially ruined me for any other yoga pant for the rest of my life. I spent about $260 ($68, $98, and $78 respectively- with tax) on these three pairs of pants, and I can honestly say without regret, it was the best investment I've made in a while! 

Happy First Friday of Spring Everyone!!!

Xo,

Abby

Learning to Unlearn

If there is one thing I've learned thus far in my Yoga Teacher Training, it's how much I don't know. Not only in Yoga, but in life. I have been broken open as far as thinking that my knowledge is enough. It is just a beginning of a long journey of unlearning what I thought was "right" and settling in to being comfortable in the unknown. This is a process I can't quite wrap my mind around yet, but feel in my heart and soul is true. I once heard a statement (from Marianne Williamson I believe), "In my defenselessness, my safety lies." Every time I repeat this mantra, I feel a little more at peace. I no longer feel the need to fight or defend, to argue or debate, to compete or have the desire to win. I have been through enough trauma and pain for this lifetime, to continue to beat myself up as I have. I just want to be open and absorb the good things left in this world- the simple things. Sunrises, sunsets, true friendship, genuine love, honesty at any cost, learning to love myself after years of being my own worst enemy- these are the things that matter most to me now. 

"You can enter yoga, or the path of yoga, only when you are totally frustrated with your own mind as it is. If you are still hoping that you can gain something through your mind, yoga is not for you."

~Osho

via dailycupofyoga.com