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.

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

Yoga Teacher Training

Finally! A moment to breathe, meditate and reflect on the adventure that is yoga teacher training thus far, these are some of the notes I've taken from the first week...

Day 1: 

Exhilarating, exciting and a little scary. Didn't realize how much time, effort, and commitment (aka- discipline- an area I tend to fall short in) this would take... but I need this challenge. Having never been able to finish anything in my life- I am diving into this journey head first, acknowledging that it will be tough at times, knowing that I will want to quit but committing to staying present throughout and meeting the trials with honesty and awareness.

Day 2/3:

Wondering...can I do this? We've already started "practice teaching" each other in class and it is incredibly intimidating. I don't know what I was expecting but it appears as if I am not a "natural"- if there even is such a thing. I start giggling, laughing and apologizing when I get the cues wrong and/or completely forget the instructions altogether. It's more difficult than I imagined to coordinate the breath with movement and to remember what posture comes next (let alone which side of the body) when I'm not actually performing the sequence myself.

I find myself feeling uncomfortable when attempting to do adjustments (helping people correct their alignment by putting my hands on them to guide them into the best way to hold a posture to accomodate their individual bodies) but realize how healing and important they are for students, myself included- I love adjustments. I'm afraid of doing something wrong, hurting someone or knocking them over (something I almost did while adjusting another trainee).

Fear, it's all just fear...which only exists in my mind and is not real. I need to remember to tune in to my intuition, tune in to what the student needs. Let God guide me rather than my fearful ego.


Day 4:


I am humbly reminded of how important breath is in the Vinyasa yoga practice- of course I've always known this but putting it into practice and fully utilizing my Ujjayi breathing throughout the entire class is a different story. It's all goes back to mindfulness and discipline once again.

"Vinyasa" means combining breath with movement, so for every inhale and exhale there is a movement that follows- a chaturanga, upward facing dog, downward facing dog, etc., unless holding a particular posture for several breaths. This sounds easy in theory but in practice, if I am not mindful, I find myself breathing completely out of sequence and getting out of breath because I'm actually holding my breath when I don't even realize it or attempting to do a pose that I want to do but probably shouldn't because my breathing is labored. The breath should be slow, even and steady throughout.

Lesson learned- in order to get the most out of my yoga practice (and this teacher training for that matter), my ego is going to have to take a backseat. Once again, I'm reminded that slow and steady wins the race...or in this case, gets to practice a lifetime of healthy yoga without injury.

A quote from one of my textbooks that pretty much sums it up for me..."Yoga is an ancient science of health for the physical body and balance for the mind and emotions that provides the foundation for the spiritual journey whose destination is self-knowledge."

Let the spiritual journey continue...

via Google Images