In my last post, How I Found the Time, Money, and Courage to Become a Yoga Teacher, I spoke about the three factors that stalled my pursuit of certification and the changes that allowed me to overcome them. But even before time, money, and courage were an issue, there was that moment during my own yoga practice where I said, "Wow, I want to share this with people." Let's talk about it.
Inspiration
With ten years of practicing yoga, I have come across some amazing yoga instructors. One in particular, named Mark, made me think about teaching for the first time. He was so kind, talented and full of knowledge and very early on, he realized that my knees and feet were different from the average and always made a point of providing modifications for me.
For someone who has genu valgum or knocked knees, there were many times where I felt yoga wasn't for me, but his suggestions always made me feel like, "Nope. Yoga is for you too." That meant so much to me, and from there, I knew if ever I were to teach, I wanted to be like Mark, providing impactful adjustments and modifications for people of different bodies. I would do everything in my power to make everyone in my room feel that yoga practice was accessible to them.
Yoga and My Mental Health
Having moved in 2016 and starting a new job in 2018, finding a studio with class times that worked with my schedule became difficult. In no time at all, I began to see the effects of not taking yoga classes. Due to an increased amount of stress and unpleasantness experienced in the workplace and a new lack of time, I became quite unhappy. But whenever I found myself on the mat, whether at home or a studio, for 15 minutes or an hour, I felt good.
The more time I spent at that job, the more I desired to be on my mat, and finding myself back there was motivation enough to make it a priority for me. Having left that environment to now dedicate my time to building a yoga practice worthy of sharing with others who may be experiencing the same thing is beyond meaningful for me. Stress truly eats away at our minds, bodies, and spirits. Yoga, in its many forms, brings it back together.
Yoga Beyond Asana
Speaking of yoga in its many forms, many may not know that yoga is not just asana. Asana is Sanskrit (an ancient language of India) for posture or poses. In the Western world, yoga is predominantly asana, which is the movement of the body through various postures. But yoga is so much more than asana. We'll discuss this in another post, but two parts that are well known but barely practiced in studios here in the U.S. are pranayama and meditation.
Being exposed to the benefits of various pranayama and meditation practices has inspired me to share them with those who are open to it. Asana is great, you will never hear me say otherwise, as movement in itself is a form of meditation, but yoga isn't just asana. It truly is so much more.
The Journey, Overall
Getting to this point in my yoga practice where I feel empowered to share the tools that have helped me evolve into this version of myself is such a gift. It wasn't something I necessarily planned for; I wanted it, but wanting it and having it meet you halfway is magical. When I made the decision to pursue sharing my yoga practice with children, it happened so easily. Almost too easily, I still question it sometimes. Then, before I knew it, I was off to India to become certified to teach adults, and here I am, sharing my yoga practice with people of all ages and shapes. I am so fortunate and grateful to still be a student of yoga but also a teacher of yoga as well.
Tell me, where are you in your yoga journey? Are you a yoga student? Yoga instructor? Both? Neither? Let's talk about it.
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