Reading about the experiences of others in the Teacher
Training program, I must admit that I am somewhat envious of the early exposure
to yoga that some individuals received. My household was more of a Jane Fonda
workout kind of environment and the only thing my mother ever told me about
yoga was that she had tried it once and found it incredibly boring (ironically,
she became a convert to the joys of yoga about a year ago).
As a result of my lack of early exposure to yoga, I did not
encounter and experiment with it until my early twenties. And I am somewhat
abashed to admit that it was mainly a matter of economy that originally brought
me to the yoga mat instead of some other form of exercise. At the time, I was a
cash-strapped young person and most of the studios offered a free first class.
Well, the word “free” had a Pavlovian effect on my friends so the next thing I
knew, I was buying an only slightly irregular pair of discount sweatpants (I’m
pretty sure this was before the term “yoga pants” had been coined) and hitting
a circuit of introductory classes.
As I visited a variety of studios and experienced a few
different styles of yoga, I felt my interest building and there is one class in
particular that stands out for me. The instructor had asked us to lay on our
back with the bottoms of our feet pressed into the wall. She then had us do a
series of stretches with one of the legs and then place our feet back against
the wall. What I discovered upon doing this was that one of my legs now
actually seemed longer than the other. I was amazed at this. It made me feel
like I had some sort of control over my body – a sensation that I had little
familiarity with at that point.
Throughout the years, yoga was always in my life but always
on the back burner. I never had enough time to go to classes, enough money; it
didn’t fit into my schedule etc. Then as my life became more hectic, more
filled with work and kids and stress, I realized that yoga needed to be brought
forward to the front burner. Only by making a practice such as yoga a priority
would I be able to gain back a feeling of control over my life. By making my
practice a priority, I was making my self a priority.
It is my hope that through teaching, I will be able to help
others to find the love of yoga and the connection with their true selves that
I myself have experienced. Don’t get me wrong: my personal practice still has a
long ways to go. But helping others to strive for deeper and more complete
poses without “pushing” themselves will also help me to be kinder and more
forgiving of myself, I believe.
As of this fall, I will be starting a volunteer position
teaching a Beginner’s class at a local Family Centre. It is an undertaking
about which I feel excited, but also very nervous. However, in the same way that I knew it was
time to pursue my interest in yoga more seriously, I know that it is now time
to step forward and give teaching a try. For if there is no progress forward,
then there is only stagnation, inertia, and ultimately, discontent. If I hadn’t
donned those irregular, discount yoga sweats so many years ago then I would
never have learned how much I love yoga and, likewise, unless I give teaching a
try, I’ll never know if it’s something that works for me.
Wish me luck.
Namaste.
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