How doing Yoga in my PJ’s became my second career

At 5:30 a.m. everyday for over 20 years, I rolled out of bed, went into my spare room and put on a VHS tape (now DVDs) to practice yoga and meditation.  If you are not a morning person, you’re probably saying “ahhhh I’d rather just roll over and go back to sleep.” 

What possessed me to perform this practice daily? It was the fact that I had three significant surgeries within four years and two major car accidents. One accident was before the surgeries and the other was afterwards.  I wasn’t able to lift weights, play sports, or perform major household chores. It was particularly demoralizing for me. In my grade 6 P.E. class, I was introduced to the practice of yoga and fell in love with it immediately. What I loved was that it was gentle and soft yet challenging at the same time. Yoga healed me physically and allowed me to participate in the activities that I couldn’t partake in before. Then I took up the practice of meditation and that just sealed the deal for me. Meditating allowed me to complete the healing - mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Because it healed me, I added becoming a yoga teacher to my bucket list, although I thought of it as just a pipe dream. I hung onto the peace and sacredness of my private practice even though I had the desire to teach.  Then I began taking yoga classes to expose myself to different modalities and deepen my practice. Once in class, not only did I learn more but I also found a community of like-minded individuals. With lots of encouragement from my yoga teachers and friends, I overcame my fear took the plunge. .

Teaching yoga and meditation has forced me to learn a totally different language. Yoga is a language of love, a way of being. Watching students take off their layers of stress, relax into the postures, and increase their flexibility is incredibly rewarding. I’m thankfully that I have my home practice and my teaching that have helped keep me grounded through the many peaks and valleys of daily living.

Becoming a yoga teacher is quite an achievement for the girl who still loves doing yoga in her PJ’s!!!