After a lot of back and forth, I’m proud to say I’m finally going for my Yoga teaching certification. One weekend a month for ten months I will meet at Yama Yoga, a quaint gem of a studio, with a small group of eager minds to explore gravity-defying poses, anatomical prowess, and spiritual receptivity.
Then I will be unleashed into the world, ready to complete my new mission…Yoga’s for everyone.
No, really. It is.
I feel that Yoga is for everyone just as dance is for everyone, because we are humans, and humans were designed to move. Instead we spend the majority of our time sitting in front of a computer.
Hey, I’m guilty, too. Writing novels, manning social media fronts, and spearheading a blog make me a stationary perpetrator on the grandest scale.
More than ever it is important for us to move. Often scheduling that time in the form of a class is the only way we can commit. The beauty of a mat and bare feet? They’re portable.
The idea of Yoga may cause you to roll your eyes. I get it. I used to think the inner peace mumbo-jumbo was just a hoax myself.
I discovered Yoga about ten years ago when my mother encouraged me to take class with her in Forth Worth, Texas. Being in my early college years, there was some major eye-rolling on my part.
Despite my flexibility and agility, being a dancer actually worked against me in Yoga. No more turning out, only parallel. No more floor traveling, only stationary on a mat. It felt wrong.
And, meditation at the end of class? Talk about squirmy! My mind raced thinking about everything else but the now, and 5-10 minutes was about a century long.
Nonetheless, every time I left class I felt different. There was no denying it. Without bothering to be fully engaged, my mind, against my will, felt calm and clear.
A lifelong dancer and instructor, in recent years my body responded to dance like it was on cruise control. Movement began to lose its direction, circling around and around a cul-de-sac. In dance classes, I became antsy and wandering, just like when I was a college kid with a bad case of the Namaste wiggles.
Yet this time it was different…it was burnout.
So, I revisited Yoga. I have been consistently practicing, enjoying countless emotional and physical benefits along the way.
An impatient person, I have to work hard every day to overcome anxiety and stress. It doesn’t come easily for me. My high energy and drive are great for kicking ass, not great when it comes to sitting still. Yoga challenges me to face my weaknesses head on, cultivating them into strengths.
This is when I started thinking about sharing my unrequited love for Yoga with others. And a teacher was born.
My goals as a Yoga teacher will be the same as I have for dance: check the negativity at the door and leave inspired. Yoga is for everyone in my opinion: young or old, active or inactive, spiritual or skeptical.
Stress, whether instigated by external or internal elements, surrounds us one way or another. Yoga encourages us to search ourselves, something we don’t take the time to do when we’re rushing from point A to point B.
I strongly believe if we, as individuals, are happy and peaceful, the world will become the same way. Just as fear and negativity are powerful influences, so are hope and positivity.
If you haven’t tried Yoga, I hope you’ll reconsider. It’s nothing but good.
Britt Skrabanek 
I can vouch for yoga through personal experience. It is beautiful. I was forced to do it when nothing else cured my cervical spondylosis. Now I’m stuck on to it!
At first, it seems unbelievable to experience so many benefits. But, it’s true. I’m happy to hear Yoga has helped you. : )
You go girl! Congrats and namaste to you;) I love doing yoga. I reccomend it for a lot of my clients. So good for you inside and out.
Thank you! I’m excited to start the program this weekend. I’ve been thinking about it for so long…sometimes you just have to do what feels right! : )
You’ll make an amazing yoga instructor! Hope I get to take one of your classes some day! All the best with your course x
Thanks, Jess! I am super stoked to get started. And, yes…one day you’ll have to come take a class. : )
A gyroscope. Balance.
Absolutely!
This sounds exciting. You and I chatted a bit about Yoga on one of my posts a while back. I still haven’t started 😦 but I am trying to sneak it into my schedule so that I can do it on a regular basis. What I want to avoid is only being able to do it one day here, another day there, etc.
Good luck with your training!
Yes, I remember! I was going to suggest morning, because the end of day can be tough for people. Then, I remembered you write at 4am, so maybe not! : )
You know I’m about as hyper as they come, and even I appreciate yoga now. My contribution to the world is that’s when I shut my trap and silence my neuroticisms for 90 minutes. The world says thank you!
You will be so inspiring in this endeavor as you are in everything else – it’s a good thing I love you, or else I’d totally hate on you. 😉 xoxo
Yes, the world is in gratitude when I stop spazzing as well. Thanks for the sweet encouragement, nkv! xoxoxo!
Well done for getting you teaching certification. I love yoga and yoga teachers always look so young and nimble no matter how old they are! Just goes to prove how good it is for you 🙂
Yoga is the best! And, cheers to looking young and nimble, right? : )
“I used to think the inner peace mumbo-jumbo was just a hoax myself.”
That’s pretty much how I viewed yoga as well – until I tried it, during (of course) a trip to the West Coast in Canada. Now I’m hooked!
Good luck on the teaching !
I think a lot of people feel that way until they try it, or until they’re in the right place to appreciate it. Glad you’re a Yoga addict, too! : )
That’s so great that you’re going to do that! I practice meditation but never really got into yoga (maybe your posts will encourage me to try again). Good luck with the program!
Thanks, Letizia! Meditation is so important. There are many different types of Yoga…maybe you haven’t found the right one yet.
That’s so true – I need to learn more about the different types so I know which one would be best for me.
I did Tai Chi for a while and really liked it but it was only taught at 6:30 in the morning and, well, that didn’t really work for me as a long term routine 🙂
Ouch…6:30 is killer! I consider myself a morning person, but not THAT kind of morning person. Jeepers!
Congrats – this is awesome! Yoga is seriously the “chill-out” perscription. Kudos to you 🙂
Thank you! Yoga is one of the few things that keeps me sane. : )
If you love yoga, you will love the book A Life Worth Breathing, it (and yoga) changed my life! I highly suggest it! Good luck with your teaching!
Thanks for the suggestion. Just added it to my Goodreads list…I’ll check it out after my training so I can give it my full attention. Gotta get through these other 13 books first. : )