Are you interested in becoming a yoga teacher? Read my story about why I became a yoga teacher, and learn why yoga is needed now more than ever.
I’m glad I listened to my inner voice that day I thought about going to my very first yoga class at a YMCA. I was so over my long, stressful commute, and I really needed a way to let go of the tension that a nine-hour workday at a desk job can bring.
A thought popped up into my mind: You should try a yoga class tonight.
I looked at the nearest and next class, and found one to attend.
On the night of that first yoga class, I walked onto my mat with an open mind and off my mat with an open heart.
As I listened to the instructions and guidance of the yoga teacher, I felt like she was teaching directly to me. I had never before moved in a way that connected my breath to my thoughts to my movement, and I wanted this class to go on forever.
The last pose in most traditional yoga classes is Savasana (Relaxation Pose), which is the ultimate resting pose and a transition from the yoga practice back to daily life.
As I was about to transition out of my very first Savasana, I felt an inner knowing that I would one day teach yoga, that this yoga path and me were meant to be. This inner knowing was the same one that gently guided me to class that night.
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That night, I read my horoscope in the Chicago Sun-Times as I always did, and it referenced yoga!
I knew the feelings I was feeling were real: I wanted to become a yoga teacher. This was a can’t-miss sign from the universe.
As the weeks and months went on, I attended more classes, began an at-home yoga practice, and researched yoga styles and yoga schools.
The more I learned about yoga, the more I wanted to share it with the world. I was so enthusiastic and excited to learn more about this beautiful practice.
That was more than 15 years ago before smartphones were ever in the hands of, well, everyone. Since then, I have become a yoga teacher and the world has only become busier with more distractions. Yoga is needed now more than ever.
A 2016 study by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance found that more than 36 million people practice yoga in the U.S. That number continues to rapidly increase as the fast pace of our busy lives bombards us with more stress than anyone should ever have to handle.
My intention for becoming a yoga teacher today is the same intention I set when I became a yoga teacher in 2011: Inspire others to live well by building better balance and boundaries.
I am proud and honored to be a part of the yoga community—a community that encourages you to step into a renewed, connected version of yourself both on and off the yoga mat—and a practice that inspires awareness, mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, kindness, thoughtfulness, curiosity, compassion, courage and love. So much love.
Yoga teaches us to do the inner work—the most important work of our lives.
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