I am that girl. You know the one who moves across the country for love. I soon found out that Los Angeles is very different from Cleveland, OH. It took some time to get my bearings having come from the mid-west to the bustling metropolis of LA. It didn’t take long for me to be introduced to yoga. I hadn’t taken any yoga instructor online course or classes back home because I wasn’t aware of any studios or, if I am being honest, yoga in general. Working out and going to the gym, yes. Heading to a yoga class to find myself, well, no!

After my arrival in LA my now fiancÃ© gently persuaded me to try it out. “What’s the worst that could happen?” he would ask. That was 7 years and hundreds of classes ago. This June I will be completing my 200-hour yoga teacher training. As I reflect on my path that led me to this place I am in awe of how the pieces fell in place. Each moment, each class, each teacher led me to go deeper and face myself.

I had always toyed with the idea of deepening my practice by participating in teacher training but for some reason or another there was always a barrier that would stop me. If I pushed it became more obvious with all the headaches it would create that it was not the time. I would remember that as a child I was told that when things are meant to happen they will. This time when I had the chance to attend training every detail fell beautifully into place with little effort from me. That is how I knew THIS was the training.

I am now surrounded by 17 friends who I have taken this journey with. Sure, I have connected more with some than others, but honestly I feel a connection to each and every person. We walked in as strangers who had a common interest in deepening our practice and/or becoming teachers. We began with the hope that we may find something in common with one another seeing that we would be spending the next 6 months together on the same journey. Slowly the walls came down and we have been able to see into one another, not just see the exterior, but the true self. This journey has led us to break through the edge of our bodies, to share our deepest selves in intimate sharing circles and celebrate finding our voices in teaching one another as well as ourselves. We are learning a second language – physically, mentally and spiritually.

I entered training with an open mind. Reflecting on this has reminded me to approach life in the same manner. Somehow I keep circling around this lesson but I always have small reminders popping up. Yoga has taught me that life is about the present moment. To live
fully in the moment and pay attention to what is happening. To use all my senses to observe the story that is happening, to let it all happen and let go of what does not serve me. Whether I intend to teach yoga or not, this teacher training has reminded me that the human body is capable of amazing things if we just get out of our own way.

yoga teacher training: not just for teachers