Yoga Certification

I had taken 1...yes 1...Yoga class at the Rec Center in Steamboat and a few at home sessions with my friend Wendy and decided I should be a Yoga Instructor.  Ok, not much thought had gone into it, but as it turned out, it was the best decision of my life....sorry, Honey.

When you get married, typically, you have known the person for a while and feel confident with your decision - at that moment. When I decided to be a Yoga instructor...well, the decision making process was less planned out.

I spent 9 months waiting between the call to the instructor of instructors and the first class of the first session...pretty much not thinking about the commitment being made but, instead, how cool it sounded to say I was going to be a Yoga Instructor....if I only knew what I had gotten myself into!

So on the first night, in October, I learned this was going to be an emotional roller coaster of roller coasters.  We went around the room and stated why we were in training...and then the tears came as I told a room full of strangers that I didn't know what I was doing with myself and felt lost and needed to be more balanced.  These people are now some of the biggest gifts I've ever received! 

I was the youngest in our class and also the least experienced at all of this. We first started talking about the Philosophy, which of course I argued with and fought against. During the first session we talked a lot; about who we were, who we are and who we want to become.  We talked about what we believed and what we did not believe.  In hindsight it sunk in more than I thought at the time.......6 short months ago.

The second session was more about movement, and I thought, "alright, NOW we're talkin'"! We moved to Anatomy...I cheated my way through Anatomy my Senior year of High School....you know the whole slip of paper with all the answers up your sleeve trick?  Yup. That was me.  11 years later: no change! I had a hell of a time remembering what was attached to what and the "leg bone is attached to the...." song did me no good! We learned about muscles and then did poses to prove they existed - a few consecutive months of soreness I've ever experienced! In the meantime, we talked more, and more. We got to know one another.  I continued to cry, as did others.  Transformation and letting go is an odd thing.

The third session had to do with teaching prep. And I panicked. We started by teaching one another and I froze...and cried. What was with all the crying!?!?  I was uncomfortable and that was the end of the fun for me, right in that instant. Vulnerability in front of others is a powerful thing....

By now it was March, and as we got closer and closer to the end of Teacher Training I wasn't really any more comfortable standing before a class of strangers and teaching them ANYTHING! They were beginners and I never had beginners mind, I just did what Wendy told me!! Where was Wendy!?!?

In my "you need to face your fears" logic, I signed up to be the first teacher of the first group of students....somehow, that really was exactly how I wanted it to go. 

It was fantastic!  I was able to teach twice the first day and it was such a relief to have it over with that by the end of the second class, I really wanted to teach a third!

We had our graduation shortly afterward and it was genuinely one of the singlemost humbling experiences I've ever had...followed by being placed in the center of the circle made by other students who said what they thought about me and hoped for my future.

I am signed up to sub for classes at the studio and really hope to be able to do this more frequently - even if I never have my own class. I've learned so much about myself and my abilities though this experience; I wouldn't trade it for anything!