The article focused on how to set yourself apart as a yoga teacher by finding your "own personal why" -- essentially the "defining moment when you experienced deep transformation that may have led directly, or indirectly, to choosing yoga..." or "instigated your deep calling to choose a path of helping others as a yoga teacher."
Immediately one distinct memory came to mind. I believe I was a junior or senior in high school, hanging out one evening at a friend's house. Her dad practiced yoga, which in our small town seemed like a rarity. I don't remember exactly how it came about, but he gave us a copy of Yoga Journal and I remember sitting in the den reading the Wisdom section and having a profound "aha" moment of discovering this entire "other world" of yoga philosophy and this other way of thinking existed. I remember thinking, I really like this, this is me. I borrowed the magazine and poured through its pages, falling in love with everything yoga was about. I honestly don't recall if I even practiced yoga asana (postures) before my senior year of college -- I think I took a class at the studio where my friend's dad practiced, but it was the yoga philosophy and "wisdom" that hooked me, which is why that holds such importance in my practice and in what I envision to be my voice as a teacher.
I ended up taking yoga as an elective during my senior year of college. It was my first real exposure to learning more about asana and my first experience sequencing a class (this was our final assignment). I enjoyed the class, but it wasn't until a year or so later, when I fell in love with yoga all over again during my first restorative yoga class. I had the most amazing teacher, whose classes left me feeling as though I was floating on air, had a two hour massage and had a spiritual experience all at once. While taking her classes, I was going through a difficult time and was having issues with chronic back pain and issues with sciatica. Being able to release deeply in supported postures was the medicine my body needed. At the beginning and end of class, she would read inspirational passages that cultivated that same feeling I had when reading my first Yoga Journal... "this is my kind of thinking, this is awesome, this is grounding, this is me..." She also used to place oracle cards (the Magical Mermaids and Dolphins oracle cards) out at the end of class, allowing us to select one from the pile. They were always face down and the one I selected always seemed to be exactly what I needed in that moment. The entire experience was ultimately a spiritual practice for me.
During this same time, I began grow tired of writing about automotive insurance at the magazine I worked for and became more interested in yoga articles and compiling a wellness binder with Yoga Journal articles on yoga philosophy and wisdom, asana and various clippings on holistic wellness, happiness and health. After I left my job and began working at lululemon, my exposure to all types of yoga and prominent yogis and teachers within the community expanded. I started to identify the styles of yoga I loved and the styles that were not quite for me. I discovered my preference for classes that were more introspective in nature and I began to find myself on my mat. My mat was a place I slowly learned -- and am still learning -- to let go of judgement. It was a place I strengthened -- and also released -- my body. It was a place I remember shedding tears during sleeping pigeon when a favorite teacher would read a particularly empowering quote at the end of class. It was a place I did my first handstand and saw the world upside down. During particularly difficult times, my mat and my practice kept me balanced and helped me cope. It was, and still is, my space to express, challenge, grow, relax, connect, ground... to just be.
Years went by and I continued to evolve in my practice. After returning to school for public health and over time developing my personal and professional mission to help others live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives, my interest in yoga remained steady, but the thought to go through teacher training hadn't re-entered my mind. This past spring I realized something in my life was missing -- I found myself "seeking", as I often do. I knew I had always been so moved by yoga, spirituality, health, wellness and anything having to do with growth and fulfilling one's potential. Then it clicked. The underlying desire to teach and share the beauty and profoundness of all that is yoga has been there since the moment I opened that first Yoga Journal. That was the day the seed was planted. Over the years I nurtured that seed as it slowly sprouted and grew with the ups and downs of life experience. How fitting that in my decision to begin teacher training, I enrolled at a studio called Bloom.
My entire life experience has contributed to my "deep calling to choose a path of helping others as a yoga teacher," but if I look back it was that one moment that served as the spark.
Take a moment and think about your "personal why"? What is it that called you to your chosen path?
