Happy New Year!

With the start of the new year I have decided to chronicle my journey through the rest of my yoga teacher training as well as my path along this long and winding road we call life. 

The Background

A year ago I would have never thought I'd be where I am right now. I am only a few short weeks away from completing my 200 hour yoga teacher training. I never would have thought I'd be doing anything remotely close to that. Before last spring I was as far away from an aspiring yogini as possible. I thought by this present moment in time I'd be working towards becoming a speech language pathologist or possibly becoming a certified teacher. My my how things really do change. 

Last spring was my last semester at Suffolk County Community college before I graduated with my associates in Child Study. I needed one more gym credit to graduate and seeing as there was an opening in the yoga class I jumped right on it figuring that it would be an easy credit and thinking I'd flow through a few asanas and go home. Cake, right?

Man was I wrong. I stepped into the class and the teacher was already there. She had such a presence and energy about her. My perspective changed from that point on. Not only did I learn about the asanas but I also learned about the 8 limbs, and mainly the yamas and niyamas which I suddenly became fascinated with. I became enthralled with the practice and history of yoga. It was as if nothing else mattered but yoga. My instructor had a yoga studio about 10 minutes from where I lived and I quickly decided that as soon as the semester and graduation we over with I'd be signing up at the studio for sure. May rolled around and was at the studio. Taking classes almost everyday learning and submersing myself in the beautiful practice. 

Come late June my instructor (the same one from the college) handed me a booklet on the upcoming teacher training that she'd be doing at the studio and told me to consider it. It was something I almost instantly said yes to. It would be a new path for me, a new journey, and I was so unbelievably excited to start. 

August seemed to come up so quickly. The first teacher training weekend was looming and I started to get the butterflies and insanely nervous. "Is this the right path for me?", "will I actually be able to teach a class as great as Des?" these are just a few of the questions and thoughts swimming around in my head. I was eventually able to just push them out and I'd tell myself that no matter how teacher training went, the experience was what I was really in it for. The journey and leaning more about yoga were the only things I was concerned about.

Now it all comes so naturally, I still have butterflies and nerves about teaching but after I get some experience and practice more I am sure that it will become smoother and more natural.