After receiving my yoga teacher training certificate, I couldn’t wait to get started. All I needed was a place to teach. The plan was to convert our basement into a yoga studio so that I could teach from home. It was a most excellent plan, I thought, and my husband fully supported it; which was a good thing because he would be my contractor for the job (since that’s what he does for a living.) And… bonus!… he’d be working for free.
What I failed to realize was how incredibly long it would take for my husband to renovate our basement in his spare time. He has no spare time. And, so, the long wait began. I knew I couldn’t put any pressure on him about speeding things up. I was aware of how busy he was with other (paying) jobs. I was also aware of his perfectionistic nature. There was nothing I could do, really, but wait patiently and make the best of my time.
And, so, I continued learning all that I could about yoga. This was no chore, believe me, because I love yoga. And there is so much to learn! I’m not sure I’ll be able to learn it all in the lifetime I have left, but I’ll have a lot of fun trying.
The first thing I did was enroll in a 30-hour continuing education class for Yin Yoga. I had begun practicing Yin and was really enjoying it and thought maybe I might want to specialize in teaching Yin Yoga. Once the class had ended, I was totally, head-over-heals in love with Yin. Discovering Yin Yoga is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I use it to help manage my Interstitial Cystitis, as the long-held poses stress deep tissues and meridian lines in the body, helping to get energy moving where it may be stuck. I am able to tailor my practice to target my kidneys and urinary bladder, specifically, to help manage my chronic illness. It’s kind of like giving myself acupuncture or acupressure. And it was through Yin that I truly learned to meditate. I learned how to go inside my body and wander around leisurely, noticing how I felt, where there might be tension or stress, and then I discovered how to breathe into those areas and release that tension or stress. Oh, Yin. I love you so much. (Please don’t tell my husband about our little affair… Ah, who am I kidding. He already knows.)
Next, I signed up for a 6-hour continuing education class in Restorative Yoga. I had learned a bit of Restorative in my YTT (Yoga Teacher Training) but wanted to go deeper. Restorative was something I had never really thought about prior to taking YTT and I honestly didn’t really get it when I was first introduced to the long-held, fully supported postures. My mind was incredibly busy, and I was often tense during Legs Up the Wall or Supported Child’s Pose, counting the minutes until I could move again. It was hard for me to relax in a public studio surrounded by other people. The restorative yoga class I took taught me so much about how to set the stage for restorative yoga, and to be sure you were fully supported in each pose, so that you could reap the maximum relaxation benefits. The studio should be a comfortable temperature; the lights dim and soothing; and everyone should have ample room to stretch out and relax. Every inch of your body, from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes, should be relaxed and supported, using very little, if any, muscles at all. I began to practice Restorative every day and even recruited my husband and kids to be my guinea pigs. My daughter, Livvy, said doing Restorative felt like she was back in kindergarten for naptime. My husband, Scott, quickly found his favorite pose in Supta Baddha Konasana and I would find him in that pose even after I had moved on to Savasana. I decided I was definitely going to teach Restorative Yoga once my studio was completed, and I proceeded to buy as many props as I could find. I bought cylindrical yoga bolsters and rectangular yoga bolsters; neck pillows, round pillows, and square pillows of varying shapes and sizes; Indian blankets and soft, plushy blankets; lavender-scented eye pillows in soft cottons and flannels; 3” blocks and 4” blocks- because sometimes you need three inches and sometimes you need four inches; sandbags for grounding and relaxing you further into a pose; and nice, long, cotton straps in all the colors of the rainbow. My house is a yoga prop paradise!
After I discovered my love for Yin and Restorative, I became more interested in slower, more mindful yoga. I really enjoyed practicing yoga at a slower pace because I felt like I got more out of it mentally and spiritually than I did with a faster yoga practice. Both (fast and slow yoga) are great for flexibility and strength, but a slower practice is really nice for building your mindfulness training. I was drawn to a couple of continuing education classes to help me learn more about this mind-body connection. The first course I took was called “The Yoga and Neuroscience Connection.” It delved into the science of the brain and how it is so greatly affected by the practice of slow yoga. The second course I took was called “The Science of Slow” and it taught me how to teach slow, mindful yoga classes specifically targeted to help people with fatigue, depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I won’t go into the science behind what I learned because it would take waaaaay too long and I’m not very good at explaining science-y things, but suffice it to say that slow, mindful yoga is something I think everyone should be doing to improve their health and to help their brains stay young.
Soon after those courses, I moved on to my “Chinese Medicine for Yoga” course. I was super interested in this line of study because of my personal experience with Yin Yoga and how it helped me to target meridian lines specifically linked to certain parts of my body. Some days, I would do Yin to target my kidneys and urinary bladder; other days I would practice Yin postures targeting my liver and gallbladder. Still other days, I might practice Yin to target my heart and small intestine. It was incredible to see that I could take some measure of control back in my health. I could fine tune my practice based on how I felt on any given day. This course only reinforced my love of Yin Yoga and it gave me so much more detail about how and why it worked. Traditional Chinese Medicine is thousands of years old and has a rich history that cannot be ignored. I’ll definitely be incorporating what I’ve learned into my teaching.
Besides taking continuing education classes, I have been reading books. Books, books, and more books. I read books on Restorative Yoga; Yin Yoga; Chakra Yoga; Kundalini Yoga; Chair Yoga; yoga anatomy; yoga sequencing; yoga as medicine; Ayurveda; the healing power of crystals, essential oils, and herbs; Eastern/Western medicine; Reiki healing; Buddhism; meditation; Yoga Nidra; Qigong; the healing power of water and nature. There are more, but I don’t want to bore you! (And if these subjects don’t bore you, please come to my classes! I’ll be sharing!)
I also took Reiki I training and will be taking my Reiki II training in the near future. Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Like yoga, it’s a wonderful complimentary tool to use along with other healing modalities or medical treatments you may be using.
I have also done a lot of practicing during my waiting time. I’ve practiced Yin, Restorative, Kundalini, Chair, and Slow/Mindful Yoga; the healing art of Qigong; Reiki; meditation; and Yoga Nidra.
Qigong and Yoga Nidra are my most recent loves. Every morning I practice a standing Qigong meditation and a walking Qigong meditation. I’ll most likely incorporate some Qigong into my classes as well, as Qigong is another time-tested, helpful tool Eastern medicine uses to help keep the body, mind, and spirit healthy and well. Qigong strengthens and stretches the body, increases the movement of bodily fluids, enhances balance and proprioception, and improves the awareness of how the body moves through space.
Yoga Nidra, also known as “yogic sleep”, will most definitely be a part of the classes I teach as its benefits are numerous and I just have to share it with everyone. It is said that thirty minutes of Yoga Nidra is equal to 2-4 hours of deep sleep. And although you don’t actually sleep, you are completely and totally relaxed. It is an incredibly powerful, guided meditation technique and I highly, highly recommend it. I just met with another Yoga Nidra teacher last week to get some more information and tips and came away from that meeting even more excited than I was before. If you haven’t tried Yoga Nidra, you’re going to love it.
Besides all of the above, I’ve also been working on my website, which is incredibly difficult! Don’t let anyone fool you! Just picking the color scheme alone is overwhelming; not to mention all the techy stuff involved. I’m no techy. Thankfully, I have my son, Nickel, to help me.
I’ve been reading articles, listening to podcasts, and watching YouTube videos about everything even remotely related to yoga. And just so you don’t think I’m a total nerd, I’ve also researched the best yoga pants! Because I also love yoga fashion! Wait a minute. I think that researching yoga pants may actually make me more of a nerd…! Oh, well. I am what I am.
Oh, how I wish I had time to share everything I’ve learned with all of you! And I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to learn and I am eternally grateful to be able to learn it.
But there are other things I’ve discovered during my wait that are even more important than any of the things I’ve just mentioned. I have learned to make the most of my time and to always be learning. That’s the key to happiness, I think. I’ve learned to be patient. With myself. With my contractor/husband. With the way life unfolds. I’ve learned that kindness is more important than getting the job done. I’ve learned that I wasn’t really ready to teach yoga immediately after I got my teaching certificate. I’ve learned that I needed more focused direction regarding how I was going to teach yoga. I am now truly focused on what I really feel passionate about and I believe that will make me a better yoga teacher. I have learned that to truly know yoga you must practice it. You must experience what you will teach. I now know what Yin Yoga feels like inside and out because I have been practicing it every day for months now. And I have discovered that I am truly, madly, deeply in love with yoga; more so than I ever was before.
As of the writing of this blog (Oh yeah, that’s another thing I’ve been working on; writing blogs!), I am still waiting on my yoga studio to be completed. But I assure you I am not wasting a single, solitary minute. If you become a member of my yoga community, and I hope that you do, I promise you this: I will always be learning and sharing, and my classes will never be dull. If you’re like me and have an insatiable curiosity and don’t ever want to stop learning, then I hope you’ll join my yoga community and come to my classes. Because I know I’ll learn something from you. And I can’t wait to see what it is.
I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
“I am always learning that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso
I have learned…
to make the most of my time and to always be learning. That’s the key to happiness, I think. I’ve learned to be patient. With myself. With my contractor/husband. With the way life unfolds. I’ve learned that kindness is more important than getting the job done.