On Becoming a Yoga Teacher
Last week, I taught my 100th yoga class (yes, I count) and it feels like a good time to tell the story of how I started teaching in the first place because there’s a little bit of magic from the universe involved. ✨
When I enrolled in my teacher training in 2013, I truthfully had no intention of ever teaching. At the time I was living in Boston and practicing regularly at a studio with a teacher who had opened my eyes to the full depth of yoga—beyond just the physical poses. I took every workshop and advanced session that he offered, but the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn, and I knew I was ready to dedicate myself to studying at a more serious level.
He suggested that I do a teacher training, saying that even if I didn’t want to teach, that it was a great way to deepen my personal practice. I started looking around for a training and found one that sounded perfect in Michigan, coincidently where Dan and I were relocating to at the end of the summer. I applied and was accepted. The first 8-day intensive session started only a few weeks after my move. I dove right in.
I hadn’t known the teacher who was leading the training before I signed up, but she taught in the same style of yoga as my teacher back home, so I was confident that her instruction would be on par with my expectations. And it was. In the 200 hours that I spent in training, we covered everything from philosophy, asana, pranayama, meditation, sequencing, energetics, and more, and I graduated feeling really complete with the experience.
And while we did of course cover teaching concepts, I still wasn’t convinced that I was interested in becoming an actual yoga teacher. I had many excuses for why it was impossible, the main one being that I am a textbook introvert and absolutely terrified of any sort of public speaking. Some people just aren’t meant to do these things, I thought. Oh well.
But deep down, somewhere underneath the fear, I felt a little inkling of wanting to give it a try. I kept hearing my teacher’s words in my head: “If you love something, teach it.” And I loved yoga. It had brought so much to my life. Shouldn’t I share it with others?
The fear was persistent though, so I decided to create a sankalpa to work with. A sankalpa is a vow, a heartfelt intention and commitment that is created to help you move towards a goal. It is short and concise and always written in the present tense, as if you already have it.
The sankalpa that I chose to work with was: “I have found the right yoga teaching position for me.”
The key word here was “right.” I wasn’t quite ready to throw myself to the wolves and teach at a trendy studio filled to the brim with college students. It didn’t feel right for me to teach a fast-paced, hot vinyasa class with loud music blasting either. Nor did teaching at a gym where the yoga was more connected with fitness than spirituality.
I wanted to help people slow down. To relax. To reconnect with themselves. And to be still. And because I was new and nervous, I needed to ease in. I was looking for something that offered me some breathing room. Some space to learn and make mistakes.
I repeated my sankapla often, usually at the end of meditation. A few months passed, and then, out of the blue, I got a phone call.
It was on a Saturday morning at about 9 a.m., and if you know me, you know that I’m not much of an early-riser.
The call woke me up, but I didn’t answer because it was from a number I didn’t recognize. Figuring they would leave a message if it was important, I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep.
But then a few minutes later, that same number called again. “What kind of person calls a stranger at 9 a.m. on a Saturday?” I thought, as I ignored the call and rolled back over.
But when the number called a third time, my mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario and I nervously picked up, assuming that there must be some sort of major emergency going on.
Much to my surprise, the woman on the other line was a local yoga studio owner who was looking for someone to teach a “Candlelit Hatha Flow” class. She had found my contact information through Yoga Alliance (the yoga teacher’s professional organization) and basically cold-called me.
If this wasn’t a sign from the universe, what was?
As nervous as I was, there was no way I could turn her down. I said yes and taught my first class a few weeks later…and you know what? Much to this introvert’s surprise, I discovered that I actually really loved teaching yoga and that it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I had thought it was going to be.
Funny how that happens, huh?
I ended up teaching at that studio for a little over a year, and it did indeed turn out to be the “right” first teaching position for me. My classes were tiny, usually 5 students or less, the pace of the class was deliberately slow and gentle, and the room was dark, allowing me to sneak peeks at my notes. It could not have fulfilled my sankalpa more.
100 classes in and I’m still “becoming” a yoga teacher. I’m still finding my voice. I’m still a student of this practice—even as a teacher of it. I feel more comfortable and confident than in those early classes, but there is still so much more to learn. So much room for growth.
It’s like that old quote, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” And it’s true. But for now, I’m just grateful that I took that not-so-gentle nudge from the universe and trusted it.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has come to my classes over the past few years.
Namaste.
