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I never expected to become a yoga teacher. I moved to the Washington area for
my career. I had been a volunteer for what felt like ever at my local public
radio station in Roanoke, Virginia until they finally hired me, and then two
years later NPR was willing to take me on, so I jumped at the chance.
It’s true that I had been teaching a class or two here and there in Roanoke and
when I moved to the city I began teaching twice a week on a regular basis on
my lunchbreak. And don’t get me wrong, NPR was a great place to work. The people
I worked with and for, really made my experience there the best day job I ever
had. So many creative people
in one place can never be boring.
And yet as I worked day in and day out, traveling to member stations up and down
the east coast, I began to feel an emptiness. An emptiness that I was not unfamiliar
with.... I had felt it before most strongly my senior year of college. You know
the time, ‘I’m graduating soon and what the heck am I going to do with my life?’ That
was when I took my first yoga class.
Thankfully, this particular class was taught by a well-practiced individual with
whom I am still friends. There was a strong emphasis on meditation and inner
awareness, which I truly craved. I began practicing meditation and yoga daily
and my inner journey began.
As I said, I never expected to be a yoga teacher. Those years after college,
I practiced simply for the joy and the focus I found. Then, one of my teachers
suggested I give back a little bit of what I had discovered. This was truly a
challenge for me, being a somewhat shy and definitely quiet introvert. But I
soon began teaching a class at a nearby Unitarian Universalist Church.
Then public radio called me to move to DC. I loved my job yet this emptiness
began to return. I realized it was because my job was not leaving me enough time
for my spiritual practices. I soon found a class to teach to force myself to
deepen my study. Then, I found Willow Street Yoga Center. I was blown away by
the universal principles of alignment that John Friend so logically developed.
And I was blown away by such great people that were both teaching and taking
yoga here. I knew I had found my home.
The rest, as they say, is history. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and
discipline to find your true path, and then to progress on that path takes even
more work. There are always obstacles - job, family that doesn’t understand,
any little thing. But when you find a deeper understanding of True Nature, your
own Inner Self, you start to realize that all obstacles exist to teach us something.
There will always be something more for each of us to learn as long as we walk
this earth.
At the Anusara teacher’s gathering last May, John Friend said that a teacher
is just a student who has traveled a little further on the path. And I believe
there is true joy to be had on that journey. |
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