travel

It has been a little over a month since I graduated from Yoga Yoga Teacher Training. The transition back into ordinary life has been a process. I am still reeling from the entire experience, and just as I settle back in I remember -- Oh yeah!, I went to yoga school!!

I ran into a friend recently who also went to yoga school this summer. He was able to relate to the unsettling feeling of settling back in to "normal" life, accepting that school is in the past, and looking forward to the path ahead.
I think he said it best: "Some people take a trip around the world. I just took a trip around the Universe."

And what a trip around the Universe it was! And it is. And it will be.

So far, Teaching yoga is a blessed experience. I remind myself daily to remain grounded and let the teachings of Yoga flow through me. Allow myself to be the medium between the teachings and the students.

Each week at the Yoga Bean (Lubbock's newest yoga studio), I teach Restorative Yoga on Friday nights, Hatha Flow on Sunday afternoons, and a private "Yoga Shala"class (from my home studio) to a couple of students on Wednesday nights.
The shift in roles between being a student and teaching the students has been good. I have been in classes with many of the other students for years and I am so thankful for the amount of encouragement I have received from them.

A few weeks ago I taught a class at the Gypsy Pow Wow, a local music and camping festival at Buffalo Springs Lake. The turn out was more than I expected! It was a wonderful way to connect the students and bring awareness to the practice of yoga. I was pleased to see a few students from the Gypsy Yoga classes that I taught this Summer and a friend (who just moved to attend Yoga Yoga Teacher Training in Austin) in the class.

 

I'm explaining the importance of  listening to your own body,
keeping your body safe, and "Being your own best teacher"

 

Gypsy Pow Wow students in Savasana (Relaxation) pose

Throughout my journey through yoga school and the path that has followed, my mind and body both changed. I was finally able to shed the excess weight that I have been working to loose for the past year and am now comfortable in my new and able bodied shape. My eating habits have been clean for the past few years so the only difference is my body's adaptability to change. If I eat foods that my body doesn't agree with -- wow, it will let me know. I also contribute this in part to my ingrained and now more exposed body awareness. My desire for mind or mood altering substances is depleting. (Which is an unexpected but welcomed change.) Caffeine has been on the way out for me for the past year or so, so this shift has not been huge. Lately, even a glass of iced tea will keep me wired all day! Alcohol and I have had a long relationship through out my life. I spent the majority of my 20's tending bar and indulging myself as well. The past year, that relationship has really subsided. And now, just as with caffeine, a glass of wine will knock me off my foundation. Which is the biggest reason that I do not desire these substances right now.

I work hard, on and off my mat to find and maintain a firm, secure, comfortable, yet gentle foundation -- so anything that shakes that foundation is not desirable.

Along with teaching, as duty to the students and myself, my own practice has grown strong. Yoga is a part of my daily life. I come to my mat everyday to connect, cultivate, and grow. Through this connection, I am able to see the changes in my body and mind.

"Yoga allows us to recognize our experience as a reflection of how the whole Universe moves -- The setting sun, the rising moon, the ebb & flow of the tides, and even the beating of our own hearts. Through awareness of our own energy we can begin to sense the greater connection."