10 Things in 10 Years | The Intro
Blissology Yoga Teacher Training, Class of 2011
The perpetual mist that engulfs Ucluelet cast a hazy backdrop for this last group photo. We were spent. Exhausted yet buoyant. Melancholy about our imminent departure from one another, and reticent to return to our “normal” lives. Pulsing with a radiant love that had magically intertwined the existence of 22 perfect strangers in a mere 200 hours of deep study, soul seeking, and contemplation of purpose. Both giddy and tentative to take on the responsibility of guiding others to their own path of self-discovery.
We had fallen in love with one another. With the praxis and the principles of yoga. Perhaps even with our own selves once again.
And on this 10th day of October, 2011, we made a collective commitment to be the most devoted teachers of yoga we could possibly be.
Led by Blissologist Eoin Finn, my first yoga teacher training was perhaps the most foundation-rocking event of my adult life (until these past two years, in any case).
I unearthed what I was made of.
I unearthed my WHY.
I unearthed what I was always meant to become.
I unearthed what I needed most to thrive.
I unearthed my capacity to experience the generosity of love.
I unearthed the light within.
Ten years later, I am still in love with teaching yoga. The initial endorphins of falling in love have subsided, as they do. But as Glennon Doyle, her sister Amanda, and her wife Abby discussed in their most recent episode of We Can Do Hard Things, I “landed in love”, and I have no doubts that Yoga is still “The One”.
Like any long-term relationship, Yoga and I have had our ups and downs. In the beginning there are always seemingly quirky things that get overlooked, and if left unchecked, can become problematic later (like…ummm…cultural appropriation).
Sometimes the things that seemed non-negotiable at the beginning can soften over time (like my obsession with a one-size-fits-all approach to alignment).
Often times the novelty of new-ness gives way to the familiar, the constant, and you discover that this can be even more fulfilling (like my initial desire to offer a new sequence for every class, which has now evolved into a monthly theme and consistent movement practice that invites you to go deeper).
Here is a preview, akin to a Table of Contents, of the 10 Things I Learned in 10 Years. I will be ruminating on these revelations over the next few months, and sharing with you as the muse permits. I look forward to hearing your insights.
I must be responsible to yoga's roots.
...and I must continue to ask questions.
"Alignment" needs a re-alignment.
Capitalism and yoga make very strange bedfellows.
Yoga is not just for skinny white women who are good at gymnastics.
I know my WHY. And I want you to know yours.
I can teach yoga from behind a cash register, and other unexpected places.
Just keep showing up. Consistency is key.
Revelation is the birthplace of revolution.
A student, first. A student, always.
