She’s a yoga teacher

I got an offer from a yoga studio here in Sydney.

EEEIYEEEEEEEE!!

Well, I got the offer yesterday, but the joy and glee continues, especially because the film of tiredness that clouds my mind dulls my perception of everything, including my emotions.

Still waiting on final details (the paperwork, logistics, etc.) but since this verbal offer was made with much sincerity, accompanied by a hug, and shared with students, I’m hopeful.

Which brings me back to my yoga journey.

I’ve been practicing yoga since 2014 and started my journey in Austin, Texas with Corepower Yoga. Despite having a background in competitive figure skating (I was very mediocre) and working at a gym that hosted free yoga classes (“free” as in I paid the university annual tuition), I was quite resistant to the idea of yoga. The resistance was either due to most teachers — and students — belonging to a very specific demographic (read: white and skinny); or because I wasn’t sure if I was participating in cultural appropriation by participating in a class led by, and surrounded by, white people; and finally (the silliest reason) because my dad had pushed me to do yoga for the longest time, buying me introductory books about yoga since I was a teen, and definitively did not want to do what my parent told me to do.

After my first Corepower class I was hooked — and frankly a bit mournful that it had taken me this long to push past the resistance of not doing something just because my dad told me I should do it (this is a common theme here). I’d have a somewhat steady, very much on-and-off-again, relationship with yoga that spanned New York, Nepal, and landed in Thailand.

The view from Sadhana Yoga in Pokhara, Nepal, where I did my work exchange.

I had wanted to get my yoga teacher certification for a while but had always put it off because I never had enough time. Most yoga teacher trainings are a month long, and it’s quite difficult (an understatement) to take that much time off from work in the US — I was actually denied a promotion because I “wasn’t considerate” about my time-off (three weeks) despite having had gotten that time-off approved six months in advance (but that’s a story for another time). With the career break, I finally had the freedom and flexibility of time to finally pursue my goal of getting certified as a yoga instructor.

Teaching is not new to me. I taught at my Chinese school for two years and have been a mentor or volunteer for students throughout my adult life. I obtained my Mat Pilates instructor certification back in 2018 and taught privately until COVID. I’ve been a “teacher” in unconventional ways as well, whether in the corporate world or in more personal, intimate spaces: I’ve facilitated and led discussions for C-suite executives and I’ve empowered women to feel more confident in their bodies. Yet despite all of this experience, I was surprised by how much I fell in love with teaching yoga.

I love creating a safe and welcoming place where people can feel at ease and where I can encourage people to feel comfortable and confident in their body. I love helping people recognize that yoga is available to everyone, no matter how bendy or athletic or spiritual one is. And most of all, I love empowering my students to take up space — by physically taking up space on the mat and transforming that into claiming space in the outside world.

Tales about the actual yoga teacher training is for another time (I originally was going to write about my teacher training, which is a much deeper reflection), but first, a big

YAY!!!!

for receiving (and creating — yes I am owning my hard work) this opportunity to share my love and joy with hundreds of people on this earth.

She’s a yoga teacher!