So today, I decided to sign up for my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certificate. This particular program is Yoga Alliance certified, so once I complete the course I can teach classes at any yoga studio throughout the world.
It will be an intensive 9-week program, starting in September and ending just before December. There are a few factors that have inspired me to dive into this particular path. The first is that I actually have the time to do it, and the opportunity to build my schedule around the program. I quit my job and finally have the time to dedicate to my yoga practice, and I’ve remembered just how much I love it.
Also, being somewhat older now, can we talk about how enjoyable it is to hear all the CRACKS in your body when you do yoga? Or is that just me?
So many satisfying cracked joints! Knuckles! Back! Hips! Neck!
I digress.
It’s also important to me to keep up my mobility and exercise. I was a ballet dancer throughout most of my life and actually majored in dance at university, until a car accident caused extensive nerve damage in my left foot. I’ve always loved being active and feeling strong in my body. And to be honest, I’m partly motivated by the fact that I’ve gained a lot of weight and am in probably the worst shape of my life.
A part of getting older that I don’t like to think about is the loss of one’s faculties, whether physical or mental, as we age.
I’ve seen it in my parents and I’ve certainly been feeling it myself over the past few years. For me it’s brain fog, constant fatigue, blood circulation, and severe gut problems (ulcers), in addition to my chronic migraine symptoms that became particularly bad last year.
I’d like to take hold of my health again before it’s too late.
Yoga has been a lifelong journey for me. I remember my mom buying Rodney Yee’s beginning yoga DVDs back in the late 90’s, and soon my sister and I became hooked as well. We started attending Bikram yoga classes when I was 12 or 13, and have practiced (with more or less consistency) since then.
Over the past few years, I’ve been keen to add new skills to my portfolio, and it would be great to pick up work teaching yoga classes as a side gig, but also in order to stay in shape and commit to a regular exercise routine.
I love learning about Ayurveda as well, and I’m really keen to incorporate that lifestyle into my yoga practice. My last job (or, the job before this most recent one, I should say) was Ayurvedic wellness café and I found the practice of Ayurveda to be fascinating. I’m starting a kitchari cleanse to reset my gut and am currently in the pre-cleanse phase of the protocol. I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with that as I deep dive into it next week.
This is a new path for me and definitely scary, but I’m really excited to get started! I hope this will open many doors for me in terms of expanding my portfolio of skills, as well as making connections and building community.
I have so many big plans for the future, and this is one that I’m really looking forward to.
Norse Western 