I was skeptical when I saw the teacher training reading list: The Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga Sutras, Autobiography of a Yogi, Chakra Yoga: Balancing Energy for Physical, Spiritual, and Mental Well-Being, and a few other New Age-y sounding titles. I had to consciously stop myself from running in the opposite direction. My Western brain had a panic attack at the first mention of “subtle anatomy” and “body energetics.” When I went on Amazon to buy my books, I almost added a Physician’s Desk Reference to the basket just for good measure.
Then I did some off-the-mat yoga and told my mind what I’ve told it before: “I love you. Be quiet.”
I wanted to enter into my teacher training with total openness and non-judgment, so I decided that I’d give it a whirl. I wanted to be a sponge and just soak it all up, knowing that, at the end, I could wring it all out if I wanted.
As it happened, I didn’t want to wring any of it out, even if that meant being a little soggy! Warning: this is about to get a little mushy.
Ultimately, it was the Gita which spoke to me. Despite being written thousands of years ago, I found it to be entirely relevant. The Gita contains so many beautiful descriptions of God: absolute Truth, infinite Joy, all Creation, total Love. And, we can experience all of this through a constant yoga practice that brings us closer toward Union. Of course, yoga is more than just the physical asana practice. We must have a practice of offering, of devotion, of meditation, of non-attachment. To live rightly with a sense of non-attachment and devotion will bring us ever-closer to full union with a God who is full of love, peace and joy.
My training at Yoga District has made me a good teacher, but it’s made me an even better student. And I’ve learned that some of my best teachers lived 5000 years ago.
Naming body parts is hard.
Always breathe.
Practice makes practice.
Everything I ever needed to know, I learned on my yoga mat.
The last one into a handstand isn’t a rotten egg.
Picasso wasn’t a cubist at first.
The three musketeers were right.
Keep your shoulders at elbow-height.
