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Milestone manifesto

I love teaching yoga!

I think I’ve expressed that sentiment before, and I’m pleased/relieved it hasn’t changed. What has changed, however (and thank goodness) is my anxiety about teaching yoga. Near the end of my 200-hour training I realized one aspect of isvara–I surrendered my will and decided to accept my yoga fate. I stopped fixating on teaching at my training studio; I gave up the illusion of control. It feels better to go with the flow.

And that’s what I’ve done. I took a week for reflection and then I started my kids certification with an open heart and an empty cup. And I have mostly resisted passing judgment on my experiences over the past few days. But tonight was a turning point, and I am peacefully proud to say I’m ready for more.

I am ready to teach, to try again and again. I know enough to get me going–between my 200-hour RYT training, the yoga-for-beginners workshop I took last week, and the kids training I complete tomorrow, I have plenty of knowledge to keep me on my path. It’s time to take action, and, with gratitude, I feel like I can do it. I believe our world will be better if our energy is balanced, and I want to explain:

To me, yoga is the union of love and breath. It’s that simple. Energy and lifeforce. The better I understand them, the happier I seem to be. I don’t need much more proof for my own personal fulfillment. Don’t get me wrong–I’m thrilled when good studies come out. I’m all for empirical, repeatable evidence. But I hold a Bachelors of Science in Journalism, not for nothing. I know how to conduct an experiment, how to tell a story. How to find a truth.

And yoga is a story worth exploring, a truth worth sharing. I consider myself a healthy skeptic, but on one stance I stand firm: Yoga can make everyone better.

I’m not saying it should make everyone better, or that it will. But truly, the potential is there, just as it exists in any form of energy-balancing practice. Yoga just happens to be particularly accessible in this day and age, and I happened to discover it, and it happens to have enlightened my life (along with a number of lesser-known energy-balancing techniques and processes).

A core message of yoga–accept yourself, and try your best–is a message I want to communicate. Especially to kids, many of whom are still listening to their teachers. But really to everyone, because I can think of no one it couldn’t help. Because yoga is breath and love, and who doesn’t need both? I believe we all deserve to feel good about the lives we live, and I want to help people change if they want to.

I’m still practicing surrender, isvara style. I am not too attached to what happens next. But I am feeling strongly about my readiness, and able to offer what I have to give. I am seriously grateful for my life, and that feels amazing.

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Love > fear