I always thought it would be so cool to be a yoga teacher, but I also thought it was very unattainable for some reason. My interest in yoga began when I was 16 when Sarah and I bought a yoga DVD and practiced on her bedroom floor. The workout nearly killed us. I'd love to see that DVD so I could look back and see what nearly killed me! I remember we laughed at the things they said like, "soften your face" and "elongate your spine" and those are things I say all the time now! Sarah bought me a purple yoga mat for my 17th birthday, that I still have and use to this day, and I bought another DVD. I did 15 minutes of yoga a day almost every day after school. Or during school hours when I was supposed to be in school, whatever. I thought I was so cool and so hardcore for doing 15 minutes of yoga. I remember they held plank for 5 or so breaths and dolphin plank too, and everytime I held it without sinking my hips or dropping my knees I was like, I am awesome! Soon I started taking yoga classes at the gym, and still doing my DVD's at home. When I was about 19 or 20, I started taking classes at American Family regularly and even scheduled my plans around my yoga classes. I would go three or four times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. I loved it. My favorite teachers were Challie and Iffet, and eventually I grew very partial to Iffet and only went to her classes. I loved her style, and I got to know her in class. One day after class, a little more than a year ago, I told her I really wanted to teach but that I didn't think I could do it. She encouraged me to do it and said she saw a light in me.
I signed up for my first teacher training with YogaFit in April, and the training was June 6 and 7 in Woodlake. I was so nervous! Iffet hooked me up with Cindy, another one of her students who was going through the training. Neither of us had ever met, so we decided to meet at the gym one day. She was older (like 50s I'd guess) and she was a bit of an odd bird. Not like eccentric odd, I can appreciate that, I mean just plain odd. She didn't really seem to have a sense of humor or anything like it. But I was still glad to have someone to walk into the training with on the first day. We met at the gym and carpooled. She drove the first day and she was driving a BMW, one of those little two seater convertible ones. It was NICE. So when she complained that she was broke I thought that was a bit odd. I drive a nice car and I am broke, but I am young. It just struck me as odd that this woman was in her fifties, living in a big ass house in Wyndham (yuppy central) and driving a BMW and complaining about money. I am getting way off track here. But hey, it was a part of my experience. I wish I could remember what I wore that first day. I remember that it was hot as h-e-double L outside! I had NO idea what to expect when I walked into the room! We had to fill out some paperwork (which I would soon learn was a part of every training) and then we got a "free" yoga mat. I say "free" because the training cost upwards of $300. Kelli Braud was our trainer and she is so cute. Sheila was her assistant, who I had later for my Level one retrain in Norfolk. It was nice to have two trainers, because normally a level one class would only have one trainer. The first day seemed so long, and I remember thinking to myself, "Oh my gosh, how will I ever remember all of this? How will I ever be able to communicate this information to students? I am in so over my head." But at the same time, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. The day truly seemed never ending! We had introductions (there were about 22 of us in class), master classes, team teaching (which was interesting being that very few of us had ever taught), games, lectures, it was intense! The training was from 8-6 both days, and at the end of the first day I was so ready to go home! I could barely sleep form information overload and pure excitement. The next day, it was my turn to drive. Cindy seemed confused and wasn't sure if YogaFit teacher training was for her. She kept asking, "So if we can teach after this training, why would we go through the whole 200 hours?" She just refused to understand. As we were driving there, (it was about a 40 minute drive) she told me a story about how she took an aspirin and didn't drink enough water and immediately laid down. Then the aspirin came back up and burned a hole in her esophogous or chest or something and she had to go to the hospital and it was horribly painful, and you better believe that story has stuck with me ever since then. I always take medicine with a FULL glass of water and wait 15 or so minutes before I lay down! I'm getting off track again. So anyway, day two of the training was pretty jam-packed, and we didn't get out early either! We were there for the full 10 hours. If anyone every wonders what it means when I say I am RYT-200, it means that I had 200 hours of formal training. 18 of them were completed during that first weekend. After I finished that weekend, I went to River's birthday party. I was exhausted but felt great at the same time.
I decided that I wanted to sign up for more trainings right away, but I didn't have a way to pay for them. My dad didn't seem to think it was legit education, and my boyfriend (who could pinch pennies out of his ass) didn't want to lend me the money. Good thing anyway because we broke up because he was controlling and couldn't have been more my opposite. SO, anyway I decided I'd get an interest free Mastercard and sign up for as many classes as I could. That I did.
I signed up for Pre-Post Natal and Seniors trainings in the same weekend, June 21 and 22 in Washington, DC. Washington Sports Club in Georgetown to be exact. I drove up there all by myself, not knowing a soul. Step one of my growth, because that was a big step for me to not know where the place was and not know anyone there, either. Level one gave me a great confidence boost! I had to leave Richmond before 6 in the morning, because the training was supposed to start at 8. I was tired before I even got there! After reading Skinny Bitch, I gave up coffee for over a year, but I decided I needed a soy latte so I got one from Starbucks that morning, so I got one. I was wired. Caffeine doesn't have much effect on me, but it did that day because I had gone so long without it! Plus I think I added an extra shot of espresso or something. So anyway, I was walking around looking for WSC and could not find it to save my life. I called my mom and woke her up and asked her to double check the address online for me, and I had it right. I just couldn't find it! Then I saw the sign, but could not figure out how to get into the building! Turns out, it was in the mall. Once I figured out how to get in there I felt much better. It was the weirdest place for a gym! There were about 20 of us in the class, and Kristin Mabry (AMAZING WOMAN) was the trainer. Iffet told me she was the finest trainer YogaFit had and she was not kidding! I loved her. We did our introductions, and I was the last to go. We had to tell everyone a good movie we had seen recently, and to my surprise and dismay, nobody said the Sex and the City movie. I even said, "Are you kidding me!? How could nobody have said that?!" It had just come out the month before. This training was so fun because it was only a day long and I got to pretend to be pregnant, so I could be lazy during the master classes and we got to do some restorative and comfy poses. We all had to stuff pillows or tshirts up our shirts, except for the couple of students who really were pregnant. I learned a whole lot. I was pretty much the only trainee who had never been pregnant, so I felt like people thought I was asking stupid questions but I didn't care. I have no idea what it's like to have a human growing inside of me and I don't particularly care to know at this point in my life either! So out came the stupid questions. I met a cool woman who was a dentist and yoga teacher on the side. That training seemed to fly by! It was so much fun and the studio was beautiful and peaceful.I remember I bought a 'peace' tank top and a pair of bamboo pants and a pair of flex pants and a Slow Flow Yoga CD that I have never listened to in class because it will bore me to tears. I drove all the way home to Richmond that night, it was about two and a half hours with traffic. Bummer! Then I turned around and drove straight back the next morning for Seniors training! There were only 6 trainees in there and Kristin had to catch a flight back to Alaska so she let us out at 4:30. I learned a lot in this training as well, but nothing really sticks out in my brain about it. I remember I walked to Starbucks with Kristin and told her my plan to complete my 200 hours before the year was out and she said it was a lot to take on, but that it was doable. Everyone seemed to think I was a crazy person for going through it so fast, so I had to explain about a million different times that my weekends were my own and that I did not have a husband or kids to hold me back. It takes some people three or more years to complete their 200 hours, so people were pretty impressed that I did it in six months. When I drove home after the second day I was totally wiped out. I had taken in so much information, met so many new people, conquered DC traffic, parking and navigating all on my own (still making it to my classes on time), and I was feeling great. I listened to Mantra Girl the entire time I was in the car! I love that CD so much.
My next training was Level 2 and I took that in Richmond at the Richmond Athletic Club (where I would later teach) July 12 and 13. When I walked into that room on the first day, I felt so much more confident than I did when I walked into Level 1. It was amazing. I started teaching my community service classes to Cora and the girls and had taught one or maybe two of them at this point. I felt like a total badass yoga teacher. Mary Sargent was the trainer and she is so sweet. She is from Wilson, NC and had the cutest accent. If you know me at all, you know I adore the country accent and imitate it well. I loved the way she said 'awesome'. We learned about the yamas and niyamas (restraints and observances) and had a master class, pose breakdown, lecture, discussion, team teaching, you name it we did it! This training went by so much faster than level one! I was really enjoying it, and there were some more experienced teachers in there as well. Five students were finishing their 200 hours with that class, so it was very inspiring. That's the class where I met Patricia and Preston. It's also the class where I discovered Be Present pants! I bought a pink henley that I absolutely loved and my team teaching went very well. I remember some of the fellow trainees were impressed when I told them I had never taught ever. Although I must admit, Iffet was YogaFit trained as well, and after taking so many of her classes, I had become familiar with the style! I felt even more after this training that I was where I should be. I remember after the first day, I picked Stormy up and we went back to my house and goofed off. It was fun, I danced and sang to Britney Spears and she recorded it. I was so excited, and I stayed up way too late! As exhausting as these trainings were, they always seemed to give me energy! I had a cinnamon bagel at Panera with Cindy in the morning before the second day and did my homework (linking five poses together in a flow) and then went to tackle the second day. People in the class were amazed that I had only been training for a month and I had already done four classes! In turn, I was amazed that some people had been working toward the same goal as me for years. I loved the trainings way too much to let much time pass between each one! After each class when I was handed my certificate, I was so proud. I wanted to frame them all, but I didn't because in the end I would have ten of them!
I'm getting tired of writing this.
Level 3 was in Fairfax August 2 and 3. Don't ask how I remember these dates. I am the worst when it comes to math, but I can remember dates like nobody's business. Susie Celentano was the trainer. I had never met her or heard of her before this class. I hate Northern Virginia. It was exhausting getting up so early to drive for two hours before taking a 10 hour class and then driving for two more hours, but I did it. I was trying to save money by not getting a hotel room, but I ended up being so exhausted that I vowed to never do that again. I was not a big fan of level three. I broke a yoga rule and went into it with expectations, and I was disappointed. We were supposed to learn all about the chakras and physical adjustments and I just did not take out of that class what I had wanted to. I did meet some great people though. I reconnected with Meleah from my level one in Richmond, I also met Sara who would later be in my Level 4 in Fort Lauderdale and my Level 5 in Ohio. The more I got into these trainings, the more I became connected with people. I made so many connections over that 6 month stretch! I remember I was considering taking Level 4 in Fort Lauderdale at this time, but I hadn't found roommate yet. Shortly thereafter, I met Dacia on the YogaFit forums and that's how we came to be. More on that later. I mostly stuck with Meleah during level three. She was married and had no kids, and had a strong ashtanga background. We had lunch together both days and shopped a little too.
I did my Level one retrain in Norfolk August 16 and 17 (I think) and that was one of my favorites by far! I went into it thinking I already knew everything about Level one there was to know, but I was wrong! I could take any of these trainings a million times over and learn something new every time! And I met the BEST people! I stayed with Cora and we watched the Olympics that night with Leigh and she made the yummiest food! In class I met my beloved Dana Walters, I also met Michele, Karen, two Saras, and quite a few others. It was a total blast. Mark was our trainer and he was a hoot, and Shelia was the assistant again and that was fun! They had a great chemistry so it was really quite fun, never dull!
Anatomy and Alignment training was very hard, and I was not looking forward to it. I had to study in advance and do some homework, so I hated that part. BUT! That was a very special training for me because after the first day of training, I got a phone call from Keith. I hadn't heard his voice in two years and it was the best thing ever. That's another novel of a blog though for another day! I decided to go up to Fairfax Friday night instead of Saturday morning. I decided I didn't care how much a hotel was, I was going to be well rested for this class. It took me forever to find the stupid hotel I had made a reservation at, but I finally did. It was 11 pm when I finally walked into the main office, and while I was waiting for the clerk to come to the desk, a woman walked in wearing a jacket with a YogaFit emblem on it. I spoke to her, and ended up asking her if she'd like to share a room. She said yes. Her name was Noreen and she was from Erie, PA. Very nice lady. She had a daughter who was pregnant with twins. She snored, so that was annoying, but it saved me $70. Jane and Susie were our trainers and the class was so hard! I felt like everything went in one ear and out the other, but it didn't. I could definitely stand to retrain that class, but parts of it come back to me when I need them. I didn't think I learned anything, but a few weeks and even months down the road, I realized that I did. The second day of training I was on a cloud because I had spent a couple hours on the phone with Keith the night before, and I also got to have lunch at Wegman's that day with my dear friend Jon!
I am really getting quite sick of writing all of this and Keith is ready to hang out with me, so I will finish this tomorrow! I will pick back up with Level 4 in Fort Lauderdale! That story is likely to be as long as this entire blog!
Have a great night!
xoxo,
t
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