Are you Crazy?

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I didn’t know the answer the first time someone asked me this question. Princess or Rock Star was probably my answer. I had no idea until a couple of years ago.

I registered for Yoga Teacher Training in the second half of my life and reinvented myself. Who the hell does this when they are almost 50? Apparently I do. I have to say that I have never been happier.

I walked into my first day of Teacher Training so excited. And then it hit me. What the hell am I doing here? Do I really want to learn how to teach yoga? Do I want to spend six months with these people?

I think I’ve made a mistake.

We start with general chit-chat and some introductions. Everyone is kind of guarded and quiet in their responses. Then we jump right into an asana practice. After 45 minutes or so, we end with a few Aumsand that is when the magic began.

Sharing our practice and listening to the power of the raw ujiiay breath allowed the beautiful vibration of our collective, yet singular, Aum fill my body. The Aum solidified my decision to become a yoga teacher.I knew I had made the right decision. Unfortunately, this feeling didn’t last long.

I was scared. There was so much reading. There was so much practice. There was so much journaling. There was so much reading.

How would I ever keep up? 

As the weeks went by my trepidation persisted. We were well into reading the Geshe Micheal Roach and Christine McNally interpretation of the Yoga Sutras. I read the pages over and over. My eyebrows furrowed together and my eyes squinting at the text, trying to interpret what I was looking at.

We started the conversation about karma. Who knew it was not as simple as the expression, “Karma is a B*tch”? I don’t even want to go into the Bhagavad Gita. We had apply the teachings to our own practice. With a sinking feeling, I thought to myself, I think I’ve made a mistake.

Then we started teaching. The challenge was to cue students through a vinyasa flow in a succinct way. The task seemed insurmountable.

In my first attempt, I offered no less than eight cues for adho mukkha savasana. I had something to say about every single body part. By the time I finished yakking, my students had been in the pose for a least a minute and a half. I was not very popular that day, but to my credit, neither was anyone else. I left class that evening knowing I had made a mistake.

Then came the turning point.

A number of us decided to form a study group to prepare for our final exam. We met at the studio during off hours to practice our sequencing and practice teaching to one another. We studied the Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita and had deep philosophical discussions about our own interpretations of the works. We studied anatomy in general and reviewed the anatomy of poses. We practiced Sanskrit. Each of us brought true and honest effort to the sessions. We offered suggestions and assistance wherever required. We became an extension of our Sunday Shala in every sense.

I realized that I had not made a mistake.

Graduation day came and it was bittersweet. Many of us had fulfilled all of the requirements to receive our Certificate of Completion. The rest were well on their way to towards finishing. We celebrated together. As I left that Sunday evening, I knew that I had not made a mistake. I had become a yoga teacher.

Putting my whole heart into this journey was a scary thing to do. It has, however, paid off beyond my expectations. I clawed my way through all the fear and anxiety of believing that I had made a mistake trying to reinvent myself mid-way through my life. I’ve come out on the other side of the quagmire a happy and fulfilled person.

I am teaching what I love. I am teaching from my heart. I am a yoga teacher.

Anne Hunt is a Harley Davidson riding, fibre artist, Yogini. Anne has transformed her life with daily Yoga and meditation practice. She truly find bliss when she steps onto her mat. She shares her love of practicing Yoga by offering Private Yoga Instruction, Beginners Classes and Karma Classes at her home studio: Freedom Yoga Studio in Belle River, ON. Anne is thrilled to be able to teach at some of the most popular Yoga Studios in Windsor and Essex County in Ontario Canada. Sharing in the energy of her fellow practitioners during a class is such a great honor. It always inspires her to keep her heart open. It reminds her how very blessed she is. You can find Anne at www.FreedomYogaStudio.com

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Editor: Carrie Stiles

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