August 2022 Reflections
Dear Friends,
Every year around this time, I begin to prepare for my fall teacher training. I spend a lot of time talking to students who might be interested in joining us for the six-month journey.
We talk about postures, and pranayama, and what the training weekends will look like, but mostly we talk about this yogic path as a way for students to find their authentic voice, and dig deeper into who they are, and, maybe, who they want to become.
As it turns out, most of us need to do quite a bit of work as adults to unlearn things from our past that do not serve us anymore. This includes the environment that we were raised in, perhaps the religious or spiritual practices that we have been exposed to, and the generational stories that have become a part of our psyche. It covers everything from how we interact with our friends to how present we are when we show up for our jobs or commitments.
Teaching has been my greatest lesson in vulnerability, and in realizing some of the deeply rooted fears around sharing who I am and taking risks. When I decided to teach full time, there were many family members and friends who thought I should continue to work in pharmaceuticals and play it safe. Making that leap was one of my first real steps into walking this world as the most authentic version of myself.
Later, as I grew as a teacher, my challenges changed. I had started to really shed the stories from my younger years, and yet I still struggled with how to share these parts of my life with my students in a way that resonated.
Teacher training has helped me to be more open with my real authentic voice. I am still learning how to drop the facades, and let go of my need to be liked. My students teach me new avenues for change all the time.
This year's preparation for the training is especially poignant for me, as we journey (hopefully) onto the other side of the pandemic and find our way back to some type of normalcy.
The teacher training offers an amazing opportunity to reconnect back into our sweet yoga community. People have spent the last 2 years stuck in their home with limited connections to the community outside their house. Shared experience through the training is a powerful thing that help support our path back to wholeness.
If it is true what Jung said, that the privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are, then perhaps it is the privilege of many lifetimes for me that I get to witness my yoga students come into the yoga studio and become their own authentic, unique and amazing selves.
You absolutely don't need to be a teacher to start the quest for your authentic self. This happens every single time we get on our mat, or sit on our cushion, or even take a few mindful breaths. When we turn our focus inward and take a time out, we make room for what naturally bubbles up inside of us. Yoga helps us pay attention - it reveals part of us to ourselves.
And if you are worried that it is too late - fear not. I' am still learning, and evolving, as a new parent at 53.
F Scott Fitzgerald perhaps said it best:
For what it's worth:
it's never too late to be
whoever you want to be.
I hope you live a life you're proud of,
and if you find you're not,
I hope you have the strength
to start over again.
I look forward to sharing this next chapter with you, wherever you are in your journey to get closer to YOU.
If teaching or deepening your practice sounds like a path you might want to walk down this year, our next cohort begins on September 24th, and early bird pricing ends September 4th. If you are interested CLICK HERE for an Inquiry Letter or please feel free to email us at training@petegyoga.com
Warmly - Pete
