how it started. how its going. what’s next?
Perhaps you've seen this trend in social media, where people are posting a photo from their past(How it started) and from their present (How it's going). Usually, the first picture features a slightly embarrassing photo of the person's younger years, followed by a more recent photo. Consider this my addition to that meme without the embarrassing photos. :)
How it started: February 2020
One year ago, I was poised to set out on my own as I stepped away from a studio that I taught at for over seven years. My intention at the beginning of February 2020 was to pursue making Maine Yoga School my sole focus and continue to create high quality yoga teacher training programs and continuing education courses.
One month into this new endeavor . . . well, you don't need me to tell you what happened.
Like everyone else, I hesitantly made the leap to teaching online. It felt like each week presented a new technological challenge: learning about back-lighting, improving my sound quality over zoom and learning the best camera angles. These challenges haven't really let up since, but there is one message that's been coming through loud and clear. That message has been: simplify.
How it's going: February 2021
I'm part of an extraordinary group of teachers that make up the virtual space that is the Maine Yoga Collective. Two yoga teachers completed their requirements for the 300 hour advanced training that I created and facilitated after they began back in the fall of 2018. I transitioned my signature Restorative Yoga teacher training to be presented entirely online. I had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to a kind and thoughtful yoga teacher. I teach 3 weekly classes online. I am now immersed in facilitating a small group mentorship program.
When I read that last paragraph I'm pretty fucking proud of the work I've done over the last year. Like everyone, I was given an opportunity to consider where I wanted to place my attention moving forward and get clear on where my interests as a yoga teacher rest. Offering an entire 300 hour teacher training online just does not appeal to me. I let go of Maine Yoga School as a vision. Simplify.
What I was craving back in February 2020 was an opportunity to do my work with more autonomy and agency. To find the freedom to truly create an avenue that supported my interests. I wanted to work with like-minded teachers that valued integrity and transparency and held themselves accountable to a high standard of professionalism and ethics.
The thing is I have all of the component parts that I outlined above. I get to create exactly the programming I want to create without the interference of a third party. I'm focusing my work on the pieces of the practice that light me up the most. I work with a community of like-minded teachers that value who I am as a person and a yoga teacher.
What's next?
The reason I share this all with you is that I value honesty and truth-telling more than anything else. Our lives are filtered, edited and cropped enough as it is. I want to normalize changing your mind, changing course and setting out on a new path even when it seems irrational or unclear.
I'm committed to staying this new course I've charted. My interest in the intersection of yoga, psychology and somatic movement continues to inspire me in every fiber of my body-mind network. My hope is to be able to explore that work with you in weekly classes, mentoring new-ish yoga teachers, facilitating the Restorative Yoga teacher training and creating opportunities for growth in your practice whether you teach or are a curious practitioner.