What My First Year as a Yoga Teacher Taught Me

            Becoming a yoga teacher has been one of the best decisions of my life. I could not have imagined when I began practicing that yoga could and would transform my life in so many ways. Since progressing in my personal journey and acquiring the role of teacher, my experience has only deepened. October of this year (2016) marked my first anniversary of being a certified 200-hour hatha teacher. I have been privileged enough to have the opportunity to teach privately, lead workshops, work in a studio, contribute to amazing platforms like BlackGirlYoga and Black Girl in Om, and now teach youth each week at a residential crisis shelter. As I reflect on this adventure, I realize that becoming an instructor has only made me more of a student. Here are some of the greatest lessons my first year as a yoga teacher has given me.

Find Your Inner Voice.

Being a teacher has helped me find, define, and own my inner voice. My unique teaching style is a reflection of who I am as a person and, with time, I have come to love and appreciate what I have to offer. It is easy as a new teacher to feel pressured to mimic the style of a more experienced practitioner. In fact, teacher or not, I would argue that many of us battle the impulse to mirror others. But there is not only one way to be or to teach, and different is not synonymous with “better” or “worse”. Sometimes this is easier said than believed, of course. The truth is, not everyone will like your style! Finding comfort and confidence takes time. You can’t please all of your students all of the time, and that is okay. I had to learn to accept and value who I am as a person in order to value and accept who I am as a teacher.

The beauty of yoga is that it is for everyone. It is a dynamic and multidimensional practice. There are numerous styles, infinite flows, and countless variations of postures. As long as safety and the students’ needs are in mind, all diverse forms are valid and encourage healing and wholeness. It was a big moment to realize that to not remain true to my personal approach could potentially deny a student access to their best experience. I have a lot to offer, and you do also, both on and off of the mat. It is a practice of unconditional acceptance that gives us access to all of our beautiful selves. Being genuine in the classroom paralleled my sincerity and self-love in other spaces.

It Is Not About Me.

            Let’s face it, most of us care what people think. How my students reacted to my classes used to determine how I felt about myself. If they didn’t love it, seem completely transformed, or follow every instruction I would wonder if I had done something wrong. I have even felt offended by students’ lack of enthusiasm. On the flip side, I have received my self-worth from students’ admiration or compliments about my class. The teacher-ego is real, and it’s hard to admit. As instructors, we’re somehow supposed to be above all of these feelings. Well, I’m not perfect, and it took a long time to realize: It’s not about me.

         

          Guiding a student’s practice is an honor. You are a part of a very intimate internal process. As a teacher, you are privy to a student’s experience on and sometimes, even if never verbalized, off of their mat. Feeding the ego from your classroom is not beneficial to anyone. The goals of yoga and your students have to be kept in mind so that the process remains focused and pure. Time spent considering my own feelings and thoughts distracted me from my role of as an instructor and the experience and energy of my class. I cannot control what students receive from my teachings, but it is my duty to be present and to offer them.

            Focusing on my clients only made me a more efficient and effective teacher. Practicing awareness allowed me to more accurately meet my students where they are at and feel what they need. It took away the burden of searching for evidence of progress. It also opened me to receive knowledge from my students. I am never the only person in the room with something amazing to give and transformative to teach. By making it about my class I was able to be a more selfless teacher, a more informed student, and a more compassionate person.

It’s All a Process.

            The practice of yoga is often referred to as a journey and for good reason. It is absolutely a process. From the first stiff forward fold to the excitement of a first handstand, there are many steps and lessons in between. I continue to be amazed at what yoga has to offer and am humbled by its infinity. Becoming a teacher does not signal I have mastered anything. In fact, I am more of a student than ever. Helping others is simply a calling I have answered and a part of my development and progress towards healing and wholeness. A goal that, teacher or not, we are all striving for.

Guiding others to and through their practice is an important part of my own. In order to act as a channel towards the spiritual and emotional self for my students, it requires my continuous exploration of my own inner world. I am more connected than ever to my intentions, my body, and my breath- and that does not mean that I am at my best all of the time. Part of the process is recognizing when you are straying from your path and learning from it. Teaching others to forgive and accept themselves has helped me to do the same. It’s okay to mess up or not have all of the answers. My teaching certificate does not negate my role as a student. It’s all a process. I cannot wait to see what lessons year two has to offer!

Written by Kala Lacy

IG @benditlikelacy

Injured Yogi Problems

The Image

Those who do not practice yoga see us as majestic ninjas. We are the chosen few who can balance their body weight on their head (with or without the use of hands). We are the beings that bend but don’t break, that can stretch our legs high to the sky and still be well rooted to the earth. In pictures, we appear ethereal.

But not everything is picture perfect, and our poses don’t come without some cost. Just as any other physical activity, we practice to get where we are. However, this is a special practice. We can accomplish a pose one day and not be able to do it again the next. Or the next. Or the next. Or only a few seconds again. Yoga moves and flows aren’t always constant; they have their good days and bad days. The worst part isn’t when we can’t do a pose a certain day, because although disappointing we become aware we’ll eventually be able to do it again soon; the worst is when injuries hinder or set back our practice.

The Injury

We get injured from practicing a new skill and even from doing our favorite poses. We fall into furniture, strain muscles, and face plant into the floor. Getting injured is how we learn how to listen to our bodies more, even if sometimes injuries sneak up on us despite the precautions we take in our practice. People think that of course novices in the ways of yoga will injure themselves since they’re still learning. However, even yogis seen as experts have days where they just can’t get into their handstand or it takes them a bit longer to slip into their splits. Those pictures everyone admires of us doing handstands weren’t without many falls, whether straight to the floor or into other objects. Sometimes the body really just says, “Not today,” and forcing ourselves into something our bodies say no to isn’t ideal. Injuries can also occur even when we’re listening to our bodies, but it doesn’t help the feelings of frustration and disappointment we feel when the move we used to be great at is now something we have to learn post injury.

The Recovery

When I injured my hip flexor, I continued my yoga practice but avoided anything that needed the use of my hip. This was a lot harder than I expected because anything that involved forward folds or leg extensions caused me pain, and they were my best areas of flexibility. That left arm balances and backbends for me to continue but at one point I paused my practice for some time for two reasons; the first was to attempt to heal and the second was because my practice felt empty having to take out a main part of it. Across my yoga Instagram I noticed I wasn’t alone in feeling this way. One yogi expressed how her Type A personality made feeling a little better make her push herself a little too far. Another said how it felt like she’d never done yoga in her life. Patience is a hard virtue to keep, and the healing process can either be short and sweet or long and tedious; but no one, even the cool and badass looking yogis, is perfect and we just have to trust the process. Even when it feels like we can’t do our beloved poses anymore, we can still find enjoyment in practicing the basics that got us to where we are. Setbacks are learning experiences and ways to humble us. We learn to be patient, we learn to listen to our bodies, and we learn that failure is a stepping stone to greatness.

Written by Anjé McLish

IG @yoga_tapdancer

Yogi Spotlight Series - Misha H.

Misha H.

Instagram ID: mishayoga

Location: Montclair, NJ

Occupation: Certified Yoga Teacher, Paralegal

Growing up Misha's father was in the FBI serving with Joint Terrorism Task Force which gave her an incredibly unique perspective on life. She has carried a passion for law with her throughout her entire life thus far and in 2013, graduated from Montclair State University Pre-Law. For fun she reads Supreme Court dockets for any major cases that are coming down the pipe line. She finds it incredibly interesting to see the process that these laws which govern our very livelihood take. In addition to reading law related texts, she is an avid reader of fiction novels. Misha is currently undergoing the Rory Gilmore 339 booklist challenge, which is a list of books read by the character Rory Gilmore in the show Gilmore Girls. The list features primarily classic texts and she has just completed all of Jane Austen’s novels and currently reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. She LOVES to be in nature and try to go to the beach at least twice a week when the weather permits. 

Music is also another passion of hers, specifically live music. She goes to at least 10 concerts a year by herself because she loves the feeling of being in a new place and not knowing anyone. It provides the perfect foundation to meet new people and connect with someone who the only initial commonality you have is similar taste in music. She loves how liberated she feels during the show dancing to the music and closing her eyes not caring how she looks to anyone else but just feeling the music in her soul and moving because it just feel so damn good.

Yoga is Exhilarating, Dynamic, and Liberating. ~Misha

 How long have you been been on your journey? 

Five years, Since June 13, 2011.

How did you discover yoga? 

  When I was 12 years old I went to Barnes and Noble with my dad and wandered into the physical fitness isle. I picked up an Ashtanga yoga book and began attempting the primary series in my room. I had no idea what I was doing and I'm sure my little chicken legs were all out of alignment but I knew that it felt good. In 2011 my best friend took me to my first hot yoga class and I cried throughout the entire class because I felt such an emotional release from all of the different things I was dealing with at the time. I remember thinking "This chick is in bathing suit bottoms and a crop top dropping the realist truth on me and she's getting paid to do this?!" Literally I knew then that I wanted to become a yoga teacher and began my regular yoga practice.

How often do you practice?

Literally every single day sometimes multiple times a day. On Saturday and Sunday's I have a 4 hour practice consisting of 2 hours of vinyasa followed by 2 hours of iyengar.

What type of yoga do you practice?

Vinyasa

Iyengar

Aerial

Restorative

I teach vinyasa, aerial, and restorative yoga.

What have you learned from your practice?

  From my yoga practice I have learned the importance of doing what you love regardless of the opinion of anyone else. When I graduated from college I worked in a law firm because I thought that was what I was "suppose" to do and it made my parents proud of me. However, I was incredibly unhappy and lived a life looking through the lense of of someone other than myself. It wasn't until I decided to put my metaphorical life jacket one first and take care of my needs that I was truly able to make those around me happy. Yoga has taught me to listen to my gut and most importantly listen to my heart.

Do you feel yoga is more mental or physical?

Yoga is neither a more mental nor is it a more physical practice. It is a combination of the two. Asana is only one of the eight limbs of yoga and therefore not the main focus. In traditional yoga practices students would not be allowed to practice any asana until they were deeply immersed in the yamas and niyamas. For me, yoga is not just a physical practice but it is a mental, emotional, and spiritual practice as well. Focusing purely on asana and having the "perfect pose" only leads to ego and a lack on inner development.

What keeps you motivated throughout your practice?

To keep me motivated throughout my practice I have a mantra that I say usually to Ganesh or Lakshimi that I say with each breath. I also pick a posture I know I want to work on or a body part such as adho mukha vrikasana or opening my hips in Malasana or scandasana and I try to focus on the alignment required for each asana I am in. I also practice in the studio where I teach so seeing students working hard on their mats keeps me going for them. Sometimes, depending on if Ives eaten before class I am also motivated by knowing how amazing that my brunch is going to be when I get out of the room lol.

 What do you think about the increase of black women getting into yoga?

The increase of black women getting into yoga is incredible! There are not enough black women represented in the yoga community as either teachers or practitioners. It is important for black women to become prevalent in the yoga community because it helps spread awareness to a life style that has deep benefits. 

                 What would you say to someone who says yoga is not for them?

      I would first ask them why do they believe that yoga is not for them. The usual response is "I'm not flexible enough" to which internally I want to smash my head on the wall for the amount of times I have heard that response. I would respond by saying that you do not have to be flexible to begin a yoga practice. When I first starting practicing yoga I could not touch my toes and I was afraid to do a headstand. Everyone has to begin somewhere and by having negative thought process about a practice you haven't even tried you are limiting yourself to a world of possibilities. Try yoga consistently for a month, practicing at least 2-3 times a week. Most studios have amazing new student packages for their first month. Try it first and try every teacher they offer at every time of the day you can because the teach end time of class will always effect your practice differently. After that is done then make a determination of whether yoga is for you or not.

What is your favorite quote?

"Slow progress is still progress".

I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you Misha for sharing!

Contact Misha:

Email: mishahajj@gmail.com

Website: www.mishahajj.com
Instagram: mishayoga

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Edited by Vanessa L.