Well, I can’t believe it but I graduated from a yoga teacher training program last week. I say I can’t believe it because yoga seems like the diametric opposite of what I have been doing for work for nearly 20 years – that being public relations in the beauty and fashion industries. And, while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with beauty and fashion, they are areas that are all about the external, as in, “what thing outside of myself can I purchase or use to make me feel better about myself and the world” and yoga is completely internal, as in, “how can I focus, breath, move, expand, open up and go inside in a way that makes me feel good about myself and the world?” Granted, for the last couple of years, I have shifted my PR business to working exclusively with “green” clients in the lifestyle arena and that has added a welcome degree of substance fulfillment to the work for me. I imagine I will continue to do that work and, hopefully, enjoy it for the foreseeable future but, now, I am also a certified yoga instructor! That being said, I am far from an expert or even a model student (if there is such a thing). There are plenty of postures I can’t do and I still feel nervous in front of a crowd. So, while I will definitely move forward and pursue teaching opportunities (unpaid first, then paid a little later), I will also be a perpetual student. There is a rich yoga community in Portland, OR, where I live.
