Yoga teacher training boot camp style weekends ended March 2^nd. Woo Hoo. In many ways, I am relieved. The long hot Friday, Saturday and Sundays of sweat, study and contortions are over. Or are they?

When I graduated from high school and college we participated in a formal commencement event. Bore-ing stuff – no question about it. Commencement is defined as a “beginning” but back then I didn’t see it like that. In high school I thought “get me the hell-outta this crap hole with these numb-nut juveniles” and in college I thought ” 7 years and $30K for this piece of paper – now what”? I didn’t see those commencements as beginnings, just as ends of long and difficult journeys. I couldn’t see the forest through the trees. Hell, I couldn’t see the trees at all!

“Official” training wrapped on 3/2/08 and it was a wonderful day of sharing with my bendy yoga comrades. The end of the yoga weekends mixed with my birthday celebration on 3/3 was truly a time of new beginning for me. Fa la la la la la la!

My fellow YTT classmates (that’s short for yoga teacher training) saw me bouncing and bubbling about (and likely commented I was high on caffeine or some other hallucinogen). If a person can effervesce, I was surely doing it!

I finally understand the word “commencement” as it relates to my life. I am truly at the beginning of a path and you know what, it feels g-r-e-a-t!!! Tony the Tiger Frosted Flakes kinda G*R*E*A*T!!

There’s so much to learn, homework still to finish and contact hours left to be earned but I embrace it. I’ll never be like BKS Iyengar (cute dude, very bendy, spiritually evolved and all) but frankly, I really just want to be me. Never thought I would say that, but I mean it now.

Hallelujah- Hallelujah- Hallelujah- Halle-lu-jah!

I wasn’t sure if I could get through the weekends. At several points, I thought I’d back out but I kept telling myself, “it’s easy to quit; hard to commit.”

I’m enjoying the hell out of helping new students learn yoga too. I might not be able to do all the poses perfectly (like who can), may have some extra chunks here and there and on days like today, practice asanas with a migraine and almost pass out in the studio due to high humidity BUT I’m a damn good cheerleader to the newbies. They rock! It takes serious cahones to be out of shape, couch potato like, and walk into a hot yoga studio ready to learn and sweat. God Bless ‘em. The newbies inspire the hell out of me. I also think in some odd way it inspires them to see a non-size 4 yoga teacher in poses and shows them that ANYONE can do yoga. If I can do it – anyone can……seriously.

I learned in this process yoga isn’t just postures and pretzel like positions (eagle pose for example). We talk about the 8 limbed path in yoga but basically, yoga incorporates discipline, self-restraint, breath control, meditation, mindfulness, kindness, concentration and even om’ing and shit like that. I love those Om’s.

I bet some of you who don’t do asanas practice actually have an active yoga practice now. Take a deep breath in and out – you’re doing yoga. Be kind to yourself and your neighbor – you’re doing yoga. WOW!

Yoga is good stuff. Yoga is good times. Yoga will challenge you and yoga will, if you choose to accept the mission, change your life for the better. I’ll bet you a sandwich on that!

Peace out!