Wednesday, February 06, 2013

I Am I - Be the Universe

In the middle of my posts extoling the reasons that you should support my yoga teacher training, I posted a rant.

It wasn't long, it wasn't vulgar, it certainly wasn't my best rant.

But it was a rant.

That, my friends, opened my eyes to the biggest and best reason you should support my yoga teacher training.

I know that most of my normal blog readers would not describe themselves as yoga people. You may go to yoga, you may even enjoy it, but you don't really consider yourself a yogi. You probably don't wear lululemon or lucy and your mat is likely not a manduka. You probably don't understand why purveyors of yogi gear eschew capitol letters.

Actually, neither do I.

If you're like me, you are maybe perplexed by a typical yoga teacher's calm, loving, gushy-sweet demeanor. Intimidated by her soft spoken ways, lithe body, organic vegan juicing ways.

It can be hard to consider a guru so far from what you might consider acheivable for yourself.

And then there's me.

Y'all know me.

I drink. I cuss. I yell at other drivers for being fucking idiots. I'm too fat and too cheap to buy fancy yoga duds. I get in my big ass van and drive my dogs to Starbucks for coffee.

I'm not saying any of this is what you should aspire to be. It certainly isn't very becoming of a yoga instructor, especially not one that knows enough to know that yoga isn't just about the practice of movement. It is, in fact, a complete life style that touches on all of these things and builds normal, flawed humans into lovely and loving yoga instructors*.

But me?

I am, like you, a work in progress.

A perfect, complete, beautiful work in progress.

I teach in yoga clothes I bought on sale at Target.

I put songs in my playlists that shove right up against the bounds of propriety.

I may always say "fuck" under my breath when I forget where I was going while teaching a class.

I will laugh too loud.

I will hug too hard.

I will get mad if you drive too slow.

I will take you where you don't want to go solely because you will follow me there.

Someday, with work and with practice, I will be able to get you out of your head and into your body, heart, and soul, so that, together, we can strengthen and stretch and fill them with love.

To get there, I need the Universe.

I need you.

A quick drive to the mail box? EVERYONE has to go. Of course.

*You can read more about the Eight Limbs of Yoga here. If you've ever wodnered why yoga teachers are that way, this will probably shed some light for you.

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