Yoga Teacher Training: Day 1

Hello, and welcome to Day 1 of my Yoga Teacher Training Blog. Right now, the morning of the first class, I am drinking coffee...not herbal tea. As I think about what a true yogini should be doing to prepare for Day 1 of teacher training the only thing I could come up with was, "I better clip my toenails."

The gentlemen on the left is Iyengar, a personal hero of mine. He overcame poverty and indifference to yoga within the very country in which it was born, and started his yoga teaching journey when he was around 40. In his 80's he is still doing backbends! He wrote "Light On Yoga". If you want to understand poses and the benefits, this is one book to get.

I know, I can "hear" your eyes roll up followed by, "ugh, yoga!". Oh, I am with you and have desperately assembled numerous reasons to NOT to take yoga teacher training. For example:

• It's too expensive
• I am an old-timer dude and it's creepy
• I should focus on my job and be practical
• It's a ridiculous idea
• It will never amount to anything
• Not everyone in class will like me
• I won't like everyone in class
• etc.

But for anyone who knows me, my love of yoga outweighs my misgivings about stepping into this little adventure. In a sentence: Yoga makes me happy. But is that the goal of yoga, or the intention, as it were? (Ah, intention. That word is often used within yoga class: "What is your intention for today's class". More on that later). I don't know the answer. But I feel better when I practice yoga as opposed to when I do not. Can you imagine how I would be without it?!!!

You know what, let's not imagine.

I read today, "We must focus on the nature of our efforts, and not the nature of the results." Hmm...great!!! Okay.

If you've gotten this far, I thank you. Please follow along with me on this path

as I chronicle my experience. Maybe it will inspire you towards yours :)

I would also like to express profound gratitude to my friends who all replied with

the same answer when I said, "Hey, I am thinking of taking yoga teacher training."

and all of you answered back, "Oh, you totally should."

To me, that is love in action.

Without your kindness it would not have happened.

Thank you.

Namaste,

Steve