The Yogi Journey Begins

I arrived at the Chicago airport in the freezing rain at the beginning of March and my bus back to Normal was over an hour late – but I didn’t mind. I had just spent 30 gorgeous days sleeping outside in a tent, waking up at 5:30am to meditate, practicing four hours of yoga, studying yoga vedanta scriptures, learning how to teach a Sivananda hatha class, making new friends from all over the world, and enjoying fresh vegetarian meals every day. I was floating – and was experiencing inner peace that felt like something I only had read about.

I floated through the Chicago airport, softly chanting the songs and mantras that had echoed through my mind, body, and soul for the month of February at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat in Nassau, Bahamas.

I  returned from an immersive 200-hour teacher training course (TTC), where I was able to develop and deepen a spiritual path and hatha yoga practice simultaneously. To say the least, it was a transformative experience that forever changed me for the better.

Two days later I found myself seated in front of three new students at the Palms Together Yoga studio in Bloomington – ready to teach them what I had learned in just one month. Can I really do this? Am I prepared? What if they hate my class? The ‘fraud police’ thoughts darted through my mind – trying to distract me from the task at hand. I tried to shake them out of my thoughts. Take a deep breath, stay present, and let the teachings flow through me, I thought. Here I go! 

Today is your own. Tomorrow perchance may never come. – Swami Sivananda