"Don’t quit your day job,” with this statement my yoga teacher
training instructor broke my heart.
Shit, I thought, beneath what I like to think of as a very
serene face. I just paid $3,000 and spent every single weekend of the past
three months slaving away over homework and sitting through lectures to become
a yoga teacher. Within ten months I wanted to
be a thin, glowing, bubble of enthusiasm with freakish strength that allowed me
to balance on my hands while sprouting poetic and inspirational speeches as my
students sweated in admiration.
And I was being told this dream wasn’t just within reach?
Why the hell not?
During the next hour of the lecture, this is what I gathered:
1. Yogis don't actually make money silly goose!
Right. Someone MIGHT
have mentioned this earlier.
2. If you teach too many classes you will get
burn-out and hate yourself, your students, yoga, and the universe.
But I LOVE yoga! I argued. Still, my teacher INSISTED
burn-out happens to ANYONE, and all my naïve enthusiasm couldn’t convince her
otherwise.
3. It is entirely possible to realize that teaching
complete strangers downward facing dog for years on end is not really your
thing.
OK, had not really considered that
one. Could be good to know…
I let the lessons from this talk simmer for 9 months, just
long enough to get a few yoga classes under my belt and more importantly, to
relegate the downhearted but entirely realistic lecture to a faded and distant
memory.
In my forgetfulness I decided to forsake the thoughtful
advice of my teachers and quit my day job in order to be a full time yoga
teacher.
Which is funny...because I am still totally green and
I don't really know what I'm doing (do we ever??). Further, I tend to
doubt the wisdom of this move with questions such as, “If no studios hire me
will I end up eating dumpster food before begging my boss to take me back?” or,
“Will I successfully land teaching gigs only to get attacked by the burn-out
monster in the first month?”
I’m giving myself the winter season to find the answers to
these and other yoga related inquiries. I look forward to telling you what I
find out and if you see me on the street, please give me a cookie.
Hugs and Namastes!
