This photo popped up on my timehop app last week.

I can’t believe it’s already been one full year since I finished Yoga Teacher Training!  It’s been quite the journey so far and sometimes I have to pinch myself that I am actually doing what I love.  That’s not to say that teaching hasn’t had it’s ups and downs.  I’ve learned a lot over the past year.

The nerves are there to stay. Of course this may be different for different people but for me, I still get a little nervous every single time I teach.  A good nervous though.  That butterflies in my stomach, stepping out of my comfort zone kind of nervous.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s good to be a little scared.  It keeps me on my toes, my teaching fresh, and always striving to be better.

I am the most present when teaching.  You may think that yoga teachers have the whole presence thing down.  That we never have a worry in the world or that we never think about the past.  Not quite.  I’m just like you.  I just have learned ways to really truly practice the art of getting present.  And one of the only times that I would say I am fully present and living in the moment, is when I am teaching.

Just show up.  I teach at a small studio in a small town in Connecticut.  It’s not the studio situated in the heart of a big city attracting 50 – 100 students.  My classes are small and intimate, anywhere from 2 to 10 students.  The no show has happened a couple of times but I keep showing up.  Because eventually they will come and one day I’ll have a packed room (or retreat) full of yogis ready to learn and move and be my student.

If you can help one person….that’s all that matters.  There have been those times that I have had two students in class (one being my fiance) and sure I get a little discouraged.  But then that one student tells me after class, it’s exactly what they needed because they’ve had a really tough week.  I started teaching yoga because I wanted to inspire others.  And that can absolutely happen little by little, one person at a time.

Keep learning.  More than ever I crave being a yoga student.  It’s so important to stay hungry, remain a sponge, and keep practicing.  This is how I stay inspired in order to inspire others.

I am so grateful for this past year and the opportunities I have had in teaching yoga.  This first year was only the very tip of the iceberg.  I have much, much deeper to go along my teaching path.  I feel like I am just starting to find my own teaching voice and can’t wait to see what the next year or one hundred years bring.