January for a Yoga Teacher

by Clarissa Adkins | More from this Blogger

30 Jan 2007 04:17 PM

The past month has been a whirlwind of teaching for me. I believe that I'm on seven days in a row of teaching at least one class a day. Don't get me wrong - I find my work very satisfying. It is wonderful to find something that I enjoy doing and that helps other people become healthier and maybe even happier. However, my sleep schedule is really what reveals that my body is trying to catch up. By 9:30 every night (except for "24" night) my eyes are involuntarily shutting. I know what some of you are thinking - you're ready for bed by 8:00 every night and that 9:30 sounds like a date night. Well, here's the truth, I too, am often ready for bed before, or slightly after, my son goes to sleep around 8:00. The difference here is that I'm sleeping pretty soundly through the night, too. (I believe that giving up the coffee has to do with this, too.) There's just a certain slowness in my body that is trying to tell me to just do nothing for a day - nothing at all. Fat chance, right?

With all this teaching, being excited about my new nephew, my gym's no workout policy for instructors from 5:00-8:00 through the resolution months, and the late arrival of Winter (at least here in Virginia), where do I find time to take a few yoga classes myself? Many people think that you're getting to "do" yoga all the time when you're a teacher. Although that's partly true, you're mostly just showing the poses. There's not a letting go to speak of because you're constantly thinking about where you're going to take the class next.

Please don't see this as a complaint. My life is good and I'm blessed to be able to do something that I like. I suppose my purpose here is to reveal the yoga teacher's side of life. In the past, and even sometimes now, I put certain instructors on pedestals of perfection. I'm realizing that if I feel a lot of imperfection in the details this month, then there's probably a strong majority of instructors out there who feel the same way, too. Right now, a couple minutes in the morning at my house for my own practice feels like a round of shortcuts until I can get to that class. Oh well, March will be here soon and I'll get to be the student a little more often again.

My Family Meltdown at Family Yoga

Becoming a Yoga Teacher

The Yoga Path

Learn more about Clarissa Adkins

Clarissa is a wife and mother, a yoga instructor and a freelance writer. She most recently has moved back to her home state of Virginia.

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