The Last Class of 2020

 

Today I taught my last yoga class of 2020.

I found it fitting that it took place at my home studio, Powerflow Clifton. Completing today's class also marks my reaching a third of the way to teaching one thousand hours since receiving my yoga teacher certification in April of 2019. 

For my students there might not have been anything special or notable about the class - yet for me, each time provides me something new to discover about how I teach, how I sequence and how I feel in the room in the seat of the teacher. 

Since that first class - many moons ago - when butterflies fluttered in my stomach and heart... I have matured as a teacher. I am more confident and comfortable leading a group of yogis through a series of postures. I'm more secure in choosing a peak pose or setting a goal to open or strengthen a specific body part or group of muscles. My understanding of how to do this has evolved and I feel free to improvise or adjust these goals on the fly in a room if I see the yogis responding well or if they are struggling to make the shapes I'm asking them to.

I remain humbled and grateful for my own yoga practice, which has also evolved. I'm embracing the gentler side of yoga - the meditative practice and the pranayama practice for its collective ability to calm the nervous system and reset the mind. I discovered the beautiful and relaxing practice of yoga nidra late last year and have begun to dabble in offering some level of this so-called "yogic sleep" - so needed in this anxiety-filled time. The vigorous practice of asana will always be my touchstone, however - and I really love teaching a power style of vinyasa.  

This journey is only beginning. Like so many yoga teachers, the year 2020 saw my teaching schedule stop altogether. It resumed with virtual classes and family offerings. I've taken on a corporate private yoga client as well as a high school rowing team on a private group basis. I taught outdoors in the blazing New Jersey summer sun. I've returned to a studio setting with restrictions and continue to teach online - which has become more comfortable to do as time progressed. 

Throughout all these changes and additions, the breath has been a constant. The collective Om in the beginning, whether I sing it alone or am joined by yogis with me, rings out. 

Thank you for reading along my yoga journey with me. Here's to the next hundred hours and the hope that maybe you'll be with me for one of them in the days to come.

Namaste.