As I embark upon the adventure of teaching my first 200-hour Yoga
Teacher Training in March, I can't help but recall the days when yoga
was a foreign word to me. When the idea of being in front of people
teaching yoga caused me to withdraw into my turtle shell and hide.
I wanted to learn yoga. I wanted to immerse myself fully into learning
more about that sequence of postures that, in some way I didn't
understand, was making my life more meaningful. I never intended to
become
a teacher to teach. But life had plans for me that I couldn't foresee at that time.
In early 2003 I was coming out of a relationship that had left me
feeling devastated. I was going through the heartbreak and healing
process. I remember at the end of that year saying to myself...
"Well Adrian, looking back at this year, Yoga—not people, not places,
not money—seems to be the only thing that has brought some sense of
comfort and peace and tranquility to your life. I guess you owe it to
yourself to learn more yoga, then."
So I signed up to a teacher
training program with no freaking clue of who Patanjali was, what the
Vedas were, or the Bhagavad Gita was. I had no idea I have chakras
inside of me. I barely spoke English and yet I was about to learn
Sanskrit!
I honestly I didn't know the depths or the transformational potential of Yoga.
Like most people who practice Yoga these days I thought of doing yoga
as a way of keeping my body healthy and strong. And feeling happier and
learning how to relax. Which are fine goals in and of themselves. But I
understand today that they are only a small facet of what Yoga has to
offer.
Those three months were not a “Teacher Training." They were a life makeover.
It was during my training that I began to discover the possibility of a
life with less suffering. I didn't realize at the time that I was
becoming a seeker, a person searching for liberation, transcendence,
self transformation—in a word, a yogi.
Those three months were the first time in my life where I actually spent time with me.
Looking back, learning yoga brought meaning and direction into my life at a time when I felt hopeless and lost.
Of course I kept stumbling with my ego in the years to come, but I
regard my Yoga Teacher Training experience as one of the most important
decisions I ever made.
As I go over old handwritten notes from
that time, and dust off some of my old-time favorite yoga texts, I can’t
help but feel a deep respect and gratitude for so many yogis, sages,
gurus, disciples, and students who have paved the way for what Yoga is
today.
Thank God for Yoga!
Adrian
Molina is a yoga teacher, writer and meditation practitioner living in
New York City. He developed the Warrior Flow style of yoga and teaches
at Equinox fitness centers, in private sessions, and at retreats. He
shares inspiration and teachings frequently on his web site Warrior Flow, his Facebook page, and his Twitter feed.
