My Yoga Journey

I’d like to start off by saying I haven’t always been a yogi. In fact, I used to hate Yoga. I hated feeling how tight my body was and frustrated not being able to do things the rest of the class could do. Yoga was something I tried a few times in high school to counteract playing sports (I played Volleyball and Lacrosse) but never fully enjoyed or got super into.

I also want to include that I was never a gymnast or cheerleader, aside from a few years when I was little. I’ve never been naturally flexible, actually the opposite. Having tight hamstrings and hips, I was probably the equivalent of a high school football player.

Yoga didn’t come to me on a silver platter. Nor did I walk into a class one day and think, ‘I want to become a yoga instructor’.

Let’s rewind back to 2014. I booked a one-way flight to NYC after graduating college without a job, any leads, and nowhere to live. Luckily, I had interned there the summer prior and made some amazing friends, so I was able to stay with one for a short time upon moving back. I also stayed in touch with people from my internship (I was an Editorial Intern at Maxim Magazine that summer) so I was hopeful I’d find something. I really just wanted to start my life in the most amazing city in the world.

A few years later, I found myself living the dream I had worked so hard for. But somehow I wasn’t happy. I was living in a tiny apartment, stressed from work and ongoing anxiety. It wasn’t the same as that summer I spent as an intern in college. It was reality.

Stress from work and anxiety lead to the gym. I usually get my anxious thoughts out by running, but my anxiety was becoming so intense that running only many it worse. I needed something to slow down my heart rate and calm my mind, while also getting in a work out.

I started going to a yoga class Monday nights at Equinox in Soho. Not even caring about the fact that I hated yoga or that I was so inflexible. I just needed a space to relax and unwind. So every Monday I went to this class. I wasn’t there to ‘become a yogi’ or deepen my practice. I wasn’t concerned what the regulars thought of me. I was doing it for my mind and my sanity. New York is an amazing city, but living around such high energy mixed with not loving my job was starting to get to me.

So I kept going. I loved the style the teacher taught. His voice was so calming yet instructive. I could feel my breath matching with my movements in a way I’ve never experienced before.

I had no idea there were different types of yoga or even what kind I was taking at the time. I just knew that I enjoyed it and when I walked out of that class after one hour my anxiety was gone and I felt so much calmer no matter what was going on in my life.

I remember there was one particular class where everything clicked. I understood what a Vinyasa was. I understood how to do a Chatturanga. And I was beginning to understand how moving with my breath benefitted my mind and body, which in return affected my mood and calmed my anxious thoughts. It just took a few times going and it had changed my view of yoga.

Yoga’s not just for flexible or spiritual people, it’s for everyone and anyone (because let’s be honest, we all need it).

My practice was pretty on and off throughout my time there, but it really kicked into gear when I started having digestive issues out of nowhere.

I tried everything, participated in every test, pill and procedure my doctor recommended (if you want to read more about my tummy issues and how I learned to cure myself using a holistic approach, click here). When nothing worked, I decided to turn to yoga and natural healing.

Yoga helped a ton. I was having crazy bloating for absolutely no reason and after an hour of yoga, moving with my breath and relaxing, the bloating went down. If the two things I was struggling with in my life were being treated- even the smallest amount- by yoga, then I was going to continue doing it.

About a year into my practice, I ended up moving back home to Columbus, Ohio, with no initial plan other than needing some time to reevaluate my life and what I saw for myself and my future. Life happened, and my tummy issues certainly did not help.

Once back home, I took a Vinyasa class at my local gym with this instructor that I just loved. Her style of teaching and the way she made her students feel so comfortable during the practice was contagious. One day after class I decided to talk to her and introduce myself (I wasn’t one to ever do this, by the way). I asked her about her yoga journey and how she became a teacher.

Shorty into our conversation we found out that we not only grew up in the same town but also graduated the same year. I told her I was interested in becoming a teacher but I was working a 9-5 job and didn’t think I had time. She told me she got her training at Yoga on High while also working a full-time job. She encouraged me that if she could do it, so could I.

She also told me that she was never a yogi growing up and hardly knew much about the practice when she decided to get certified. We ended the conversation with her complimenting my practice and thought I’d be a great instructor. Those words stuck with me and I walked out of the gym that night so motivated and inspired. I knew at that moment that becoming at teacher was what I was meant to do.

My short time with yoga lead me on such an incredible journey that I’ve never experienced before and I remember thinking that if I can help even one person find that themselves, then I knew I’d be doing my job. I wanted to spread this feeling and exploration to anyone and everyone that would show up to my class one day.

The yogi’s I met while in Teacher Training at Yoga on High were amazing people. Their energy was contagious yet genuine. Whenever I spoke to someone, I felt their attentiveness. When we’d make eye contact, it was like they were really seeing me. If they asked me how I was doing, it’s because they really wanted to know. It wasn’t just to pass the time. I wasn’t used to that, especially coming from Corporate America.

So on November 2018, I graduated from Yoga’s on High 200-hour Teacher Training Program with a Certification in Vinyasa style yoga. It was the first time I felt like I accomplished something that was truly my own and something I was totally meant to do. I not only fell in love with the practice but couldn’t wait to share it with others.

I’m writing this to encourage anyone out there who’s been thinking about doing something but hasn’t yet. If there’s something your soul keeps asking for but you’re letting fear get in the way, you’ll never accomplish what you were put on this Earth to do. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true! Take that step and start living your dreams, and maybe do a yoga class or two along the way.