Category: Yoga

What’s your dream job? I’ve heard it said, “Do something you love for your job/career, and you’ll never work a day in your life!” I agree with this, because if you’re doing what you love anyway, you’re automatically having fun and it doesn’t feel like “work.”

I am fortunate to be in my “dream job” as a yoga teacher. How did I get here? Well, I didn’t set out to do this for a living, rather, it came to be as an outgrowth of what I had already been doing. Here was my journey: dance student, fitness instructor, yoga teacher. I loved dancing and loved working out and teaching fitness. I was already doing all that when yoga started becoming popular in gyms and recreation centers. So, stepping into yoga teaching was a natural next-step.

It also helps that I’m naturally gifted with the abilities that yoga instruction requires. Here’s a post I wrote about the career placement test we took in high school: Living our Gifts. And while I love teaching yoga, I have also obtained education in other areas that interest me such as counseling and spiritual direction. Therefore, I also think it’s possible that our dream job can continue evolving throughout our lives. Maybe it even should keep evolving. That way, we never get stuck in a rut or feel bored.

So, while I love what I’m doing now, I can also see the possibility of my career moving to a place where I can combine all my skills and interests into one place, where physical fitness meshes with mental/emotional health, and spiritual guidance. Ah, see?! This is a perfect description of Yoga Therapy. I honestly believe everyone deserves this type of holistic health.

I’m open to your questions and comments about what a “dream job” is, and about what yoga therapy is and how it can help you.

Peace to all!

#bloganuary

I believe I understand why depression and anxiety are so prevalent in the United States and other Western countries at this time.  I’ve met many people, especially through teaching Yoga, who are peace-loving, kind-hearted, and compassionate.  Such people are doing the best they can to live good, wholesome – even deeply spiritual – lives, but they are overwhelmed. 

It’s hard hearing about the constant wars going on around the world, the effects of climate change, the greed and lies of politicians, sky-rocketing prices of housing and other necessities, and various scandals.  It’s tough not to feel beaten down by all of this.  And of course, if we’re honest with ourselves, we can also see our own weaknesses and mistakes which contribute to the pain of life in this world. 

All of these conditions are quite normal reasons for feeling depressed and anxious.  Basically, for most people dealing with mild depression and anxiety, there’s nothing really wrong!  (Note: Yes, there are serious, even life-threatening cases, which are something different requiring specialized medical attention.)

I believe the major problem is that people have not been taught how to manage their own thoughts and how to work effectively with their own emotions.  Physicians are not taught about this; they are taught to prescribe medication.  A quick and easy “solution.” Therefore, the vast majority of people who are taking medication for depression or anxiety don’t really need that.  They need to be taught to slow down and pay attention to what is actually happening inside them.   

Example from Medical News Today: ”The data available suggest that low serotonin levels do not cause depression. However, this does not mean that doctors will stop utilizing antidepressants as a treatment option. Instead, it calls for more research about why antidepressants work the way they do.”  I wonder if low serotonin is actually an effect of being depressed for a while.

I have seen many Yoga students who come to classes regularly because they know (consciously or unconsciously) they need to slow down and listen within themselves.  They know there is something about Yoga that helps them feel better, something that gives them practical tools to bring into daily life.  Indeed, yoga philosophy teaches we are so much more than the physical body we tend to emphasize.  Besides the physical body, we have our energetic body, mental/emotional body, wisdom body, and contentment/bliss body.  These are the five koshas (sheaths) of our body.  Yoga helps us feel better because it addresses all five of these sheaths, and it helps us connect with our deepest sheaths of wisdom, peace, contentment, bliss.

Yoga is meant to be practiced meditatively for the greatest mental and emotional benefits. Forcing the body to perform fancy poses can cause injury. Practicing with goats or other external stimuli teaches the mind to keep reaching for distractions to numb emotional pain. Nothing special is needed for the practice. All we need to do is show up with an open mind and heart, trusting the process. 

A single practice session helps us feel better. Over time, the cumulative effect is even greater. I invite you to practice any way you can, whether alone or with a group or with a private yoga therapist. Look and listen deeply within yourself. Trust what you find there even if it’s sometimes painful because the very act of looking and listening begins the process of healing.