updates

as i sit here in between my click clicking on the keyboard, i alternate clutching a steaming cup of tea with honey, and a wadded up tissue.  mmmm. post-holiday/snow-storm illness. it's almost a tradition with me - go home for christmas and more likely than not, i will end up either ill or otherwise unwell, ranging anywhere from a nasty case of the sniffles, to going to the ER for a tetanus shot because a stray cat scratched me and my hand ballooned up to the size of a grapefruit, to not once but twice getting the 24 hour flu on christmas day.  there's just something about this holiday that always leaves me somewhat low on batteries. 

although i would much rather be curled up snoozing with my kitties, i have some serious updating to do.  a few months ago i wrote to you all about the price of happiness.  it became quite clear that i needed to make some big changes in my life and from that point forth things have percolated under the surface.  and now with the new year approaching i am very pleased to announce that i have begun taking the next steps to teaching on a more full time basis.  (!!!)

after soliciting advice from fellow yoga teachers, mentors, family and friends i have received such an amazing outpouring of support.  to take a step back from a full time job and guaranteed paycheck to work for myself in what can only be described as a very transitory business was a scary decision but, at some point, you have to follow your heart.  as i started to share this realization with other people, i was greeted with stories of similar plights, or words of admiration, advice, encouragement and above all joy.  joy that i have found something that sustains me.  to all of you fellow teachers, mentors, family and friends - thank you for that.  even in the darkest moments when i struggle with the "what if's" of the future - your support and enthusiasm for my path has given me strength.  thank you.  


i have been very lucky to work out an arrangement with my full time job so that now i will be part time with flexible hours starting 1/3/11.  though there are still a lot of things still up in the air - i am so looking forward to having more time to search for openings, to take class, and to really developing my home practice.  (stay tuned for more on that).  

 wishing you all a happy rest of the year and here's to new and bright beginnings for 2011. 


xxx

and now for something completely different.

mmmrph.  so much for all of my excitement over having another regular class - no one showed last night.  kind of a downer.  definitely made me question myself and my teaching... but, i am hoping that after labor day things will pick up.  *fingers crossed* that paired with a few other things, which of course i have no control over.  and may very well have nothing to do with me or my "quality" at all, but nevertheless still made me call my worth as a teacher into question, i guess you could say i am a bit insecure. but. i am trying not to equate my worth and my quality of teaching based on whether or not anyone showed to a class at a studio i have only really taught at once.  or anything else i don't really have control over for that matter.  of course this is a completely foreign concept to me, as i usually think i am at fault for not succeeding, which is why you might be able to guess, i wasn't able to stay in the acting game.  the constant rejection hurt my soul too much. 

 in other news i am slowly starting to get settled into my new room (same apartment just switched rooms).  i am super excited about this room switch because this room allows me to have space to do my home practice without having to shift everything in my room to do so.  i have really been lacking in my efforts to have a consistent home practice so i am hoping that having my mat ready, waiting and available will make hopping on it all the more enticing.  of course, i have been so busy i haven't had much time to finish setting up my room past the essentials so there my mat sits rolled up in a corner surrounded by the things i am just not sure what to do with yet.  

in anticipation of the coming free time (ha!) i am starting to look into places to buy some more yoga accessories.  i would like to have a bolster and a blanket  so i could do a restorative practice at home if i so desire - does anyone have any recommendations on where to buy these things?  i have done some pretty general internet searches but i figured actual  recommendations would be best over just choosing any random site that offers something that looks appealing. 


another request for my fellow yogis/teachers out there - as i am starting to teach multiple classes in multiple places i am starting to wonder how others keep track of what they did where?  i will usually have a general idea of what i want to do for each class and/or a focus pose or body area to work on each day, but i feel like if i end up teaching at the same studio the next day, i don't want to accidentally use the same flow lest i be seen as uncreative.  (even though, yes, i do fall in love with certain flows and use them over and over because i think they are just so cool... and i do think that is a good thing i just also want to be sure i am being original enough too you know?) also as i start to incorporate playlists into my teaching i want to be sure i don't use the exact same playlists two times.  i'm thinking i can solve this by just jotting stuff down in a notebook right after class, but if anyone has some amazingly awesome system they have and wouldn't mind sharing, i would be appreciative.  and here's hoping i will be teaching enough classes in the near future that i will need to worry about keeping track of all of these things.  


thanks for reading! hopefully next time around i will be in a bit more of a positive place. 


xxx