Hello, friends!
Today I am grateful.
I took a class at 6am this morning in a space that housed the first yoga class I took when I moved to Vancouver at Yaletown Yoga on Richards street. The space looks completely different but memories flooded my heart and mind as I walked up the stairs. I remember feeling new — not belonging — trying to find friends and a place to teach. Within a few months, I befriended the small community of teachers and found my footing as a teacher.
I thought about how supported I felt by the owners and managers at that time. I remembered how, as teachers, we always took each other’s classes, uplifting the intention and building the community together. We would travel to trainings together — learning, sharing our findings and refining each other’s teaching. It was a rich time for me. I had never thought of learning from my peers prior to living here. I had always sought my teachers and mentors for education. Here in Vancouver, there weren’t any senior teachers — we were it. And so we looked to each other for feedback and geeking out about all the things. It was such a sweet time and place to be a teacher.
Over the years, that began to change as more studios opened and the teaching community got bigger. Teachers started having kids. People got busy with other things. We didn’t go to each other’s classes as much. We stopped going to trainings together. People moved away.
I had forgotten about that golden period until I stepped into that studio this morning.
It’s cool how I can be transported to another time by stepping into a new/old place. My imagination took me to 2005, and there I was at the front desk, looking to sign into the 4pm vinyasa class.
This afternoon, I taught my first public class in a new space. All the students in my class are long-time students —people I’ve been teaching for over a decade. As they lay in savasana at the end, I thought about how grateful I am to be a part of this community, from being the new girl to being a member.
I leave you with these questions —
Where have you travelled to in your imagination recently?
When was the last time you were the new person somewhere?
Where do you feel like a full-blown member?
The photo above is from this golden time – circa 2012.
Clara
