How did I get here?

How did I get here?

Have you ever found yourself in a time or place, paused, and wondered just how it happened that you got there? Sometimes, this can happen on a walk or maybe a drive. You are so busy thinking and your body is on auto pilot, you can’t actually remember the route you took or any details of your journey.

This is how I feel about being a yoga teacher. I look back and cannot remember what it was that pushed me onto this path. I liked yoga. I had practiced off and on at different studios throughout the past ten years or so. I never had that one teacher that made me think “Yes, this is what I need to do”. I never had someone suggest that I explore teaching. My practice had not reached a point where I needed to know more. I had not acquired so much great knowledge that I felt a need to pass it on. Maybe, I was just ambling along the road of life, tripped and accidentally took a new path. I am not sure who was more surprised by my sudden decision to do a teacher training, me or those who know me.

In hindsight I have always been a little “flighty”. I prefer to call it “curious”. I think it stems back to high school band. I can’t remember what instrument I started with but over the course of the 4 years I played clarinet, flute, piccolo, trumpet, saxophone, and French horn.  I was never particularly good at any of them but it was fun to be able to bounce around to wherever there was a need.  I bounced around different jobs too. I have worked as a short order cook, gas attendant, retail sales, waitress, bookkeeper, parts person, medical office assistant, pharmacy technician, dental assistant and then WHAM one day I am a yoga teacher.

Not everyone who takes a yoga teacher training actually wants to teach when they are done. I was pretty sure I did not. I had never been confident being in front of people, I was not comfortable with my voice, I had no desire to be a leader (and no leadership skills) and I actually had very limited yoga experience.  So how is it that just a few short months after being handed a certificate, I sign a lease on a studio space? Again, I have no idea how this happened. Maybe I am walking around this life in very ignorant state…or maybe I am being guided.

It has been two years now. I have taught hundreds of hours of classes. I have taken more training and l feel comfortable with the path I find myself on. However, I am curious. I am curious to see what lies ahead. I can see that I am deeply content and yet still engaged in what I am doing. I know I could do it better, I could grow the business, I could let the pressure of how we measure success drive me to do more, and yet I don’t. Curious things happen when you find yourself on a yogic path. You feel new things, you try new things, you meet new people, you discover hidden talents and you become almost uncomfortably aware of yourself.

When I opened the studio and began marketing, I chose this phrase:

Riverwise Yoga: Find your path…from the river to the light.

Find your path is about finding what you need or want and then pursuing it. “From the river” is a reference to the river of knowledge or the river of consciousness. “To the light” refers to enlightenment or arrival into happiness. So, if we are brave enough to wade or dip into what the river has to offer us, hopefully it will lead us down the path to happiness and success.  And this happiness or success is always defined by the individual. For me, becoming a teacher, opening the studio has been my river. I have learned and absorbed knowledge about myself. I would very much like to continue this path into my happiness. What does that mean? I will let you know.

Aug 2016

Shannon Robinson

More from Shannon Robinson
What is in a Name?
When I decided to have a website and other social media to...
Read More
0 replies on “How did I get here?”