I guess I'm nervous, but mostly I'm just excited. I've heard people talk about, when they start doing something they knew they were always meant to do, they have a great sense of arriving. That's exactly how I feel. I feel like I should have been doing this all along. I know I will mess up tonight and many, many times in the future, to the extent that "messing up" is even possible in yoga (and I don't think it is). I know I've been a teacher and a student for a long time. Still, tonight is a milestone.
In recognition of that milestone, I would like to express my tremendous, ongoing gratitude to the teachers that have helped me get to this point. I could speak generally to the teachers that have informed my life, which of course animates my practice, but then I'd be here all day, and what began as a mild procrastination before I calculated _________________________ (INSERT CONFIDENTIAL WORK BUSINESS HERE) would turn into a serious productivity drain. No one wants that.
So in the interest of brevity, let me a send a namaste to the five people that have had the greatest influence on my practice of asana.
Lori Burgwyn and Deb Lazer, you taught me that a studio could be a community. You provided the space for my practice and my heart to grow, and you always went above and beyond to support my progress. That you do so for all of your students is a humbling lesson I will try to keep in mind with my own students. Namaste.
Mike Lyons and Andrea Martinez, you taught me that grace under pressure was not only possible but the place to be. In the middle of all the noise and the chaos of the universe, there is a place of deep quiet and total peace, and I don't think I would understand that nearly as thoroughly without your teachings. Namaste.
Nancy Shelly, you are my favorite yoga teacher ever. You got me to go to my first yoga class, then reminded me of yoga when I was hunched over a desk finishing my dissertation and complaining about my back. Everything that has happened since stems from that moment, so any good I've accomplished in the practice of yoga or will accomplish in its teaching is your good too. I love you so much. Namaste.
Now, who's up for some yoga?
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