I’ve been waiting for today for 3 months. It’s the day four of us taught our 45-minute final practicum classes in front of one of our instructors. I’ve been working hard to prepare, running through my class almost every day for the past two weeks, teaching Graham and my sister and cousin, rewriting my sequence (many times), and finalizing my playlist. I even reworked the sequence (and playlist) one last time this morning before teacher training. I wanted to make sure it flowed nicely and made sense.
Our day started with an hour-and-15-minute class taught by one of Sutra’s instructors. I paid lots of attention to the cues the instructor used as sort of a last-minute study session. I then watched one of my fellow trainees, who has been having a tough time lately, lead us through her class. She is excellent at centering and opening herself up to the class. I admire that about her. Then another trainee taught her class, but I sat that one out to study my sequence a little more and calm my nerves. I loved her closing quotes and her enthusiasm. She always seems to be having so much fun while practicing and teaching yoga, and that’s really what it’s all about.
Then it was my turn. I wasn’t really nervous, but I didn’t have as much energy in the beginning. I made gratitude the theme of my class and shared how grateful I am to have gone through this training with the other ladies. I concentrated on being louder, so I wasn’t showing as much personality at first, but once I become more comfortable I even made a few jokes, remarking at one point how no one seemed to want to do head stand so let’s just all take a child’s pose. I also “lied,” not meaning to bring our toes together but rather to keep them wide so we can rag doll up to standing. Those moments were fun; I love making people laugh, even if just for a few moments out of a 45-minute class. I hope to be comfortable enough to keep doing that from now on. My favorite yoga teachers, including Angie, who provided the feedback, are not afraid to be vulnerable, and that’s the kind of teacher I want to be.
I can’t express how satisfying and humbling it is to have one of your favorite teachers tell you how proud and impressed she is with your class. She said that it showed how much I worked on my sequence and that she has no doubt I will be a great teacher once I bring my personality out more. I wanted to shed tears of immense happiness when I heard that. If nothing else this yoga-teacher training has boosted my confidence, which was non-existent before. I’ll be forever grateful for this experience, which isn’t exactly over yet. Tomorrow we have a Mafia class followed by the final three practicum class and graduation. I’m so excited for my fellow trainees and can’t wait to see how it goes.
