Choose Yoga

“There may be a thousand little choices in a day.
All of them count.”

Hi there. My name is Diane. I’m an apsiring yogi from DC, and I’m starting this blog to help  me make sense of what yoga means to me and to help me find my voice as a yoga teacher.

I took my first yoga class in a hot Baron Baptiste studio in Cambridge in 2001, and from my first downward dog, I was hooked. I remember telling my friend Andrew Lee after that first class (by the way, Andrew, I’m forever in debt to you for that first class)  yoga was the only exercise that seemed to completely stop the downward spiral of negative thinking that ran in my head.

I started yoga for the physical benefits, and somewhere along the way, I realized my yoga practice has helped me make better choices for myself both on and off my mat. Part of writing this blog, I hope, is to help me understand how that transition happens.

When I took my first teacher training, I didn’t think I wanted to teach. But the first time I taught one of my friends, she said that yoga class was the first time she had taken time for herself since her baby was born and she thanked me for the gift I had given her.

But what she didn’t realize was that those words from her were a huge gift for me. Because of those incredibly kind words, I kept teaching friends and realized while I have so much to learn as a teacher and it is not always easy, I get so much joy out of teaching. My students challenge me to keep on learning, trying, and growing.

I have a Jack London quote in my office I look at every day:

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

For me, I practice and teach yoga so I can live, not merely exist.

I’m currently working towards my 500-hour training at Tranquil Space, a DC studio that has become a nurturing home base for me. I am constantly learning from their excellent teachers – Kimberly, the amazing studio owner who has taught me that a serious yoga practice and entrepreneurship are not mutually exclusive; teachers and mentors I learn from with every class–Danielle, Kevin, Anna, Carol, Susanna, Siobhan, Dave, Diborah, Niyati, Melissa, Chuck, Melissa, Colleen, Todd, Abby, Laura, and all of my yoga treacher trainer classmates who inspire me with their curiosity and unique perspectives on this ancient tradition.

And I’m learning so much from my students past and present – Amy, Ari, Brian, Cal, Deborah, Eddie, Havi, Heather, Jodi, Joyce, Julie, Kelli, Karen, Kristin, Larry, Lynne, Melissa, Pam, Pat, Rachel, Robin, Ron, Santa, Susan.

I’m grateful to have found yoga. I’m grateful for the people my yoga practice has brought into my life. And I’m excited to start this journey into writing about my experience.

Welcome, and namaste!

Diane