Do you remember your first yoga teacher?

In about three weeks I’ll have the honor to lead another group of aspiring yoga teachers and can’t help but remember the love I have for my teachers. Whether we are still practicing with them or not, we all remember our very first teacher. This person is nothing short of amazing because they were there in the very beginning, the first child’s pose, the first down dog, all the way through to savasana when they invited us to close our eyes and relax.

I remember how my very first yoga teacher was, although her name slips my memory. I think it was Susan. She was tall, blonde, and super fit and I couldn’t believe she had a 16 year old cause she looked like a 16 year old. She was super patient, zen, and gave the best adjustments. Oh I could still feel the down dog assist that took the pain out of my carpal tunnel wrist and she knew just how to challenge us enough without breaking us. 

Next came Baron Baptiste. He ruined my life.... that is the life that I knew. He was the opposite of Susan. He definitely wasn’t blonde and wasn’t patient per se because he keep
saying things like “if not now then when?” and he was far from “zen” as
 we typically know it because he was in your face, tell you like it is, and spat the truth in your face with your own spit. Yea. Baron was my wake-up call in such a tough love, be in action, face your fear right
 now! His 200 hour training laid my foundation, invited me to see who I was and to find
 who I really am and the practice challenged my body in so many ways that I never thought
 possible and helped me separate illusion from reality and lead me to walk on this path of teaching.

Then came Deb Williamson. She’s in your face with a smile and a laugh. She taught me to control my emotions, my doubts, and believed in me. Only a phone call away, I knew Deb got my back. She took me around the world, teaching yoga in places I would’ve never gone to and asked me to challenge my beliefs of my own limitations. Because of Deb’s mentoring, I successfully opened my first yoga studio in 2012.

Then came Tim Miller. Ahhhh Timji. He was nothing like the other two either. My experience with Tim is more of a spiritual path. The time I spent with him was very soft, although the asthanga practice is nothing close to “soft.” He opened my mind deep into meditation, pranayama, devotion and most importantly modeled for me that the best teachers are the ones who are still human. 

Then came Jill Miller. And no,she is not related to Tim. Jill rounded off my yoga teacher education and taught me how to connect deeply into my physical body. I never even heard of fascia before I met Jill, let alone knew how the body actually worked. The concept of “everything is connected” and “we are one” finally made sense. She also taught me that spirit without body is just fluff and body without spirit is just poses. 

It’s so interesting that my journey led me to these teachers in the exact
 time that I needed to learn what they were giving. So it must be true that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear or is it vice versa...when the teacher is ready, the students will appear. In either case, I feel very lucky to have had training in all three realms of yoga: mind, body, and spirit with some incredible teachers.

There are other teachers with whom I’ve studied with but these four rockstars are my teachers. Thank you for sharing your experiences, your knowledge, and of yourselves so generously with me. I’m a lucky yogi… and I will do my best to pass this on to others. Together we will change lives.