Living My Yoga
In 2006 I arrived on my first yoga mat during my pregnancy of my daughter. A year later I was teaching preschool and fitness classes to children as way to continue to be with her on a daily basis. Last January I showed up to my first Grounded Yoga experience with Level 1, and I have now come full circle with my passion for my family, yoga, and teaching children. On my journey for self-discovery, I have found that even though I face bumps in the road…I am meant for this, to be a Grounded Yoga Teacher.
This past year I have had the incredible opportunity to be the lead teacher for both music and yoga at my girls’ Montessori school. I teach 7 Preschool Music classes, 7 PreGrounded classes, 3 Toddler Yoga classes, and 5 Lower Elementary (1st-3rd Grade) Grounded classes per week. I added up the numbers once and it was around 290 students each week with at least 4 different lessons running at one time…when we are all in sync. It has been my most challenging and rewarding year so far!! I mention these facts because there are times that these numbers seem overwhelming, even though it’s my dream job.
When I arrived at my Grounded Level 1 Training, I was asked to pick one word to put on the inside of my name card. A word that described what I wanted to evoke in my own classes. My word was “Fun”. When I find myself coming up against obstacles in my teachings or classes, I try and go back to this word. One example of this is bringing the Chakra Beatbox song by MC Yogi into my Lower Elementary (LE) classes. As a part of our Tune In ritual we chant this song, with music, while placing our Namaste hands in front of each body part that is represented by each Seed Sound. (Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om, Silence) The students are able to use their voices, bodies, and energies, and connect to our space and to me. I am able to connect to my students in an important way. All elements can find their place in this chant…Earth~ sit strong and grounded, Water~ be creative and move, Fire~ be loud and boisterous, and Air~ be vocal in their words or sounds.
Click HERE to view Lee’s video clip of her class chanting these seed mantras.
Each week I am challenged by the fact that not all my students love nor even care to be in yoga each week. I am constantly looking for ways to keep things both powerful and engaging. I struggle with 2-3 students in every class, and this week I decided to put our mats into a circle formation, rather than rows. It was incredible. It changed my own perspective, and the perspective of the whole class. We still had some issues, but I felt stronger in my own energy to stay calm and address each issue.
Completing Level 3 this weekend, and receiving my RCYT certificate from Grounded is exhilarating, however, this is not the end. Rather a new beginning; a new way of being; a knowing, that I have the skills and training to be able to truly listen to my own instincts and follow my heart.
The week before college life officially started at Belmont Abbey College, the Student Life department held one of its biggest and most important trainings of the year for its Resident Assistants. “RA’s” are some of the most influential student employees on campus. They represent the college in helping new students settle into resident hall life, assist in planning social events, lead discussions, report maintenance concerns, serve as a resource to campus information, lend a listening ear and comforting shoulder to cry on, perform room checks, work in the hall office and much more.
Have you ever felt not worthy? Maybe you lacked Self-love or maybe you didn’t surround yourself with goodness at the time. Who we surround ourselves with is who we become. If we surround ourselves with downers we begin to feel down. If we surround ourselves with happy, joyous, and delightful people we become more happy and joyful. If we were to eat junk food every single day we would begin to feel down and ucky. When we eat healthier we experience delight and Self-love. Honor Your Self! Surround yourself with goodness. “The first step toward awareness is being willing to look at yourself and your life without judgment or self-criticism.” (Iyanla Vanzant) Awareness opens the heart to new possibilities.