Go After Your Dreams – Why I Decided to Start 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training

During the height of the pandemic and my struggle with depression, I decided on a whim to sign up for 50-hour yoga teacher training. Was I ready to actually teach anyone? Definitely not, however, the idea of it sounded appealing and I thought maybe in the future I’d be ready. I didn’t realize though that I’d only be able to teach yoga sculpt (yoga with weights and cardio) and not just regular vinyasa yoga. When my training ended, I basically did nothing with my certification except use it as my fun fact at parties. I wasn’t in a place to teach yet, so for nearly three years I just continued going to yoga classes with the hope that someday I would be ready to share my love of yoga with the world.

Fast forward to 2023 when I was sitting in my room, confused over my career and got a notification from my yoga studio urging me to sign up for their 200-hour teacher training. My first thought was “This is it; this is my next adventure.” I mean, wouldn’t it be great to have a side gig that I love doing? I started doing yoga when I was 11 years old and since then I have never stopped. It has helped me get through some of the most challenging experiences I have been through in my life especially when I was battling cancer. I remember, no matter how much pain I was in, I always made an effort to get to my mat and connect inwards. I honestly don’t think I would have survived cancer without my yoga practice. As I got to thinking, I realized how inspiring it would be to be able to teach yoga to other people going through cancer treatments or who are survivors like me. It would give them a little bit of hope during such a dark period of their lives. That’s when I knew I had to push all my fears aside and sign up for training.

I’m not going to lie, part of me started to question my decision, especially after our first orientation session and realizing just how big of a commitment it really is. Sometimes I have a habit of wanting to back out of things because I get too scared and worried about what will happen next. I mean, the idea of speaking in front of a giant room of people with no one even responding to me is actually quite terrifying. Despite all my hesitations, I decided to push against my fears and go through with the training and I’m proud of myself for it. I’m proud of myself for finally taking action and going after things I want even if it scares me.

So, this is your sign to do something you’ve always wanted to do but have always pushed it off for a later time. It may not be yoga teacher training, but join that book club you saw on Facebook, start a volunteer program or maybe just slide into that really cute guy’s DM’s on Instagram. Trust me, I know it can be hard, I’ve often been guilty of just keeping myself trapped in my comfort zone too. But lately I’ve realized that life is too short to just sit around and wait for the “perfect” moment to chase after your dreams. The time is now.