Golly, it has been a while
January 20 was the last official entry, outside of two recent writer’s block submissions to this forum. So many things have happened over the course of 2011.
Yoga Teacher Training; Restorative Yoga Teacher Training; Balancing a full schedule; The Loss of Geoff; Yoga school graduation party night; Private sessions with Geoff; Geoff Leaves the province - The Second Loss of Geoff; Visiting Grandfather; Birthday Season; Yoga Plus closes - suddenly!; Mother’s return and brief visit; Trying to find a new yoga studio; Ratha Yatra; Yoga Community of Toronto; Toronto Vegetarian Association; Bootcamp; canfitpro; new friends; old friends; new directions; new starts.
January through June: hectic months. Weekdays were about my York U classes and weekends were spent almost entirely at the yoga studio. (By the end of May I’d put in just over one hundred hours in classes alone.) It was taxing, I was not at home very much, and I was heavily reliant on a schedule to keep myself on track with required readings and class prep and homework. It was a challenge and an awesome success. When I had decided in May to stay on at the studio for a few additional weeks to complete the hours for my Restorative certification I remember feeling like I was living at the studio, for at that point I was also putting together and issuing the monthly newsletter. (Just as an aside, I tutored myself in the product / application that the studio sent out their newsletter through in about an afternoon. At the time I was pretty pleased with myself. Looking back on it, I realize now that ConstantContact isn’t that difficult to navigate as a virgin user: Ego checked.
Part way through yoga teacher training Geoff pulled out of the studio, and out of our yoga teacher training for reasons, that when later validated were entirely founded.
The yoga certification ceremony was awkward. I didn’t know what to make of the evening and didn’t enjoy staying there until as late as I did. The celebration took place at the yoga studio owner’s home which was a church converted into studio apartments. The architecture was beautiful, the furnishings were decadent, it was obvious how comfortably they live. On the third and uppermost floor the church’s original ceiling beams were visible, as were 60” mirrors solidly anchored to the walls by decades old chain. The building was truly beautiful. The atmosphere was strange and uncomfortable, but I was happy to receive my certificates.
After leaving the studio, we: myself and a few others from the studio, started seeing Geoff at other studios around the city. It was interesting to see how different he was at his home studio. It made me think about how I regarded Yoga Plus as my home studio, and how differently I behaved when I was there, compared to when I tried classes around the city at different studios. I also spent time thinking about how I felt when I was at other studios and how I perceived yoga teachers. I didn’t imagine that my time “in” yoga school transformed me, but in subtle ways, and over the course of my schooling, I had evolved in ways that I marvel at, now, as I try to map the changes. I also made some incredible friends and connections over the course of the YTT studies.
Summer arrives, and I make the annual trip with my father to visit my grandfather. I love my family. I spend a lot of time over the course of the summer volunteering. The work I do at the mandir affords me a chance to reconnect with some great people that I haven’t seen since last summer, and I am happy to be surrounded by familiar friends. Joining the TVA is rewarding and exilharating and beneficial. My knowledge about nutrition and my compassion underwent a growth that is invaluable. And I made a very special new friend at the big/annual TVA food festival: http://veg.ca/content/view/52/83/.
Geoff announces that he is leaving Ontario to pursue university studies in BC. Mixed emotions ensued. I had to go through a period where I didn’t want to see Geoff because I hadn’t realized how attached I had let myself grow. Frankly I was embarrassed by my clinginess and worse, the assumption that I had made that he might care about me outside of being just another student. I studied under him for 3 years, but I had made assumptions about what the relationship was because I saw him as an excellent teacher. His influence on my practice and my person has forever marked me - in a good way.
Yoga plus closes suddenly. Much drama ensued. Things fell apart for the studio owner, who had a really, really rough six months between January, when her business partner pulled out, through to the failure and sudden closure of the business. The way that it happened was so very sudden. The staff that were on the schedule to teach classes on the Monday, were told, by email, on the Sunday evening, that the studio was closed, not closing, but closed, past tense. We felt for the studio owner, but things, the closure, the events leading up to the closure, were handled very, very poorly. By this point, I’d lost my home studio, my favourite and primary yoga teacher, and graduated from YTT unsure of my skills. It was an uncertain few months.
My mother came home from Taiwan for six weeks, and the time flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for the CNE. Birthday season had passed and I was selecting new university courses. My interest in yoga has helped me to decide that I want to change the focus of my studies at school. I decide to change my major and pick up a minor degree in Kinesiology. I am very excited by this decision: Very excited.
My first day at bootcamp was thrilling. Leading up to the first day I was all nerves. Unsure what to expect, I dragged ad with me for the first 8 weeks. I fell in love. I wanted to practice drills at home, and decided or realized that I wanted to be in fitness full time. Ad was over one weekend to work on a project for photography class and we got to talking about this interest in moving into fitness. She gave me the name of a program director for the community centre where she works, and within a few weeks I managed to score an interview, and part time job instructing a senior’s movement therapy session twice a week, in addition to a children’s group. Just this past week I signed up to volunteer at the place so that as I get more involved I might also transition into more and more work at this centre.
Something more profound came about as a result of the acceptance of the position, is the consideration of changing from working full time, to carrying a series of part time jobs. The intention is to work less, make the same amount of money, and create more time for myself. The shift in the mindset has re-inspired me and confirmed for me that this is the direction in which I want to move. I feel that at this point it should only be a matter of time before I can quit my desk job and move toward fitness and wellness full time. In addition to this, I have signed up for a can-fit-pro certification course. It is an intensive 20hour session, and I intend to re-review my YTT notes before I start at the end of November. I also have to check my school schedule to see if I have anything due around that time, as I may have some juggling to do.
There is someone who I told that I would go away to Bali with, next July for a second, and more serious / intense YTT class. For a few weeks at the end of August through to last week we hadn’t really talked, and I wasn’t sure if my earlier intention to get together for Nuit Blanche was considered as bullying. She said that it wasn’t, but I still hadn’t heard from her. I had told myself that if I didn’t hear from her I was going to save my pennies and plan a trip to India, to find the place where my grandmother’s grandparents are from, and dip in the great Ganga Maa. Her recent message made me feel such relief for her re-appearance. Though I have not asked her about Bali, she expressed interest in my can-fit-pro endeavour, so I am hoping that she might join me. (We’ll see)
I am sure that there is much, much more to comment on, but for now, this entry is very long.
I endeavour to check in much more frequently.
Yoga Teacher Training; Restorative Yoga Teacher Training; Balancing a full schedule; The Loss of Geoff; Yoga school graduation party night; Private sessions with Geoff; Geoff Leaves the province - The Second Loss of Geoff; Visiting Grandfather; Birthday Season; Yoga Plus closes - suddenly!; Mother’s return and brief visit; Trying to find a new yoga studio; Ratha Yatra; Yoga Community of Toronto; Toronto Vegetarian Association; Bootcamp; canfitpro; new friends; old friends; new directions; new starts.
January through June: hectic months. Weekdays were about my York U classes and weekends were spent almost entirely at the yoga studio. (By the end of May I’d put in just over one hundred hours in classes alone.) It was taxing, I was not at home very much, and I was heavily reliant on a schedule to keep myself on track with required readings and class prep and homework. It was a challenge and an awesome success. When I had decided in May to stay on at the studio for a few additional weeks to complete the hours for my Restorative certification I remember feeling like I was living at the studio, for at that point I was also putting together and issuing the monthly newsletter. (Just as an aside, I tutored myself in the product / application that the studio sent out their newsletter through in about an afternoon. At the time I was pretty pleased with myself. Looking back on it, I realize now that ConstantContact isn’t that difficult to navigate as a virgin user: Ego checked.
Part way through yoga teacher training Geoff pulled out of the studio, and out of our yoga teacher training for reasons, that when later validated were entirely founded.
The yoga certification ceremony was awkward. I didn’t know what to make of the evening and didn’t enjoy staying there until as late as I did. The celebration took place at the yoga studio owner’s home which was a church converted into studio apartments. The architecture was beautiful, the furnishings were decadent, it was obvious how comfortably they live. On the third and uppermost floor the church’s original ceiling beams were visible, as were 60” mirrors solidly anchored to the walls by decades old chain. The building was truly beautiful. The atmosphere was strange and uncomfortable, but I was happy to receive my certificates.
After leaving the studio, we: myself and a few others from the studio, started seeing Geoff at other studios around the city. It was interesting to see how different he was at his home studio. It made me think about how I regarded Yoga Plus as my home studio, and how differently I behaved when I was there, compared to when I tried classes around the city at different studios. I also spent time thinking about how I felt when I was at other studios and how I perceived yoga teachers. I didn’t imagine that my time “in” yoga school transformed me, but in subtle ways, and over the course of my schooling, I had evolved in ways that I marvel at, now, as I try to map the changes. I also made some incredible friends and connections over the course of the YTT studies.
Summer arrives, and I make the annual trip with my father to visit my grandfather. I love my family. I spend a lot of time over the course of the summer volunteering. The work I do at the mandir affords me a chance to reconnect with some great people that I haven’t seen since last summer, and I am happy to be surrounded by familiar friends. Joining the TVA is rewarding and exilharating and beneficial. My knowledge about nutrition and my compassion underwent a growth that is invaluable. And I made a very special new friend at the big/annual TVA food festival: http://veg.ca/content/view/52/83/.
Geoff announces that he is leaving Ontario to pursue university studies in BC. Mixed emotions ensued. I had to go through a period where I didn’t want to see Geoff because I hadn’t realized how attached I had let myself grow. Frankly I was embarrassed by my clinginess and worse, the assumption that I had made that he might care about me outside of being just another student. I studied under him for 3 years, but I had made assumptions about what the relationship was because I saw him as an excellent teacher. His influence on my practice and my person has forever marked me - in a good way.
Yoga plus closes suddenly. Much drama ensued. Things fell apart for the studio owner, who had a really, really rough six months between January, when her business partner pulled out, through to the failure and sudden closure of the business. The way that it happened was so very sudden. The staff that were on the schedule to teach classes on the Monday, were told, by email, on the Sunday evening, that the studio was closed, not closing, but closed, past tense. We felt for the studio owner, but things, the closure, the events leading up to the closure, were handled very, very poorly. By this point, I’d lost my home studio, my favourite and primary yoga teacher, and graduated from YTT unsure of my skills. It was an uncertain few months.
My mother came home from Taiwan for six weeks, and the time flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for the CNE. Birthday season had passed and I was selecting new university courses. My interest in yoga has helped me to decide that I want to change the focus of my studies at school. I decide to change my major and pick up a minor degree in Kinesiology. I am very excited by this decision: Very excited.
My first day at bootcamp was thrilling. Leading up to the first day I was all nerves. Unsure what to expect, I dragged ad with me for the first 8 weeks. I fell in love. I wanted to practice drills at home, and decided or realized that I wanted to be in fitness full time. Ad was over one weekend to work on a project for photography class and we got to talking about this interest in moving into fitness. She gave me the name of a program director for the community centre where she works, and within a few weeks I managed to score an interview, and part time job instructing a senior’s movement therapy session twice a week, in addition to a children’s group. Just this past week I signed up to volunteer at the place so that as I get more involved I might also transition into more and more work at this centre.
Something more profound came about as a result of the acceptance of the position, is the consideration of changing from working full time, to carrying a series of part time jobs. The intention is to work less, make the same amount of money, and create more time for myself. The shift in the mindset has re-inspired me and confirmed for me that this is the direction in which I want to move. I feel that at this point it should only be a matter of time before I can quit my desk job and move toward fitness and wellness full time. In addition to this, I have signed up for a can-fit-pro certification course. It is an intensive 20hour session, and I intend to re-review my YTT notes before I start at the end of November. I also have to check my school schedule to see if I have anything due around that time, as I may have some juggling to do.
There is someone who I told that I would go away to Bali with, next July for a second, and more serious / intense YTT class. For a few weeks at the end of August through to last week we hadn’t really talked, and I wasn’t sure if my earlier intention to get together for Nuit Blanche was considered as bullying. She said that it wasn’t, but I still hadn’t heard from her. I had told myself that if I didn’t hear from her I was going to save my pennies and plan a trip to India, to find the place where my grandmother’s grandparents are from, and dip in the great Ganga Maa. Her recent message made me feel such relief for her re-appearance. Though I have not asked her about Bali, she expressed interest in my can-fit-pro endeavour, so I am hoping that she might join me. (We’ll see)
I am sure that there is much, much more to comment on, but for now, this entry is very long.
I endeavour to check in much more frequently.