Please visit Namaste & Knitting for my latest yoga (and yarn) related musings.
HDY will remain active for archival purposes (And because I can't bear to take down this little site which holds so many memories.)
Thanks for stopping by!
namaste
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fuel Your Passions...
An old college friend of mine thankfully took the time to share her thoughts on my most recent post about making a living teaching yoga. (See below.)
It was a nice kick in the pants. A kick I probably needed.
And she is right. Yoga IS a passion of mine. One of them. I mean I have several passions in life...my family, my kids, my husband, my friends, yoga, knitting, blogging. All parts of my life that feed my soul. All things that I can talk about, read about, study about for HOURS upon HOURS. (Just ask my husband. HA!)
Several years ago, I'm not even sure where, I read an article about finding contentment in your job. What stuck with me the most was the authors general measure of if you are in the "right job." Her observation was that people who feel fulfilled by their job generally get to do what they love about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the work is often just necessary to keep things running. (And it should be bearable...not horrible.) That article, those words, did a lot to get me moving down a different path. One in which, instead of simply doing a job I COULD do, I focus on doing what I LOVE while making a living at the same time.
I have been so fortunate to make changes in my life where I find myself able to do what I LOVE as my job...probably more than 80% of the time. I love teaching yoga. Period. I am the most comfortable in the "classroom" with my students. I feel at home, like I am with family, when we step onto our mats to practice together. It is a peace and confidence that is almost beyond words.
But turning your passions into your business can also be a bit touchy. Remember that other 20% of work that needs to be done to make the 80% possible? Well, I'm not always good at that part. It's when I'm dealing with that 20% that I start to question what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and if I am making the right decisions.
Being passionate about what you do means you care. And to be truly good at something, you have to care. When you care there is always a little bit of fear involved. (Yoga as applied to life...learning to detach fear which causes suffering...working on it.) At times I question how that 20% affects my true (non-business related) passion for yoga...something I never want to loose. While I think keeping perspective, even occasionally questioning my motives, on that concern is good, I need to remember not to use it as a crutch to avoid being as truly successful as I have potential to be in life. (Yep, that little "fear of success" demon poking his head out again.)
So, all this to say:
YES, I am passionate about yoga.
YES, I believe I am doing the right thing with my life.
AND
With all this in mind, Happy Daisy Yoga is moving! Not moving as in I am changing my physical location, but this blog is moving. Taking on a little bit different direction. One I have been contemplating for a while, and well, remember that kick in the pants I said I needed...
So what am I up to?
I'm launching Namaste & Knitting. A blog that combines two of my passions that have, more and more over the past year, become closely related for the benefits they provide my well being.
I plan to continue to talk about yoga and how it affects my life, share resources, products, practices, and even a little bit of wisdom...much like I have done here, only with a less stressing about the job of being a yoga teacher. It's a fresh start. A chance for me to focus on my passion for yoga...regardless of what's going on in my yoga related business.
(Don't worry, I'm not totally deleting this blog...I'm NOT ready for THAT step yet. I just don't plan on contributing here much...or at all. We'll see.)
I'll be doing the same with the knitting side of the conversation. Sharing my favorite resources (being a self taught knitter...much like how I started down the path of yoga), products, yummy yarns, fun patterns, and projects. As a relatively new knitter I hope to share my knitting struggles with you ...and in turn have you share your wisdom with me. (Much as we have over the years discussed challenges we face in our yoga practices.)
And of course, I plan to be sharing how the two worlds often cross over...both in my life and in the lives of others.
I really think it's going to be a very fun adventure. I have over the years found increasing joy in writing, thanks to the adventure of joining the blogosphere. It only seems fitting that at this time these three joys in my life are coming together for one joint project. The stars are aligning...the universe is speaking...or I'm finally getting the message. Whatever it is, fun will be had!
(Sarah, I fully blame you for all this fun. Thanks!)
I do hope you will join me!
namaste
It was a nice kick in the pants. A kick I probably needed.
And she is right. Yoga IS a passion of mine. One of them. I mean I have several passions in life...my family, my kids, my husband, my friends, yoga, knitting, blogging. All parts of my life that feed my soul. All things that I can talk about, read about, study about for HOURS upon HOURS. (Just ask my husband. HA!)
Several years ago, I'm not even sure where, I read an article about finding contentment in your job. What stuck with me the most was the authors general measure of if you are in the "right job." Her observation was that people who feel fulfilled by their job generally get to do what they love about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the work is often just necessary to keep things running. (And it should be bearable...not horrible.) That article, those words, did a lot to get me moving down a different path. One in which, instead of simply doing a job I COULD do, I focus on doing what I LOVE while making a living at the same time.
I have been so fortunate to make changes in my life where I find myself able to do what I LOVE as my job...probably more than 80% of the time. I love teaching yoga. Period. I am the most comfortable in the "classroom" with my students. I feel at home, like I am with family, when we step onto our mats to practice together. It is a peace and confidence that is almost beyond words.
But turning your passions into your business can also be a bit touchy. Remember that other 20% of work that needs to be done to make the 80% possible? Well, I'm not always good at that part. It's when I'm dealing with that 20% that I start to question what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and if I am making the right decisions.
Being passionate about what you do means you care. And to be truly good at something, you have to care. When you care there is always a little bit of fear involved. (Yoga as applied to life...learning to detach fear which causes suffering...working on it.) At times I question how that 20% affects my true (non-business related) passion for yoga...something I never want to loose. While I think keeping perspective, even occasionally questioning my motives, on that concern is good, I need to remember not to use it as a crutch to avoid being as truly successful as I have potential to be in life. (Yep, that little "fear of success" demon poking his head out again.)
So, all this to say:
YES, I am passionate about yoga.
YES, I believe I am doing the right thing with my life.
AND
With all this in mind, Happy Daisy Yoga is moving! Not moving as in I am changing my physical location, but this blog is moving. Taking on a little bit different direction. One I have been contemplating for a while, and well, remember that kick in the pants I said I needed...
So what am I up to?
I'm launching Namaste & Knitting. A blog that combines two of my passions that have, more and more over the past year, become closely related for the benefits they provide my well being.
I plan to continue to talk about yoga and how it affects my life, share resources, products, practices, and even a little bit of wisdom...much like I have done here, only with a less stressing about the job of being a yoga teacher. It's a fresh start. A chance for me to focus on my passion for yoga...regardless of what's going on in my yoga related business.
(Don't worry, I'm not totally deleting this blog...I'm NOT ready for THAT step yet. I just don't plan on contributing here much...or at all. We'll see.)
I'll be doing the same with the knitting side of the conversation. Sharing my favorite resources (being a self taught knitter...much like how I started down the path of yoga), products, yummy yarns, fun patterns, and projects. As a relatively new knitter I hope to share my knitting struggles with you ...and in turn have you share your wisdom with me. (Much as we have over the years discussed challenges we face in our yoga practices.)
And of course, I plan to be sharing how the two worlds often cross over...both in my life and in the lives of others.
I really think it's going to be a very fun adventure. I have over the years found increasing joy in writing, thanks to the adventure of joining the blogosphere. It only seems fitting that at this time these three joys in my life are coming together for one joint project. The stars are aligning...the universe is speaking...or I'm finally getting the message. Whatever it is, fun will be had!
(Sarah, I fully blame you for all this fun. Thanks!)
I do hope you will join me!
namaste
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Teaching Yoga: A Living or a Hobby Job?
I am fortunate that I provide the "second income" in our household. Having one stable, full-time income made pursuing teaching yoga as my "full-time job" a possibility 3 years ago when I took the leap and left my previous full-time job. That being said, the income I contribute to our family budget is important, essential even. Over the past couple of years our family has been, like so many others, affected by the downturn of the economy and job market. There have been many times that I have wondered if my "full time gig" as a yoga/fitness instructor should once again move to "hobby job" status to make room for more stable, more "traditional" income. Over the past couple of years I have, on more than one occasion, questioned whether I am making the right job/income choice for my family's needs. I can easily talk myself into leaning either direction with that argument these days.
I found the article, Can you earn a living teaching yoga?, referenced by YogaDawg today interesting food for thought. As I continue to evaluate the direction of growth I'd like to pursue for my business, as I continue to evaluate whether this profession can provide the income my family needs to thrive in our small community, it's always interesting to get a picture of what's happening in the broader yoga business world. (Not to mention learning about the HUGE difference in what I am making per class compared to some other "chain" instructors. Sigh.)
namaste
I found the article, Can you earn a living teaching yoga?, referenced by YogaDawg today interesting food for thought. As I continue to evaluate the direction of growth I'd like to pursue for my business, as I continue to evaluate whether this profession can provide the income my family needs to thrive in our small community, it's always interesting to get a picture of what's happening in the broader yoga business world. (Not to mention learning about the HUGE difference in what I am making per class compared to some other "chain" instructors. Sigh.)
namaste
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Information Overload...
My yoga library is extensive.
The internet is frequently searched and read on the screen of my little computer.
I feel a great sense of responsibility when it comes to deepening my understanding of the practice. Both as a practitioner and as a teacher.
Yet as of late I have been feeling totally over-whelmed by the wealth of information available about yoga and the process of sorting through it all...figuring it all out.
As I have discussed before here, I don't practice or teach one specific style of yoga. My style is Vinyasa inspired. Iyengar influenced. It's been touched by Ashtanga and Anusaura and even a little bit of Bikram. And for some reason over the years I have let the fact that I don't exclusively follow one style fuel my insecurities about the validity of my practice and my qualifications as a teacher. (I'm sure if we sat down and broke it down in therapy it would come out that I have a fear of success and a sense of not being "good enough" the way I am that stems from years of connecting love, acceptance, and happiness with approval from others more than myself. Oh the things we learn about ourselves through this practice...)
Recently, as I was looking for a good, basic, one sentence definition of yoga for a beginners workshop I'm in the process of developing, I hopped over to my old friend Wikipedia. (Seriously, I love Wikipedia. It's so handy when you have a question about pop culture, or history, or those random "just because I'm curious" questions. I don't care what the academics say, I think Wikipedia is great!)
As I clicked through the pages defining the various limbs of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga and the individual styles that have developed from the teaching of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and Swami Sivananda it all started to come together and make sense. I had an Ah Ha! moment so to speak. It wasn't so much that the information I was reading was new, but having it all visually linked together, with references made through out each page as to how one style or teaching relates to another, allowed my head to wrap around the information like it never had before. I felt like in a moment's time, 10 years of study was suddenly made clear. To think, all that from a website NOT solely dedicated to the practice. Remain open to the possibilities and lessons come from the most interesting of places.
After an hour of clicking and reading and clicking and reading, I settled on this fact...my practice is simply Hatha yoga. (Duh.)
All these years, devoting energy to trying to define where exactly my practice is grounded, I was over looking the most simple truth. Though it all haven't I been looking for a practice that utilizes asanas, pranayama, meditation, purification processes, and attention to living "a good life" in order to take care of my physical and subtle body? Isn't that what drew me to yoga in the first place and has been the basis of my decision to share my practice through teaching?
Hatha yoga in it's simplest of definitions is just that. A basic structure that allows each yogi to develop a practice that fit his/her individual needs.
And really, that's enough isn't it?
I'm happy to say, for me, for my practice, for my teaching style...yes. Yes it is.
This post is like exhaling. It feels good to feel grounded. To feel lifted after allowing myself to let go of the resistance caused by over efforting my search for understanding.
Yoga as life. Life as yoga. The lessons are never ending.
namaste
The internet is frequently searched and read on the screen of my little computer.
I feel a great sense of responsibility when it comes to deepening my understanding of the practice. Both as a practitioner and as a teacher.
Yet as of late I have been feeling totally over-whelmed by the wealth of information available about yoga and the process of sorting through it all...figuring it all out.
As I have discussed before here, I don't practice or teach one specific style of yoga. My style is Vinyasa inspired. Iyengar influenced. It's been touched by Ashtanga and Anusaura and even a little bit of Bikram. And for some reason over the years I have let the fact that I don't exclusively follow one style fuel my insecurities about the validity of my practice and my qualifications as a teacher. (I'm sure if we sat down and broke it down in therapy it would come out that I have a fear of success and a sense of not being "good enough" the way I am that stems from years of connecting love, acceptance, and happiness with approval from others more than myself. Oh the things we learn about ourselves through this practice...)
Recently, as I was looking for a good, basic, one sentence definition of yoga for a beginners workshop I'm in the process of developing, I hopped over to my old friend Wikipedia. (Seriously, I love Wikipedia. It's so handy when you have a question about pop culture, or history, or those random "just because I'm curious" questions. I don't care what the academics say, I think Wikipedia is great!)
As I clicked through the pages defining the various limbs of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga and the individual styles that have developed from the teaching of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and Swami Sivananda it all started to come together and make sense. I had an Ah Ha! moment so to speak. It wasn't so much that the information I was reading was new, but having it all visually linked together, with references made through out each page as to how one style or teaching relates to another, allowed my head to wrap around the information like it never had before. I felt like in a moment's time, 10 years of study was suddenly made clear. To think, all that from a website NOT solely dedicated to the practice. Remain open to the possibilities and lessons come from the most interesting of places.
After an hour of clicking and reading and clicking and reading, I settled on this fact...my practice is simply Hatha yoga. (Duh.)
All these years, devoting energy to trying to define where exactly my practice is grounded, I was over looking the most simple truth. Though it all haven't I been looking for a practice that utilizes asanas, pranayama, meditation, purification processes, and attention to living "a good life" in order to take care of my physical and subtle body? Isn't that what drew me to yoga in the first place and has been the basis of my decision to share my practice through teaching?
Hatha yoga in it's simplest of definitions is just that. A basic structure that allows each yogi to develop a practice that fit his/her individual needs.
And really, that's enough isn't it?
I'm happy to say, for me, for my practice, for my teaching style...yes. Yes it is.
This post is like exhaling. It feels good to feel grounded. To feel lifted after allowing myself to let go of the resistance caused by over efforting my search for understanding.
Yoga as life. Life as yoga. The lessons are never ending.
namaste
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Amen Sister...
I LOVE this article.
Love it I say.
Why you ask?
(Thanks to the fabulous Nadine for sharing the link!)
Because the author, a yogini and a teacher of the practice, has taken a stand and conveyed feelings that so many of us yogis out here in the "real world" have ourselves...whether we own up to it or not.
I myself deal with a heavy load of self doubt as a practitioner and teacher because of my self perceived inability to live up to a certain ideal of what a yogi and teacher "should" look like. Yet in my heart I believe that we each must be at peace with the nature of our own individual, unique practice. We each travel down the yogic road in our own way. It's part of what drew me to the practice in the first place.
The openness.
The beauty that comes from the varied colors we each bring to the community through our experiences, practice, personal beliefs, individual personalities and a shared hope for peace.
It is my goal as a teacher to provide accessible yoga to EVERYONE who wishes to join me during their yogic journey. It's a simple foundation on which I have chosen to build my business...a business that I feel is both a blessing and a calling. But no building can stand the test of time unless all the blocks of its structure are placed securely, confidently in place. And while my business has grown, self doubt at times has stopped me from letting it flourish.
I'm working on not letting that be the case.
Thank you Sadie for your honesty. Regardless of what food we choose to eat, what clothes we wear to class, what mat we put under our feet....as a community we cannot lose sight of the simplest foundations of the practice.
Awareness.
Consciousness.
Ahisma.
Non-judgement.
Just to name a few.
It's those foundations that allow each of us to travel this road in our own unique way...at our own pace...surrounded by the love and acceptance that allows each of us to bloom.
How amazing is that?
namaste
Love it I say.
Why you ask?
(Thanks to the fabulous Nadine for sharing the link!)
Because the author, a yogini and a teacher of the practice, has taken a stand and conveyed feelings that so many of us yogis out here in the "real world" have ourselves...whether we own up to it or not.
I myself deal with a heavy load of self doubt as a practitioner and teacher because of my self perceived inability to live up to a certain ideal of what a yogi and teacher "should" look like. Yet in my heart I believe that we each must be at peace with the nature of our own individual, unique practice. We each travel down the yogic road in our own way. It's part of what drew me to the practice in the first place.
The openness.
The beauty that comes from the varied colors we each bring to the community through our experiences, practice, personal beliefs, individual personalities and a shared hope for peace.
It is my goal as a teacher to provide accessible yoga to EVERYONE who wishes to join me during their yogic journey. It's a simple foundation on which I have chosen to build my business...a business that I feel is both a blessing and a calling. But no building can stand the test of time unless all the blocks of its structure are placed securely, confidently in place. And while my business has grown, self doubt at times has stopped me from letting it flourish.
I'm working on not letting that be the case.
Thank you Sadie for your honesty. Regardless of what food we choose to eat, what clothes we wear to class, what mat we put under our feet....as a community we cannot lose sight of the simplest foundations of the practice.
Awareness.
Consciousness.
Ahisma.
Non-judgement.
Just to name a few.
It's those foundations that allow each of us to travel this road in our own unique way...at our own pace...surrounded by the love and acceptance that allows each of us to bloom.
How amazing is that?
namaste
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