Last autumn semester was unconventional in the sense that every Thursday evening, I headed off-campus at 6pm to Yoga on High to learn how to lead and design sequenced yoga classes. In addition to class designing, the course allowed future teachers to have the ability to break up poses into increments and analyze poses of students to constructively correct and increase safety in the class. Once COVID-19 interrupted this schedule in March of this year, the studio began to hold online teacher training classes via Zoom. This was unprecedented, but the class and I adapted quickly as I learned vicariously in my living room in Northeast Ohio. As we pushed through the curriculum, the days became more interesting and the teacher trainings allowed for social interaction and bonding through a difficult time.
As I had always been a practicing yogi since high school, the course taught me how meticulous and calculated yoga can be in teaching and cultivating a sense of mindfulness in the practice. From anatomy to the ethics of yoga, the courses allowed me to learn the specifics of the practice and delve deep into the applications outside of the traditional yoga class. Something that I had not realized prior to this certification is the existence of mortality and the face of existentialism in its relationship to yoga. My previous world view focused on the tangible and certainty of life whereas yoga taught me to ascend my physical realm and focus in spirituality. Especially as I saw the transformative properties of yoga in both my mind and body it was interesting to experiment in melting away into a mindful state.
Navigating through life as a Black woman has always been difficult, hence witnessing the cultural impact of yoga and discussing the diversity present in the practice was interesting as the classroom population was majority white. I had assumed prior to attending the training that I would be one of few people of color present in the classroom and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the cultural diversity present in the cohort of teacher trainees. My initial goal in this project was diversifying the faces present in yoga teaching and while I still believe there is a long way to go, I was shocked at the amount of cultural diversity present originally. My worldview in relation to diversity greatly changed as I saw the studio react proactively in addressing privilege, affordability, and accessibility within the business of yoga.
This transformation did not occur overnight yet unfolded with the months of teacher training I entailed in order to gain my certification. Each Thursday evening, I opened my mind and absorbed the information given from both my teachers and my peers. I heard stories and the raw realities of the people around me along with their testimony in yoga. It was interesting to hear strangers openly divulge their life experiences and their growth through mindfulness and yoga practice. One of my main relationships within the classroom served as a maternal force as she told me about her experiences as a middle-aged Black woman and the sources that helped her get to the place of mind that she was in. This helped me to step away from myself and consider my worldview and where I see myself going with this certification.
Similarly, the teacher training offered a silent retreat experience which opened my eyes into the noisiness of the world and the connectivity that occurs through social interaction. When you sit with yourself in silence over a period of a few days, you learn who you are, and the introspective lens tells you where your mind and values lie. I learned more in a prolonged period of silence than I have in the noise of the lecture hall, as I learned about myself who is the only person there at the end of the day. The philosophy of yoga is interesting as the silence brings about an inner peace and tranquility that cannot be achieved in the midst of noise and commotion.
Each interaction I had within the teacher training showed me the extensive amount of empathy and understanding that can be achieved within nine months of having shared experiences with others. I cried, I laughed, I lived joyfully with people I had not met before and differed in possibly every other aspect than pursuing to become a yoga teacher. I witnessed the beauty of cultural acceptance and the open-mindedness of others when everyone shares a common goal. In all, I learned that diversifying yoga starts with empathy and the willingness to teach people from all backgrounds who have different stories to tell.
The training taught me that I was interested in education and pushed me to eventually change my major to continue teaching others in a professional sense. Similarly, I learned that my personal goals of health initiate in the mind and that when the mind is healthy, I have the effort and energy to pursue whatever I put it up to. Growing personally and academically occur in a state of mindfulness and remaining vigilant in joining of mind and body, which I was able to discover with this experience. The face of yoga is one of many, and I’m glad I took the first step in adding diversity to the pool of yoga teachers.