As of this week, I am officially registered with the Yoga Alliance as RYT-200 (Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200 hour level) in their national Yoga Teacher Registry. Don’t get all excited; this is no major feat. It’s merely a blip compared to the work I did to graduate from Willow Street‘s teacher training. All it means is that I sent in some paperwork and gave them some money. But since many gyms and studios look for the “RYT” on the resume, it is worth the membership fee.

Having my certificate or the RYT-200 designation in my bio didn’t necessarily make me feel like a yoga teacher. I didn’t realize it, but for a while, I think it felt like I was still in training. That one day, I’d eventually reach “real yoga teacher” status, but it certainly wouldn’t be soon. It’s not that I’d been particularly insecure about my teaching, but rather, it felt like soon, someone would pinch me to say, “Ok, we know you did the teacher training thing, but we’re going to let the real teachers teach now.”

Then a funny thing happened. Tonight, on my mat, I realized my practice was as much about what I needed as it was about exploring things to teach in my classes. I kept catching myself playing with a sequence to see how I could improve it, or noticing something that felt great in my body and making a mental note to use it in my next class. I heard my own voice giving instructions, and I found myself thinking, “yeah, that’s exactly what I needed here.” Suddenly not only was I a teacher, I was my own teacher and student at the same time.

It was as if a switch was flipped. Now, it all feels real. It feels like this is something I am meant to be doing, not just something I want to do. My teaching has grown so much in the past three months; I can’t wait to see what changes in the next three years.

If you’ve been following me lately, you know that I teach at two lovely studios, Capitol Hill Yoga and Willow Street, as well as MINT, a gym near my house that has a great Mind Body program. I love teaching at each place for different reasons, and they each have their own personality. As I’ve been subbing pretty regularly, I’ve gotten a chance to connect with many of the students. I wrote previously about the pros of subbing. I have been surprised lately by how much I’m enjoying the freedom and spontaneity of being a regular sub. I teach an average of 1-2 classes each week, so I’m certainly teaching regularly. I get to pick and choose which classes to take on., based on how busy my week is. It’s fun to keep challenging myself to walk into a class that might be a room full of strangers who’ve never heard of Anusara Yoga — or me!

And since I’m enjoying it so much, I sent my resume to the Sports Club/LA. I’ve been hired on as a sub, and I already have a few classes lined up for March. It’s a great facility, and based on my orientation and interaction thus far, I know it will be a good fit for me.

I’m not sure what I will do when I’m offered a permanent class down the line. I’m happy to say, landing a regular weekly class has become less of a concern, because I’m having so much fun as a regular sub!

It’s day five of the blizzard in DC. Snowpocolypse, Snomaggedon, The Snotorious O.M.G. (my personal fave) — whatever you call it, people are stir crazy. Which is why I was so grateful for the opportunity to teach today. Not only did it get me off the couch (where I might have stayed, snuggled up with the dog and streaming Netflix), but I had the pleasure of spending an hour with six very grateful yogis who were dying to get out of the house and get their yoga on. After a hike in the blowing snow, down dog never felt so good.

I’m always grateful for my yoga teachers, especially on those days when I really need my yoga class. I’m glad I could begin to give back today by covering a class for a snowbound teacher.

This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in DC. It’s fabulous. I feel like I’m in Breckenridge, not in Washington. Armed with snow boots to my knees and ski gear, I’ve gone for long walks every day, but today was crazy. 40mph winds, snow whipping at my face. At times I couldn’t see my glove in front of my face, but I made it to the gym and back safely. Aside from the hundreds of people at the snowball fight that convened near my house, it has been blissfully quiet these past few days. The snow is just beautiful, day and night, and people are so friendly. My dog is ecstatic, and I feel like a kid, watching the news internets for another snow day.  I’m very thankful we’ve had power the entire time; otherwise, my view of this storm would be very different.

Speaking of power, it’s time to start baking again. Our house is dangerously low on cookies.

I just got home from teaching a class in my neighborhood.  Teaching near my house rocks.  I don’t have to leave work early or fight with traffic.  No worrying about the Metro running behind schedule.   And I’m home walking my dog 20 minutes after class ends, even after staying to chat with students.  That’s hard to beat.  I love all of the places I teach for different and important reasons, but this five-minute walk thing is a major bonus.

I had a great class tonight, which was totally unexpected.  I had a busy day at work, which made me wonder where I’d find the energy, but the minute I started teaching, I knew it was going to be a great class.   It was a nice full class with great energy.   Despite giving them several challenges in a row, they kept smiles on their faces — even when faced with the Evil Quad Stretch!  I was happy with my class plan — and with the modifications I threw in as we went along.

Recently, a potentially promising teaching door that had opened was unfortunately closed just as quickly for reasons outside of my control.  It was a bit discouraging.  But tonight’s class reminded me that there are many  opportunities to share my love of yoga and give back some of the inspiration my teachers have passed on to me.   I’m grateful for every chance to teach, because I learn something each time.  I’m very thankful for the teachers who entrust their students to me.  But the best reward of all — out of tonight’s thirteen students, eight of them spoke to me after and complimented my class, and FIVE asked if I taught anywhere regularly or when they could come take another class.   If they’re enjoying it and leave wanting more yoga, that’s all the encouragement I need.

It’s an odd feeling, this thing called “free time”. In truth, I don’t have a lot of it, as I have plenty to do for my day job and my new choir. But I don’t have much on my calendar in terms of yoga obligations. For the first time in almost two years, I don’t have any upcoming weekends blocked off for yoga teacher training. I don’t have a weekly class to apprentice. Right now, I don’t even have a weekly class of my own, as my studio has been closed for winter break. I can’t decide whether it is nice or unnerving! I definitely am missing the YTT friends and Willow Street community, so I am looking forward to classes starting up this week.

Next weekend, I’m attending a workshop with Desiree Rumbaugh at Thrive Yoga. I’m hopeful my body will hold up for the entire workshop, and I’m excited to work with Desiree and practice with friends.

In teaching news, I have a few upcoming sub classes in January and February. I also put in my resume at a gym near my house, and I’m hopeful something will work out there. I have sent in my application to Yoga Alliance so that I can officially add “RYT” (registered yoga teacher) to my resume. I am very ready to have a regular weekly class (or preferably, two) on my schedule. While I love subbing and the challenges it brings, I know that a regular class will give me a different kind of learning opportunity, where I can watch my students grow over weeks and months.

I know the right opportunity will open up soon, so I will try to be patient as I wait for it to present itself.

I graduated! I now have a lovely certificate stating that I am a graduate of the Willow Street Yoga Center teacher training program. I’m qualified to apply for the RYT (registered yoga teacher) registry with Yoga Alliance, which means I’m eligible to teach at gyms or yoga studios that require the RYT designation to be hired. It’s very exciting! Now I am officially a yoga teacher, and I can start working towards Anusara-Inspired status!

Graduation weekend was bittersweet. We had our test on Friday night. Unfortunately for me, the week of the test was also a busy week for the choir I’m working with. We launched the website the week before the test, so rather than studying, I was making last-minute copy edits and ensuring everything was in place for our public debut. I spent a lot of time stressing out about the test, but ultimately, the studying I managed to do paid off nicely. I finished the test and felt good about it, and happily, passed with flying colors.

We had a nice graduation ceremony with our family and friends. It was a nice way to honor all the work we’ve done for two years, and to share a bit of the program with our loved ones.

We were lucky to have a close-knit group of 15 in YTT this year. I made some wonderful friends, and we really got to know each other well. It was neat to see such a diverse group of people come together for the same purpose. Each person brought such a unique perspective and personal story to their teaching, which was beautiful to see. As happy as I am to not have all the demands of YTT in the coming months, I will definitely miss having regular weekends with that group of yogis. Our director Suzie Hurley created a nurturing and encouraging space for us to learn and grow. The program was definitely challenging, but any time I wondered whether it was worth the work, I felt incredible support from her and the other teacher trainees. I’m so glad I decided to participate in the training this year. I learned a lot about myself and about yoga, and I look forward to seeing what opportunities open up over the next few months.

I subbed again tonight, for a welcoming group of folks.  The class went well overall.  I had several people thank me or tell me it was a great class.  Yet, rather than walking away feeling good, I am focused on the one person who gave me slightly less positive feedback.

It was a three-second gesture.  Had I been looking the other way, I would have missed it.  After the final OM, I thanked them for sharing their evening with me, wished them a good week, and let them know the regular teacher would be back next week.  That’s when it happened.  A woman turned to her friend and quietly clapped.

She might have clapped for many reasons, many of which aren’t a direct reflection on me.  She might really love her regular teacher.  Perhaps she didn’t like the music I played, or maybe she didn’t want an abs-centric class.  Maybe I worked them too hard, or maybe she doesn’t like opening the class with a chant.  Despite the fact that several folks (including her friend) thanked me for a great class, I can’t help feel disappointed that she didn’t have a better experience in my class tonight.  I keep thinking of what I could have done differently.  How could I better serve her?  Did I focus too much on other students?  Or too much on her?  Could my class plan have been better?

I will admit that it didn’t feel like my best class, but it still was solid.  And every class can’t be The Best, right?

So, how to deal with mixed reviews, especially in these early stages?   How seriously should I take this feedback?    The answer is, “not seriously at all.”  I’ve been lucky to receive some constructive criticism from people after class, and it’s been very helpful.  This can’t be categorized as such, so I should dismiss it; instead, it nags at me.

Then I remember a core Anusara principle:  Look for the Good.   I remind myself of the several people who spoke positively to me, especially the guy who said he learned a lot tonight.   And I recognize the reality — not everyone is going to love my class or teaching style.  There is a reason I go to my regular teacher instead of all the other fantastic teachers around.  Something about her class and her spirit speak to me, so I choose to return to my regular class.

As for tonight, I need to rest assured that my preparation and teaching did serve the majority of the class.  And most importantly, I need to remember not to take it personally.  I can only offer my best and be true to myself, then hope that it speaks to someone.

One of the teacher training requirements is to turn in a video of yourself teaching a class.  This requirement didn’t stress me out too much, as I am feeling relatively comfortable with teaching these days, but it still took some solid preparation and planning to get ready.

I prepared for this class as I would any other; however, as the video date got closer, I found myself thinking of copious things I should also throw into my class!  The more things I thought of, the less cohesive my class plan became.  The more ideas that flew into my head, the more complex my theme became.  This went on for a few days, until I finally took a step back.  This video is one glimpse into my teaching.  I can’t possibly demonstrate every single thing I have learned in two years in a single class — nor would anyone want to watch that!  It was important that I pare it back to what it was:  a well-rounded, complete class that covers a full range of asana, weaves in heart-languaging with key technical instruction, and — most importantly — serves my students.

In the end, I added in a few things that were missing from the first class plan, but I stuck with my original asana sequence and theme.

It was wet and cold yesterday morning, but despite that, there were about twenty people in the class at 9am on a Saturday.  They were so generous about being on the video, especially once I promised them it wouldn’t be on YouTube.

The class went beautifully.  Was everything perfect?  No, of course not.  In reviewing the video, there are all kinds of nitpicky things this perfectionist would change, if given the chance.  But overall, it met my goals of covering a full range of poses, uplifting my students, and ensuring they had a good practice.   It’s a good representation of where my teaching is at this point in time, and hopefully captures the spirit of a class, as taught by Yoga Kate.   I hope that each person left feeling more connected, both to their true nature and to those around them.

Many thanks are due to my husband, who spent his Saturday morning recording my class — and the last year supporting me during YTT.   Thanks to the Capitol Hill Yoga kula for generously letting me record them and for welcoming me each time I teach there.   And, as always, thanks to my main teachers Suzie Hurley and Naomi Gottlieb-Miller for inspiring me every step of the way.

I’m in Boston for the weekend for work. I do not have a lot of free time, but I was hopeful things would align so that I could find a yoga class nearby that fit into one of a couple free hours that I have in between meetings.

Off I went to to Google, where, to my surprise, I found only a handful of results for ‘Anusara Yoga Boston’. There were a couple of good-looking entries for Anusara-Inspired teachers in Cambridge (which warmed my heart, since I lived in Cambridge for two years.) But outside of that, there seemed to be only a minor Anusara presence here in Boston.

This is a stark contrast to Washington D.C.. Suzie Hurley created Willow Street Yoga Center in Takoma Park, MD fifteen years ago. Willow Street is a warm, inviting place to practice and learn the Anusra principles. It has also become a tight-knit and supportive community. But more than that, Suzie has trained scores of people in the Anusara method. DC now benefits from an incredible kula of rigorously trained teachers who focus on Anusara. As a student and teacher trainee, I have a bounty of creative teachers around me from whom I can draw inspiration as I continue down this path.

I am filled with gratitude for this thriving Anusara community and grateful to be a part of it.

It just hit me that our final weekend of teacher training is five weeks from today! It seems unbelievably soon, but at the same time, it comes at the end of a long and wonderful journey. When I look back to the beginning of the Anusara Immersion in early 2008, I remember feeling excited, yet overwhelmed by all I was learning. Now I realize we were merely dipping a toe into the vast depth of yoga. We went much deeper into every subject this year, in addition to learning how to teach poses, how to sequence a class, and how to manage a classroom.

I have learned so much about the art of teaching yoga, yet even as I prepare to go into the world as a Yoga Teacher, I recognize that I am again at the beginning of a whole new journey. I can’t wait to have a regular class where I can grow with a group of students. I find myself lookig for themes I can share in upcoming classes, and I look forward to knowing my students well enough that I can tailor the class to what they need that week. So much ahead of me, so much more to learn!

But first, I have to pass the big test, covering all of the materials we hve been taught over these eleven months. Wish me luck!