My first yoga class

I taught my first yoga class ever last Saturday morning. I wasn’t sure if it was right for me to do it and was quite nervous before starting. I felt a great sense of responsibility for being the person who’ll provide a bunch of people with their first contact with yoga. Let me say that I might not be the bestest teacher in the world, but I tried to do my best with what I’ve learnt and all in all, I think I didn’t do that bad. I walked them through the basic principles of breathing and good posture and then did some simple standing and seated postures. I also included a couple of easy backbends, but no twists or inverted postures, which I’ll save for the following classes. The class was 90 minutes long, which provided for a long Savasana, something they enjoyed.

It’s All Over

The course finished last Saturday. I still can’t believe I’ve been so lucky to have the chance to study with such brilliant, honest teachers. They are honourable yet down-to-earth at the same time. “They’re so gracious”, one of my fellow students said on the final day. And they really are.

It’s unbelievable how in such a short period of time one can make bonds with people. The departure was incredibly moving and I’m going to miss them all. They’re amazing.

It’s a shame all good things come to an end.

Almost Finished

Only one week left to finish the course. Not only have I learnt lots of new things and got a reminder on many other things that I already knew. During these three weeks, I’ve discovered that all the yoga reading that I’ve done hasn’t been in vain. Most of what has been covered so far wasn’t really new to me. Nevertheless, it’s been great to listen to such a clear, precise and coherent exposition of the principles of yoga. It’s going to be a long year until Module 2 of the course starts (we’ll be covering Yoga Therapy for structural problems).

The course has been lots of fun, too. People are so friendly and kind, and it’s been really interesting to hear about their different experiences and opinions. Some of them are self-confessed bookworms (just like me) and I already have a long list of recommendations that I’ll be checking out when I’m settled back home. I took three of the British girls on a trip around the island and we had a great time that day. It’s a shame we live so far away, because they are really amazing people.

Some strange things have happened during these past two weeks as well. And when I say strange, I mean unsettling. Last week, I had an accident in the motorway on my way to the hotel where the course is taking place. Not a good way to start the day and the week. No one got hurt and there was very little car damage but it was a shock anyway. To make it even “funnier”, last Tuesday I got a flat tyre in the motorway as well. I don’t know how I managed to get to the shoulder of the road from the furthermost lane. Everything got solved in less than an hour, but it was disturbing. However, I don’t think about these incidents as bad luck. On the contrary, I feel lucky that nothing bad actually happened!