Atha Yoga Anushasanam

My little Toulouse apartment was the squished three-story building. I miss it. 

"And now the inquiry of yoga."
"Now, the teachings of yoga."
"Now this is yoga as I have perceived it."

There are plenty of different translations of Patanjali's first Yoga Sutra, 1 of 196. Sutra means thread. Patanjali's 2nd century text became an early authority on Raja Yoga, or the Kingly path, and it is still used today as a foundation for most yoga teachings. Since I don't speak Sanskrit, I picked multiple translations of atha yoga anushasanam. All of them are pretty fitting for where I am now because I'm training to become a yoga teacher in Lafayette, LA through Acadiana Yoga & Wellness.

Rewind. I touched down on U.S. soil on Jaunary 1, 2013. I was hoping that the new year would bring new growth and opportunity to my life, and it has. The beginning of the year also brought some new struggles, namely a bad bout of Campylobacteriosis. It's a pretty nasty bacterial infection that I probably picked up in France. The doctor said the culprit was most likely uncooked poultry, but I think the ridiculous amount of unpasteurized cheese that I consumed is a more likely candidate. Accusing a French chef of undercooking chicken is probably the worst accusation of all time. We'll stick with the cheesy explanation.

 After two days at home, I was sick but I was also employed. My new job was completely different from teaching middle schoolers in some ways, but in many ways it was extremely similar. I had never bar tended before, but the staff at Legend's made my training enjoyable. Their margaritas are awesome and so are the quesadillas. My kind of place. Middle schoolers and customers who've had a little too much to drink are surprisingly similar in comportment. I guess I was more prepared for bar work than I thought. After about a month of driving almost an hour one-way from New Iberia to Lafayette, though, I decided to leave the bar to reclaim a non-zombie existence.

Luckily my yoga program started in early January, and it runs until mid-June, so I had some structure to my life. After I left Legend's I got certified in Mat II Pilates. I also went back to the Shadows-on-the-Teche to work as a tour guide, after an almost three year hiatus. I have other small projects in the works right now, but those are a surprise.

Here are a few things I've learned since I've gotten home:
– I missed home more than I thought. My body agreed and actually held off on completely breaking down until I was home, so my mom could doctor me up.
– I miss Toulouse about as much as I thought I would, which is to say ridiculously. I loved the intimacy of the Rose City's streets, my daily coffee at La Fiancee, walking to and from work, the food (even the cheese culprit, it was worth it), the nasal accents, the warmth of the people, and the stunning sunsets.
– It's ok to come home.
– It's ok to decide that whatever job you're doing is not right for you at the time. If opportunity doesn't come knocking, you have to dress up as opportunity and walk out the door.
– If I'm in an airport, something will go wrong. I recently went to Boston, had a wonderful trip, and got to the airport a month early to fly home. Thanks, mom.
– I miss teaching. So, I'm giving it another go next year. Fingers crossed.
– Yoga has this crazy sneaky ability to force you to introspect, heal, and thrive.

Since I'll be doing 200 hours worth of yoga training, prepare yourselves for some yoga advice, poses, philosophy, and frustrations. For now, I'll start as Patanjali suggests by simply observing my own perceptions of yoga in the world and how those observations relate to my life and my students'.

Namaste y'all.