My 1st Day of yoga teacher training

I took my first yoga class when I was pregnant with my second child.  It was 1997, and a prenatal yoga class at my gym.  During the meditation portion of the class, we were to visualize a beautiful meadow, river or other peaceful place.  All I could visualize was beef, specifically a nice, juicy steak. Mind you, I hadn't eaten red meat in 10 years at that time.  I raced to the store and found the meat counter closed at 9pm at night, and came home with some hamburger meat and grilled burgers, much to my husband's surprise and delight. Days later, I made him take me to Outback Steakhouse for that steak I was still craving.  The following week, I found out I was anemic, and my body was craving iron - something beef has a lot of.  This was my first experience of the power of yoga to help you calm your mind, listen to your body, and learning to trust my intuition.
     Fourteen years later, countless other experiences of yoga have provided me with clarity, calmed me when stressed, lifted me up when I was down, and grounded me.   Yoga helps me to be a better me.  When I do yoga, I am more focused, less stressed, more productive, and relaxed.  My body feels stronger, my mind feels clearer, and my spirit soars.  I am a better wife, mother, and friend. I am more creative and do better work.  After years of praising its benefits, and encouraging everyone to "try it, you'll like it," I enrolled in a 200 hour yoga teacher training program.  My goal is to not only deepen my own practice, but now be able to share my love for yoga and its benefits with thousands of others through teaching it, writing about it, and of course, practicing it.
     Today was our first class.  Appropriately, we began with a yoga class - a 70-minute hot yoga class that is challenging, centering, and leaves you dripping in sweat in a state of bliss, with a smile on your face, peace in your heart, calm in your mind, and hunger in your belly. Normally, that would be my exercise for the day.  Today, it was just the beginning. We proceeded to do 4 more hours of yoga, AND started teaching to our fellow teachers-in-training on the first day!  I was so nervous and excited at the same time.  The instructor kept using words that my personal coach and I had just talked about the day before; words that define me, inspire me, and mold me.  Words like determination, awareness, authentic, potential, transforming, trust, freedom. I was mezmorized.  I knew I was right where I was supposed to be.  Nevermind my arms were shaking from being in downward dog off and on for 4 hours, or my stomach was growling because I hadn't eaten enough for lunch to sustain me. I was so grateful and joyful to be there.  I can hardly wait for my next training class on Tuesday.  Now, I just have to be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning - I can already feel the soreness creeping in.