A 3-5 page essay on Baptiste Power
Vinyasa Yoga philosophy and why you have chosen to teach this style.
By Sara
Mueller, November 2012
I found Baptiste
Power Vinyasa Yoga when I moved to Naples, Florida, from New York City. I had
told my husband that I would be ok with the move as long as I found a yoga
studio that I liked. Little did I know that the yoga studio I found, Bala
Vinyasa Yoga, a Baptiste Affiliate, would change my life completely.
I was first
drawn to Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga because of the physical challenging
workout. I loved that it kicked my butt, made me sweat like a pig, and
complemented my running. After each class I felt great and that I had gotten a
total body workout. But I also got so much more out of the practice than just
the physical aspect.
I credit
Baptiste yoga to keeping me sane. The first few years that I was practicing it
I had a very stressful, demanding career. No matter how bad my day was, I could
come to class, do something cool/fun/challenging/simple (whatever I needed that
day), and always feel good at the end of class. When I say “feel good” I mean
that I felt capable, worthy, and strong. It gave me strength to keep facing my
job and life with confidence in my abilities and myself. I loved when I saw my
practice improve, held that first crow pose, and started to understand the
flow.
Through the
practice of Baptiste yoga I started to develop a spiritual side of me as well.
I was raised Catholic and pretty much forced to get confirmed Catholic, even
though that religion didn’t make sense to me. As I became an adult I
disregarded all thoughts of God and a higher power and went on living my life.
But through Baptiste yoga, the messages my great teachers shared in class, even
the “God is Real” song by Krishna Das that was sometimes played in savasana, I
started to feel something come alive inside of me and started to feel a
connection to God. The world started making sense.
Baptiste yoga
taught me to live passionately. It made me realize that my life is gift, that
each day is a gift, and that I should spend my precious days on this earth
doing things I loved and following my heart. I started writing and reading
more, things I loved as a child but did not devote a lot of time to in my
adulthood. I started baking and crafting. I started telling my friends and
family how much I loved them and what they mean to me.
The more I
practiced Baptiste Yoga the more I loved it. I told my close friends that it
was a dream of mine to become a yoga teacher, but never really thought it would
happen. I really loved Bala Vinyasa Yoga studio and kept checking their web
site to see if they would offer a teacher training. Finally, they did and I
signed up!
The Bala Vinyasa
Yoga Teacher Training was taught with Baptiste Methodology. It was the most
impactful experience of my life. It was also the most challenging and downright
frightening experience of my life. I went into the Teacher Training not saying
a word in the group sessions. Halfway through I shared to the entire group and
talked so fast it was like someone had a gun to my head. Funny, because for my
conference director job I got up in front of hundreds of Head Traders and CEOs
of major capital markets firms and spoke calmly and clearly telling them what
to do at the events I ran; but when it came to talking about matters of the
heart and my personal life, I could barely get a sentence out – and if I did it
was 90 miles an hour! I was coached into sharing more effectively and it has
become one of my greatest strengths as a yoga teacher.
Through this
teacher training I evaluated all the relationships in my life and found that I
had some major repairing to do. I needed to drop my need to be right and take
responsibility for how I was contributing to the quality of the relationship. I
had a conversation with both of my brothers, my dad, and my mom on things that
had needed to be addressed for years and on my commitment to our relationship
moving forward. Because of these conversations and a shift in my perspective
about the relationships, I now actually HAVE a relationship (a great one,
actually!) with my brothers and a much more open, honest, and loving
relationship with my parents.
During the
6-month Bala Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training, I also did the 40 Days to Personal
Revolution program. The biggest tool I took away from that program was a
meditation practice. I had been trying to meditate for many years, but it never
stuck. With the consistent daily practice required of the program and the slow
build up from 5 to 30 minutes of meditating both day and night, meditation
became a habit of mine. My practice to this day sometimes goes in and out, but
generally I sit for about ten minutes each morning and night before bed. The days I meditate, challenges are simpler
to work through, the clouds look whiter and the sky bluer, and I have a calm
contentment within me at all times. My meditation connects me to my inner self,
my intuition. I make decisions easier and follow my heart.
After the BV
Yoga Teacher Training I started teaching yoga!! It was (and still sometimes is)
the hardest, but most rewarding thing I did. I knew I was hooked and wanted to
get my Baptiste Certification because I wanted to share with as many people as
possible the practice that was changing my life in so many positive ways. In
one year I went to Foundations in Action, Level 1, Level 2, and Art of
Assisting. I even assisted a Foundations in Action at BV Yoga’s brand new Miami
studio! Each of these programs shed more light on who I am (and who I am not),
where I am not showing up fully in my life, and how I can be in more authentic
FUN self-expression.
And because I
found the BV Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training the most impactful program of my
life, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it in the future. I want to facilitate
or lead teacher trainings like it. When I approached BV about this, the
director and owner told me that to move into a place to be part of the Teacher
Training teaching team, I had to get Baptiste Certified. It was just another
reason to make this commitment!
I have chosen to
teach Baptiste yoga because the methodology makes sense to me. I embrace the
themes of Baptiste methodology in my teaching, practice, and life. Number 1:
“Be a YES,” is how I have lived most of my life. I say yes to new experiences
and challenges, and accept the gifts from the universe that come my way. It
also makes me realize when and where I am being a “no” person. When I first
moved to Naples I was a “no.” I did not put myself out there to meet people and
make friends. I became a workaholic so I had work as an excuse to stay the way
I was. When I tapped into Baptiste yoga I realized I was being this way. Even
my facial expression and lack of eye contact with others in public was like I
had a big, fat NO tattooed across my face. I started saying “yes” more in my
yoga practice (to flip dog-to-wheel, tripod headstand, bigger backbends/heart
openers), and thus starting being a “yes” more in my life. I did not let my
excuses lead me; instead, I let my heart lead me to do things I loved, make
friends, and be a more open person.
Number 2: “You
are ready now” has also had a huge impact in my life. When I saw that BV was
finally offering a teacher training, I knew I was ready now. When it came time
to practice teach (like an audition) to be a teacher at BV, I didn’t wait until
my teaching was perfect. Instead I did the practice teach right when the
opportunity arose, and found myself teaching right after that! But most
importantly, perhaps, is that I know I am ready now to be happy. Happiness
doesn’t come once the weekend arrives, once vacation is here, once my house if
fixed up, or once all the bills are paid. Happiness can be found in each and
every moment – even in the midst of crises, stress, and pain. I believe we all
deserve to live peaceful, fulfilled lives. We don’t have to wait until the time
is right – because the time is always right to be happy and live fully, it’s
right NOW.
Number 3: “Give
up what you must…” Whoa. This is a big one for me. I find myself living this
theme each and every day in all aspects of my life. When I get into my head
while teaching and start thinking “I am not good enough,” or “I am not wanted,”
I recognize it, drop it, and move on. When I make a mistake at work, I own it,
learn from it, and move on (instead of dwelling on it and letting it keep me
down). When I find myself acting childish with my husband or in other
relationships, I acknowledge it, then drop it. Through yoga I have gained a
sense of awareness, and by living this methodology I can continue to drop
things that arise that do not serve me any more.
Another major
reason I teach Baptiste Yoga is because of people and connection. I don’t find
connection in a lot of other yoga classes I take that aren’t Baptiste. Through
Baptiste yoga programs, trainings, and workshops I have gotten to know so many
amazing people. I have seen these people become clearer and brighter and it
inspires me. I am so grateful to lead programs like 40 Days to Personal
Revolution and apprentice BV Yoga’s 200-Hour Teacher Training. I truly see the
beauty in each and every person that I get to know a little bit – without these
programs I would probably never get deeper than a surface-level
talk-about-the-weather conversation with them. Even teaching my regular classes
week upon week I get to see my students improve, try things on, drop baggage,
and open up. It reminds me why I love yoga and why I love to teach it.
Through
connection with others we build community. Community was something that was
always lacking in my life. My family moved around a lot when I was in grade
school. After graduating from high school I lived in 5 different cities before
settling down in Naples. Finally, through yoga, the BV Yoga community and the
Baptiste Yoga community, I feel community all around me – even when I travel to
another city and visit the closest Baptiste Affiliate studio. It is amazing how
we are all connected in so many ways. And through this connection we can build
each other up, step into our greatness, and experience miracles on our planet.
