My Baptiste Certification Essay: Why I Teach Baptiste Yoga

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.