Maria and fellow British Wheel of Yoga Level 4 Diploma graduates
On 5/1/15 (an auspiciously palindromical date) I unlocked the small hall that I had hired and started to get ready for my first ever proper yoga class as a student teacher. I had spent months preparing for teaching assessments, advertising, risk-assessing, booking people in, trying classes out on friends, and planning. I turned up early, terrified that I'd forgotten something important, and then wondered whether I should phone everyone on the list and tell them that there had been a terrible mistake and the class would not be going ahead.
Instead my first two class members turned up and we got chatting, other people started to arrive and the class went on from there. I made loads of mistakes but got great feedback and felt brave enough not to give in!
Seven years after that first night, my Monday night class is still going despite changes of venue, and there are even some people who are still with me who attended on that first occasion.
There have been plenty of changes since 2015. I've added to my qualifications and now teach pregnancy, postnatal and children's yoga as well as general Hatha yoga. I've moved some of my teaching online so that I can continue to share my yoga whatever the circumstances. And I've found other ways to share my love of yoga through publishing my children's books and audiobook.
At the start of this year I started looking at the CPD courses available and got fired up about what I could study over the coming months. I'm so lucky to be working in a profession where I can provide a welcoming, non-judgmental environment where people can stretch out and feel good about themselves. I'm fortunate that I am passionate about the thing that I want to share and teach people about. I am blessed that the field I work in is always coming up with new discoveries, new ways of practicing, new things to learn and new things to study. I am a non-bendy stresshead who overthinks and holds tension in my neck and shoulders, so if yoga helps me it can help any body.
I do wonder where I'll be in another seven years, but whatever happens, I think my Monday night yoga class will still be going steadily along.