About Vicki Confessions of a 62 Year Old
Yoga Teacher...
October 29, 2007
Today I'm a Certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher (200-Hour), a Certified Prenatal Yoga Teacher trained by Janice Clarfield of Vancouver, British Columbia, and I'm Yoga Alliance Registered. That's today, but in 2004 when I was in the worst shape of my life, it wasn't until I'd tried many forms of exercise that I finally found yoga.
I'd thought yoga was a mysterious practice appealing to Gumby-types who founding something beneficial about getting twisted into pretzel shapes. Not anything I could identify with.
Being in lousy shape was awful. Finding the right fitness program to correct the problem was worse. At 58 years old, it wasn't easy finding a program that was slow enough and gentle enough for a brand-new beginner. I had joined gyms many times in my life only to begin with gusto and fizzle out after a month or so. This time it wasn't that I fizzled out, but rather that I hurt myself. My knees didn't like the stationary bike. My hips didn't like the treadmill. My lungs couldn't handle aerobics class. My back hurt after Pilates. I kept trying, but nothing was working.
Early in January 2004, when New Year's resolutions are made and soon forgotten, I spoke with a trainer and explained my desire for an exercise program and my inability to find one. I sounded like a whimp, a whiner, a complainer, a crabby old woman describing my heretofore failed attempts. The trainer listened kindly as I went on and on. Then she asked, 'Vicki, why don't you try Yoga?' My response was something like, 'What's Yoga got to do with fitness? Isn't that a spiritual path or something?' Noooooo, to my surprise it was explained that Yoga is a world class fitness program that's been around for five thousand years. It's still popular today because it can work for just about anyone at any age in any shape.
This was it - my last try and when I failed at yoga I would return to couch potato heaven with a bag of licorice in one hand and a box of Triscuits in the other.
After two yoga lessons, I permitted myself to secretly HOPE that I'd found something that might be doable. After a few more lessons, I began looking forward to the next class. Soon, I was skipping out the door with my yoga mat in hand and a smile on my face. My friends were puzzled when I'd decline invitations that conflicted with my yoga practice. After a few months of yoga twice a week, I began to look different in the mirror. Dad's genes were surfacing. I had muscles again, my shoulders lost their slope and squared-up, my buns lifted back up where they belong. Could this be from doing yoga twice a week? Evidently, I'd finally found something that agreed with me....and the results were obvious. The best part was that I liked it... and it liked me.
In March 2007, I made a big decision. I decided to become a yoga teacher and share this amazing discovery with others who may have had similar experiences with other forms of exercise. I attended the Kripalu School of Yoga and graduated as a Certified Yoga Teacher. I still can't believe it.
Contact me today at: 215-721-7199