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Good question! I've been a primary school teacher, aerobics instructor, gym instructor, nutritional consultant and now I'm a registered yoga teacher and university tutor. I'd always fancied being a yoga teacher but a) never thought I could afford the training, b) was scared about working for myself and not having job security, and c) under-estimated the joy I would get from teaching it. Then four years ago I found myself on own, having been a partner and wife for 26 years. To deal with this crisis, I knew I had to find out who I was, and I realised I had no idea! I'd been wrapped up in the external world of materialism for so long and was woken up with a huge shake! I began by going to a group mindfulness course, then went to a local yoga class and attended weekend yoga retreats in the North Yorkshire moors. Not long after that, I became in tune with my own energy and realised I had an infinity with Reiki so completed the Level 1 and 2 courses.
That's me on my yoga 200 hour training course in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Look at the backdrop!
The next step was to look at my finances. I was in a beautiful house in a lovely village surrounded by many friends. But my money was going into paying the bills and mortgage. I knew that I could be happy wherever I lived and that my friends would always be there. So I sold the house, moved into an amazing apartment in the city centre, and do you know what? It gave me more financial freedom, I know, it wasn't hard to work out, once I started thinking about things from a non-attached viewpoint.
So I started looking at yoga courses and how long they would take. There were some really good ones near me but it would take three years to complete. I'd travelled abroad to a great yoga retreat in Thailand three days after I moved to my apartment and knew I just loved travelling. It was obvious, then, find a yoga course in a country I'd never been to before. And the one that came up was perfect! Amazing views, beautiful country and I would be qualified in under three weeks.
It took lots of practice and 13 hour days but was well worth it (I'm concentrating in the above pic, honestly!)
And now, I'm actually teaching my own classes (online for now!)
One small step was all it took to begin. A small step can be a silent commitment to yourself: 'I am going to be happier,' or 'I am going to be free'. It can be an action such as picking up the phone and calling a friend or enrolling on a part-time course. I truly believe that if you have lifelong dreams or need a change in your life, one small step will be the right one in the direction you wish to go. Lao Tzu says the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and that if you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. I was heading pretty much nowhere up until four years ago. My small step was to say to myself, ‘Jenn, you will be ok.’ I didn't know how I was going to be ok or even where I was headed, but I decided that I would be ok no matter what. And here I am, better than ok, brilliant, in fact, and realising my dreams. And that's why and how I became a yoga teacher.
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