by Stephanie Mills

photo by samuiblue 

This past summer I found myself overwhelmed by stuff going on in my family, and had to take a break from teaching. I felt that until I was able to deal with me, and my reactions to the “stuff”, I couldn’t possibly offer effective yoga classes. You see, to me, yoga is about so much more than the poses, and the poses are about so much more than their physical components. I took some time to focus on my personal practice, which often gets neglected when I’m teaching, and also took some time to be a student. I took a 50-hr teacher training in Advanced Asana, more for the mental/emotional/energetic aspect than the physical. (One of my favourite things about yoga is the way that each asana has mental/emotional/energetic ramifications.)

This time of focusing on myself, and learning from a fabulous teacher, has helped me to cope with the “stuff” (which, by the way, has turned out alright, as I needed to be reminded it would!) and get back to teaching.

The whole experience has taught me that I do have the strength and the tools to deal with whatever life gives me, (thanks to Yoga!) and has served to remind me that whatever life gives me is for my highest good. So, with a renewed sense of purpose, I am happy to be back at Tone Studio!

Stay tuned for new classes in the spring, all about yoga for women!

Read more about Stephanie and our Tone teachers here.