Wine, chocolate mousse and a yoga job

I still haven't figured out the normal way to get a yoga teaching job. In my current line of work, it involves the typical cover letter, resume and writing samples. Am I supposed to have a yoga resume?

But after I got back from Mexico, I knew I wanted to teach. I knew I wanted to teach at a new studio two of my teachers were on the cusp of opening. I didn't know how to do it. But training gave me a lot of chutzpah, so three days after I got back from Mexico, I marched on down.

I didn't really have a plan. I just heard through the grapevine that one of the teachers was basically living there trying to get it ready in time, so I popped my head into the construction zone and asked for him. He was in the back with the lighting designer and definitely frazzled. But he took a break and heard me out. He said, "Wow, I didn't know you wanted to teach. That's so great. Sure, we can figure something out. Just email me times that are best for you for classes, and we'll go from there." Then he went back to the lighting designer.

That's really almost exactly how it went. It seemed suspiciously easy. That night, I emailed him and the other owner. She got back to me and we had coffee a few days later. Everything she said thrilled me. My vision for teaching meshes with their vision for the studio: empower others by creating space for people to grow. I want to do it in class, and they want to do it through the studio, eventually starting a nonprofit. Once we got that out of the way, she said she wanted to have a donation-based community class that would make the studio accessible to everyone and also be a place to nurture new teachers like myself. She showed me the pay scale. She asked me what times worked for my schedule. I said, "Weekends are better." She said, "How about noon on Saturday?" Done.

Then I got really, really scared. I'm nervous about teaching, but I was more nervous that I made the offer up, even after I was invited to a teacher dinner and the first meeting. I thought that they might take it back. They haven't yet.

I feel really lucky to be part of the birth of this studio. They have gathered an incredible group of teachers in a gorgeous, thoughtful space. Their energy is so inspiring. They held their grand opening recently, and it was my kind of party, with wine, champagne, cheese and chocolate mousse. There was a huge crowd there for the opening ceremony and the studio's first round of "om." I'm still assisting and learning insane amounts, but I also can't wait to get going teaching. SOON!