We’re all crazy, bish. That’s why we’re here.

Welcome, Reader!

I’m kicking this blog off from out on a limb: with the assumption that many (most?) people assume that yoga teachers as a group are all hippies who go through life blissed out on peace & meditation. Well, I’m here to tell ya, that’s just not true. How do I know this? Because I’m a yoga teacher…and I’m extra-strength crazy (sometimes).

I mean, who isn’t nowadays? (And if you’re smugly thinking to yourself, “Well, I’m not”, then you definitely are. Get thee to the mat!) This post-pandemic world will try even the most stoic of us. Make no mistake, the pandemic was a collective trauma. On top of this, we’ve normalized being bombarded with a constant stream of information, much of it bad/sad/mad. And we share and compare nearly every aspect of our lives online, much of it bad/sad/mad. And then we wonder why WE’RE bad/sad/mad? Well, it ain’t rocket science, folks.

Some of us (and by “some of us”, I mean me) came outta the box a little more prone to emotion, particularly the bad/sad/mad kind. I mean, I’m Irish + Italian. Let’s face it, I had almost no shot at being cool, calm & collected. Nope, while I was more reserved as a kid, I’ve always been a little explosive when tested. I think the kids these days call it “spicy”. I like that.

But, you see, that’s exactly what drew me to Yoga. After being dragged to a Yin class kicking & screaming (in my head, but still), I noticed something: I felt so CALM afterwards. And- lo & behold- I felt that way after every.single.class. At that time, I didn’t really understand the how or why of it.  I just knew that moving my body eased tension in my muscles and controlling my breath relieved stress in my mind. Shoot, even the dreaded meditation somehow left me feeling better than I did before. I know, what a trap, right?

Except it wasn’t. It felt like…freedom. Freedom from the stress of work. Freedom from the stress of my relationships. And, eventually, freedom from my own damn mind. Later, it even felt like freedom from a near-crushing depression that had me planning how to leave this bad/sad/mad world in a desperate attempt to find  Peace.

To my surprise (though probably not to yours, Reader), it was Yoga that taught me the practical skills- the movement, breath work & mental focus- to survive my own emotions. It was Yoga that taught me that I could look my Anger in the face, and ask that Anger it’s real name. Turns out, my Anger’s real name was Sadness. And Sadness was there to bring me a message: that there was a pretty big emotional problem that needed my attention. And with the help of all I learned on the mat (and a very gifted therapist), I became friends with my Sadness. I learned to welcome it, hear it out and then bid it a loving farewell. 

Turns out, I didn’t need to leave this bad/sad/mad world to find Peace. Peace is here, in this world. The trick is to learn HOW to find that peace, even in the midst of information overload. Even in the midst of this age of comparison. Even in the midst of my own chaotic mind. And yes, sometimes my mind is still bad/sad/mad. That’s just part of being human, Yoga teacher or not. And, if my extra-strength crazy a$$ can find Peace, you can too. You just need the right skills. 

Because we’re all crazy, bish. That’s why we’re here (in Yoga).

Yours in the Crazy,

Trish