It was something my parents said to me when I was 18 and choosing which degree to take for University, and it has stuck with me and served me well. Consequently, I have had a few different careers, lived in a number of cities, and taken a few long career breaks to pursue my passion for travel and experiencing new cultures.
I have been working in Bristol for the last 6 years as a Primary school teacher which I have absolutely loved, despite it being a lot of work. Last year became another turning point for me as my boyfriend of 4 years was coming towards the end of his studies and we decided that once he had finished, we would move in together. He was studying in Cardiff, Wales and I regularly visited and liked the city. With job prospects for him looking better and houses looking cheaper over there, we made the decision to look to buy a house and start our new life chapter in Cardiff.
In addition to this, I was ready to leave my job. Even though I loved teaching and the children and friends I’d made at the school, I felt it was time for me to move on, and with the Cardiff move looming, it felt like the right time to go.
And if that wasn’t enough to cope with, I decided to train to become a yoga teacher. I have been practising yoga since my friend first gave me her ‘Barbara Currie Power Yoga’ VHS tape back in 2004 at University. I very quickly fell in love with yoga; how it kept me fit and active, and, more recently, how it has helped keep me calm with a 50 hours a week, 100-miles-an-hour teaching job. I felt like the time was right, so in January this year I began my teacher training at Yogafurie.
Over the past 9 months I have had a roller coaster of emotions between managing my busy job at school, putting 100% into yoga teacher training and thinking about leaving my job, selling my flat, buying a house, moving in with my boyfriend and moving to a new city. It is an exciting time but there have also been times when I’ve felt dread at all the changes that are coming. The yoga course has definitely helped. We read a book called ‘The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ that has some inspiring ideas on how to live your life to remain in a state of peace. Reading this book helped me to re-frame my worries and turn them into excitement. I now realise that I am in control of how I decide to feel and I have the power to change it for the better.
I have now left my full time job and am working casually while I finish the last month of the yoga course. I am still waiting to sell my flat and find a house that is right in Cardiff. I don’t know what the future will look like in a few months time, and I know it won’t all be plain sailing, but I am really excited at what is to come, and I know that yoga will be part of it, and that I will only do what makes me happy.
If you’re interested and feel that a deepening of your understanding of yoga, or perhaps a career change in to teaching yoga would be what makes you happy, you can find out much more information on the dedicated Teacher Training section to our website.
We’ve created a short video asking our current Teacher Trainees to share their experiences of the course and what to expect on a typical Teacher Training weekend with us. Follow this link to A Typical Yogafurie Teacher Training Weekend.
