Before attending, I had no idea who Kathryn was, but now I am rocking a mad girl / yogini crush on her. She wrote the Women's Health Big Book of Yoga and is the babe in the Yoga Toes ads, amongst other sponsors. Throughout the practice and breakfast Kathryn continued to make the point of trusting where you are and knowing that it is exactly where you need to be. One of my favorite quotes from her that day was about finding the place where you are not standing still but not pushing forward either, but still making progress. In the midst of all craziness and when things aren't how you want them to be, it is extremely hard to trust that it is exactly where you need to be--- this got me thinking.
2013 was off to a rocky start and by rocks they might as well have been the Rocky Mountains-- or at least that's what I thought. I considered leaving graduate school on more than one occasion, but looking back I am glad I didn't because it was exactly where I needed to be in order to be where I am now- And dang-it I really like where I am right now.
I had begun to hate Spanish, after the semester ended I would shudder when I heard people speaking Spanish on the street where before I had loved it ( I have now gotten over that). I have come to loath writing (part of the reason I blog is so that I can begin to like it again), it is hard when how you write rather than what you write is what you are constantly criticized for and graded on. I learned that a Ph.D in Spanish was not at all what I wanted anymore (maybe Anthro or LA studies--but never Spanish Literature). Amongst other obstacles, I learned a lot about myself and began to turn to yoga as an escape and sanctuary. Base-line, my negative graduate school expierence has continually led me to a deeper yoga practice.
My schedule of teaching Spanish and graduate classes has allowed me some amazing opportunities that working full time would not have. For example, the class with Kathryn Budig would have been unavailable to me if I were teaching full-time or working a 9-5 job. I would not have had the amazing experiences I had volunteering on Mondays assisting the special needs students. I had a summer break that gave me the time I needed to go away and do my yoga teacher training. Work exchanges have connected me to wonderful teachers on Wednesday and now Tuesday mornings. On Thursdays at 3:00 I have been able to teach a community yoga class. Graduate school has given me an amazing schedule that has permitted me to dive head first into the Chicago Yoga scene.
I know I continually talk about how much I can't wait for grad school to be done, in all honesty I will be pretty sad about it. I love learning and being a student, but even more I love the path that graduate school has led me down that has brought me to where I am now and continues to allow me to participate in the amazing Chicago yoga community. That is my graduate school silver lining and my lesson in trusting I am exactly where I need to be.