Dreams do come true!

One day about 13 years ago I walked into the Coral Springs Art Museum with my friend Sandy to attend my first yoga class. Little did I know that I would love it so much that one day I would study to become a yoga teacher myself. I remember it as if it were just yesterday. I was very nervous when I entered but I was immediately welcomed by the teacher who was sitting in front of about 10 students. She asked me if this was my first class and when I answered yes she told me that she would be sure to keep a special eye on me.

We started the class on our backs in relaxation. Juliana who was the teacher told us to bring our attention to our breath. It was wonderful to just let everything else in the world go and only think about the breath. I relaxed into the class and heard only the words of the teacher. We moved through pranayama (breath control), asana (poses) and finally meditation. I was hooked. I felt so peaceful and joyful when the class was over I knew I had finally found what I was looking for.

I continued going to Juliana's classes at the museum as well as going to her private studio. I also started taking private sessions with her to take my practice to another level. To this day I still take my privates every other Tuesday. They allow Juliana and I to work on my alignment, balance, strength and focus only on me. Sometimes they turn into therapy session. :)

Last year Juliana asked me for my help in getting her paperwork together so that her studio could be approved for teacher training by the Yoga Alliance. It was a lot of work but I knew that if I could get it done I would have the chance to study under the most respected teacher in this area not to mention my own spiritual mentor and guru. We worked together and were able to get everything that was needed. Juliana's first teacher training started last March.

We had 7 students and it was a wide range of people. I was the oldest at 58 and Courtney was the youngest at 18. We all got along very well and bonded over many sessions of yoga philosophy, teaching technique and anatomy. Getting to spend 200 hours with Juliana was amazing. She is so knowledgeable about yoga and we were like sponges taking it all in.

Last Monday night was our graduation on the beach. It was an wonderful event complete with flowers, fruit, chanting, meditation, family and fun. All of the students were dressed in white as we sang and celebrated on the beach. Now I'm a yoga teacher. My dream came true.

By the way, that's me in the graduation picture on the bottom left. :)