This year will be my 5th year of being the yoga teacher at Empower Fitness Studio. Last week, I came across a photo of Emma and I when I was filming myself for a yoga teacher training assessment, which got me reminiscing about when I first started teaching yoga.
Emma used to teach the yoga classes at Empower Fitness Studio, I attended regularly, and they were the highlight of my week. In fact, I still miss them! I can vividly remember the guided relaxations Emma would end her class with, laying on my mat, watching the colour changing lights, and then becoming so relaxed I had no choice but to close my eyes, it was the calmest I felt each week.
I smile now at the memory of feeling very self-conscious when I mentioned to Emma that I would like to be a yoga teacher. My shyness on the matter had to be short lived though, as before I knew it, Emma had arranged for me to get some teaching experience alongside my YTT (yoga teacher training) and I was teaching the first 15 minutes of her class each Monday evening at 8pm. Emma would supervise and take part in the section I taught, then we would swap spaces, and she would teach the rest of the session.
What a risk that was on Emma’s part! Disrupting her class and asking them to give me a chance, then asking them for feedback on my teaching. Of course, Emma wouldn’t have let me up there in front of her class if she doubted my ability or the reception I would get, but this didn’t stop me from feeling incredibly nervous, terrified in fact that I would let Emma down, and make the class less enjoyable, or make a fool of myself in front of my classmates!
It went well though! Eventually, Emma handed over the Monday class to me, and later I also began teaching the Pilates class on a Tuesday at 7pm. Handing classes over isn’t easy, I understand that now in a way I didn’t back then. You build a bond with the people who, week after week show up for your sessions. I have always appreciated the opportunities and encouragement Emma gave me, along with the faith she had in me to be a yoga teacher; she believed long before I did, that I could be the yoga teacher at the studio. But that appreciation and gratitude has only grown, because my classes really mean the world to me, what a gift that Emma passed them on to me.
So here we are 5 years later and, I teach Yoga on a Monday at 8pm and Pilates on a Tuesday at 7pm and Yin Yoga once a month, with weekend workshops added in every now and again. And aside from being the yoga teacher, this is also my third year as the holistic therapist at the studio; I have two beautiful rooms downstairs at Empower Fitness Studio where I offer Reflexology, Hot Stone Massage and Holistic Facials.
All of this has come about from meeting Emma nine years ago when I turned up at a beginners Pole class, with zero self-confidence; from there I made friends, learned to enjoy exercise in a way I hadn't before, and with Emma’s encouragement started my yoga teacher journey. And for that, I will be forever grateful! Thank you, Emma!
So next time you are considering doing something outside your comfort zone, do it! Who knows where it will lead? It might just be life changing.
With Love,
Steph xx
Empower Fitness Studio is located just off West Street, opposite Askews Furniture, in Alford Lincolnshire.
There is a varied timetable of classes including:
Pole classes – including beginners
Kettlercise
Dance
Yoga, Pilates and Stretch
Kids classes
We welcome EVERYONE x
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