Multifaceted
Consider how many hats you have the option to wear. I’m a sister, a daughter, a friend, a lawyer, and a yoga teacher. In the past I’ve been a host daughter in someone’s home, a guest in a foreign country for nearly a year, a student, and a lecturer. Our options to be whomever we want to be are especially endless today as access to information has never been easier. We can expose ourselves to all sorts of activities and develop all kinds of interests and passions.
To be multifaceted is a privilege. As my sisters and I grew up, my dad regularly emphasized the importance of us layering ourselves with skills and unique experiences. “Never let one thing define you,” he would say. I still carry these words with me now, even in my late twenties.
I took up yoga practice when I was 13 years old. I had my first round of high school exams, which I was very nervous about and a friend of mine suggested practicing yoga to calm my nerves. When I first tried it, I didn’t like it (considering that I am now a 500-hour level certified yoga teacher, this is surprising right?) But yes, I did not like yoga the first time I tried it. Reason being that I was an over ambitious 13-year-old who stepped into an advanced class and couldn’t get into half the poses. I don’t know what I expected.
But one thing the teacher said at the end of the class stuck with me, led me to rely on the practice time and time again during some of the toughest moments of my life, and ultimately informed my decision to complete my first yoga teacher training. She said something along the lines of “let this practice guide you through a life of non-violence towards others and towards yourself. Let this practice be your crutch and your mat, always a safe space and haven.”
As the years went by and as I progressed through school, travelled, and developed a sense of self (“layering myself with experiences,” as my dad taught me to do), I found myself intermittently coming back to yoga, usually whenever life became difficult. I would practice while I struggled with body image issues during high school. I would practice when I was nervous about an exam. I would practice during my 8-month long placement in Vietnam whenever I became homesick for Canada. I would practice after I graduated from my undergraduate program, unsure about my future and what I was meant to do with my life. And I would practice and practice and practice during law school when my impostor syndrome was strong, whenever I received a below-average grade, or when I faced rejection. As that teacher said, yoga certainly became my crutch to overcome my problems and my mat became a haven to escape to.
It wasn’t until I completed my first 200 hour yoga teacher training program, and truly started embodying the practice both on and off my mat, when I understood yoga to be much more—it’s my creative outlet, a celebration of my physical body, my reminder to stay present and live a life of non-violence (towards myself and others), my means to let go of anything that isn’t serving me, and the balance to my professional life. Teaching yoga allows me to share all of these facets with other people.
As I continue to grow through my personal and professional experiences, I am certain yoga will always be a part of my journey. Although I still believe that no sole thing defines me, yoga is the glue that holds each part of me together. It allows me to exist as a multifaceted person.
Sharing the practice of yoga (and all that is stands for) with others, especially those who do not think they have time for it, is one of my highest privileges. Thank you for joining me on this blogging journey. I am beyond grateful to share this practice and my story with you.