I had no intention of actually teaching when I started Yoga Teacher Training (YTT).  Despite coming up with many reasons not to do it, I felt a pull in my gut and the week that training started I joined on a whim.    
YTT turned out to be the best personal-investment I have ever made for myself.  I registered hoping to gain more consistency in my personal yoga practice and to gain a deeper understanding of yoga.  In 8 months, I did gain what I had initially sought, but I also left with more than I could have ever imagined –  a healthier relationship with myself.  I gained a different perspective on life, more tools to help my anxiety than any counselor had ever given me, and a more positive relationship with my body.  My favourite gain though, is that for the first time in my life, strong became a word I could associate with myself.  As far as teaching goes, I did end up teaching and I now have a successful yoga business which I am grateful for every day.  I get to make a living connecting with people.
Lindsay and Carolynne are without a doubt two of the best teachers in the Waterloo Region.  There is no formal body that regulates yoga (nope, not even Yoga Alliance), so there is no consistency in YTT training material or quality.  It wasn’t until I did start teaching that I realized how lucky I was to have ended up training with Lindsay.  Her understanding of human anatomy and all the body’s complex systems is unparalleled to any other yoga teacher I have met.  Carolynne has an amazing understanding of how energy moves in the body and the ability to make meditation a tangible experience for beginners.  Lindsay and Carolynne are both so down-to-earth, so in sync, and complement each other beautifully. There is no doubt that this year’s YTT will be the best that Fearless Heart Yoga has run.  I wish I could take it again as a beginner!
Consider Yoga Teacher Training as the best gift you can give yourself.

Writer and Yoga instructor Virginia Shay sits down with Lindsay to chat about her odyssey finding solutions for her chronic neck pain. They discuss the impacts of chronic pain on your overall health and mental health. Virginia also provides some insights into what she learned to look for in bodyworkers and therapists along the way.

I am reposting an article here by Heather Doughty, who has written an incredible summary of why the #metoo trend is an underreaction, if anything, and that we need to keep it front and centre if our culture is truly going to shift. This isn't about being able to hit post on something and share it with your followers. There are people all over the world who do not have a voice because they do not have personal safety, time, or access to the internet in order to be heard. This isn't about privilege, and about it only coming to light because famous people are calling out other famous people. It is beginning that way because they have the biggest platform. But shouldn't we all do our best to speak up, and to acknowledge that we have the ability to?

Here's the link to Ms. Doughty's article. Please read it and share it:
​https://medium.com/@hdoughty08/trauma-informed-reader-response-to-the-ill-informed-article-publicly-we-say-metoo-e9a2a7617655medium.com/@hdoughty08/trauma-informed-reader-response-to-the-ill-informed-article-publicly-we-say-metoo-e9a2a7617655

Carolynne and Lindsay contemplate how to take the lessons learned in 2017 and apply them to living well, being real and being present. Would you rather fit in, or belong?