I took my first yoga class when I was 29 years old in 1995. I had been working in social work. I won’t get into the details but after a workplace incident, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and I was off work for a time.

That’s what led me to walking out of a noisy step class with the loud pumping music, and into the yoga class that people were raving about. It was pretty much love at first class!

I don’t know if you can relate to that feeling of “aaaaaah, yeah!” when you finally feel relaxed and human again after a yoga class.

Truth be told, I didn’t want to go back to my job but I didn’t know what else I could do which began a quest for options. I stumbled upon the book: Do What you Love, The Money will Follow by Marsha Sinetar. The title alone spoke to me, but I didn’t know what I loved. I had no clue.

Noticing What Makes You Happy

The author gave a bunch of ways to figure out what you love, mainly by looking for times when you feel happy and what you look forward to. This noticing was very similar to mindfulness practices yet to come.

One day I was riding my bike to yoga class and I noticed I was whistling as I rode. I though, “Hey! I’m happy!” If you’ve ever had post-traumatic stress, happiness is a special feeling. I notices that my yoga classes had become non-negotiable, I would schedule other things around them, and I started wondering if yoga could be something I loved? Could I become a yoga teacher?

Now in 1995 there weren’t that many yoga classes or teachers, Yoga Alliance didn’t even exist yet! It felt radical to consider quitting a salaried position to start a business as a yoga teacher.

30 years later, it turns out, yes! I was able to do what I loved and the money did follow.

I won’t try to convince you that magical thinking made it all happen. No! Every yoga teacher I know works hard on their business and to create meaningful experiences for their students. It took years to build a new career.

But it was worth it and I feel very grateful to have a career that I love.

Do What you Love

30 years later, I lead teacher training now and everyone, yes everyone, who takes the training does it because of how much they love yoga.

Not everyone wants to quit their job, which is probably a good thing. If you love your stable job, you’ll have a lot more financial security. But if you are like me, where you couldn’t go back to your job another day, you may have to make a choice and make a change.

I did a little test drive of my dream job, and slowly moved from my old career to my new one. I’ll tell you more about that process another day.

Remember the Passion!

After all this time, sometimes I think it would be easier to get a regular job with less responsibility. Then I think it through and wonder what I could do where I would get to choose my hours and work at something I care about.

My hope today is that you can look back on what got you into your career.  

Do you remember how you felt about getting into your field when you first started? Did you love it? 

Do you still love it now? If not, what do you feel happy doing? What do you look forward to?

You don’t have to do anything but notice where you are at.

You can see what follows later : )