Day 356 of 365: Walking Out With A Job

I walked into the Open House for the studio I teach tai chi at and I walked out with a substitute job.


This whole "waiting out the summer" has been a huge frustration for me. Aside from the fact that summer is a hard time for the fitness world, people tend to frown upon hiring someone who is "finishing up" her 200-hour RYT training, especially when there are a million other yoga instructors looking for some extra gigs.


And then there's the fact that practically no one wants to learn tai chi during the summer, which has caused me to scale back tremendously. You would think I would be all about that: get the summer essentially off in a situation where I'm not in financial need of getting a steady job. But I take pride in this new career I'm building for myself and I'm not a fan of taking a few steps back, even temporarily.


So, I started talking with someone who also teaches at the studio. Within two minutes, we realize that we're both part of the same yoga teacher training program, only she's in the 500-hour program and I'm in the 200-hour program. She then tells me that she is going to need a substitute for a few weeks, starting in October, and wanted to know if I would be interested. She told me she was thinking of just cancelling the classes, but she would be okay with having someone who already knows the studio to step in.


A temporary sub job isn't exactly landing a major timeslot at a popular studio, but I will take it. We all have to start somewhere. And I'm excited for all the opportunities I have been getting before I fully complete my training. It's something I can easily forget when the potential opportunities are few and far between (and I never hear back from them, not even for a quick phone interview).


For me, it's not a case of bringing in a little extra money (although, when you have a mortgage and a car payment looming over your head, additional income is always welcome). I am a neurotic, high-strung individual. But I am not that when I am practicing or teaching yoga. Yoga helped keep my head on straight even as I dealt with some of the most grueling times in my life, and I want to pass some of that peace of mind on. It's why I want to teach beginners, even though they're actually some of the most difficult people to teach. It's why my fingers are crossed about being able to teach yoga to, well, teachers, because I remember how important going to class after a particularly nasty day was for me.


So while I don't expect people to start lining up to try out my tai chi class, I'm pretty psyched that I have another yoga gig in development. It's been an insane, zig-zagged path, but I have faith that it's bringing me to where I'm supposed to be.