The day I moved to Bethlehem, PA, I went straight to the Yoga Loft and asked if I could work the desk in exchange for free yoga classes.

I immediately started working a Friday morning shift and got to know all of the 9:15am gentle yoga students by name. I participated in as many Yoga Loft events as I could, thoroughly enjoying the community that welcomed me from the moment I stepped through their doors.

About six months later, I asked Jessie, the Loft’s founder, if she thought I was ready for teacher training. It was 2007 and I had only been practicing yoga for a year, but I was clearly smitten, and they were about to run their second round of teacher training. She said, “Of course, you are ready!” So with a healthy combination of fear and excitement, I submitted my application.

Little did I know, that 200-hour teacher training would change the course of my entire life.

I had recently graduated from college and planned on pursuing a career in theatre, but as soon as I learned the skills to teach yoga, I never looked back. I knew that sharing yoga was my passion and something I could easily focus on for the rest of my life. When I got tired of studying the poses, I focused on philosophy, breathing, meditation, anatomy, and the learning never ended. What I loved about both theatre and yoga is that you can always remain a student of these disciplines and calling ourselves a student first and foremost only makes us better teachers.

My yoga practice led me to local and global activism and eventually brought me to prenatal yoga and yoga for babies and toddlers. I have grown so much as a person buy orlistat online under the influence of my yoga mentors and by applying the yoga sutras to my every day living, I have extraordinary discipline, focus and a constant sense of gratitude.

Many of you know that I am on a weight-loss journey and have officially lost 60 pounds! I credit a re-commitment to my yoga practice (not just on the mat but off the mat as well) as a huge source of inspiration. Yoga has allowed me to stay firm in a consistent intention to practice healthy habits that elevate me to my best self.

Taking a yoga teacher training goes far beyond teaching a yoga class. It is transformative for the soul, and we are put on this planet for our soul’s evolution. We are here to learn how to love better and the tools we learn in yoga help us on this journey.

The faculty at the Yoga Loft is gearing up for a new training beginning this Saturday, June 17th. I’ve taught in 16 sessions of this 200-hour training over the years and I’ve watched it grow and blossom into an unparalleled curriculum. I am proud to be a co-teacher among so many gifted instructors. Our goal is to share the gifts of yoga with as many people as possible. If you’re on the fence, I’ll say to you what Jessie said to me:

Listen to your heart. Everything you need is already within. Of course, you are ready.

Learn more about our program here. If you have taken her 200-hour training, please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post with what you enjoyed most about your training experience.

Thank you for reading! ~ Megan