by Laura Calcaterra, Big Yoga Co-owner (attended Baptiste Level 1 Teacher Training June 9-16th)

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -- Lloyd Alexander

This quote appeared fatefully on my Facebook newsfeed as I sat in the Phoenix airport awaiting the flight that would take me back to Texas and my (awesome!) post-Baptiste Level 1 life. It describes my learnings from the training in a perfect, well-written nutshell.

My excitement was BIG leading up to this training, like REALLY BIG- but I soon realized that my excitement wasn’t entirely innocent and carefree. The thing about excitement, I’ve learned, is that it is often based on predetermined expectations. After just 24 hours of sweating, meditating, and digging deep into the trenches of my thoughts, I uncovered:


a) that I had some pretty strong expectations for this training and
b) that these expectations were not serving me and were in fact holding me back


I expected to find answers- answers to questions like:
Am I a powerful yoga teacher?
How can I be a better yoga teacher?
What changes do I need to make in my personal life to be completely happy? What needs to stay the same?


There were even questions that I am afraid to admit I had (all the more reason to share them, I’ve discovered!) such as,
How do I get people to like my classes?
How do I get people to like me?


These expectations are like poison- they have the power to frame every action I take, to manipulate the words I speak in my yoga classes, and most definitely to bring heavy, interrupting thoughts into my clarity-seeking meditations.


It became clear by day 2 of Level 1 that the answers I was seeking would not just magically appear like a quote on Facebook. You might think that this realization would cause me to feel defeated (and I most certainly did, for a brief moment). But then I became present to the more exciting realization that living from a place of uncertainty, trust, and curiosity is a LOT easier (and happier, and more powerful, and more effective!) than needing to know the answers.


This realization brings me new freedom, even BIGGER excitement, and will without a doubt bring joy and success into my post-Level 1 life. I don’t know what joy and success will look like in my future, but I know I will have a lot more fun figuring it out if I simply drop my expectations.


My way of being, rather than my circumstances, will change because of this training. And I’m wildly excited to come back and serve my community from a new, empowered way of being and connecting!


Baron says, ‘Give up what you must in order to be a yes to your life’. What could you give up RIGHT NOW in order to get out of your own way and live a life of freedom and possibility? At Big Yoga we are here to empower you to do just that, both on and off the mat. We are not here to give you the answers to your life- we are here to help you realize you don’t need them. All you need is to live fully and BIG!