It started in an attic

I taught my very first yoga class in a neighbor’s attic. I would sleep in my yoga clothes and roll out of bed at 5:50am one morning a week, grabbing cold towels from my kitchen fridge on my way out the door. On the two minute walk from my house to theirs, I would breathe the cool morning air and try to clear the sleep from my brain and the corners of my eyes. I hummed to wake up my voice.

Another neighbor couple would join us for class, and we let ourselves in the front door quietly. I carried a little portable speaker and was working on building my first class playlist, but I always kept the volume low so I didn’t disturb their young daughter who was just waking up for the day. It was the kind of arrangement that had started as a joke between friends while I was in yoga teacher training: “Hey! You should come teach yoga in our attic!” I think we were all surprised that I took them up on it. Equally surprising to me: that I could offer something that was worth waking up early for!

Teaching yoga to three sleepy adults in an attic was a great way to get started as a yoga teacher. I distinctly remember trying a new sequence where everyone ended up facing the back of their mats… and then I had to stop and ask them to turn back around to the front because I couldn’t figure out how to make that transition happen organically. They gave me feedback on savasana songs (too loud; too sleepy; just right) and tested out my original cold towel formula (no peppermint oil on the eyes; lavender is too basic). I learned that early mornings are not my ideal teaching time! Most importantly, they helped me build confidence in myself and my ability to lead a yoga class. They gave me the little bit of momentum that I needed to get the ball rolling on what would eventually become Bend Yoga.

Here’s my first two playlists I ever made:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64DrpzMP5Y1P0gkzd6uiHX?si=c4db226c873e43ce

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3bMmSkY4XMKHc4urBEpalf?si=d6fe1e318a314a1c