Confessions of a Yoga Teacher in Training: Vol 1



They say immersing yourself into the practices and teachings of yoga can be life changing. They say it can be an emotional rollercoaster, where every loop you twirl can be different. They say you will be lonely. They say you will feel liberated.

What they say, is all true. It is really hard to explain this journey out loud. It is so challenging, yet so rewarding. You have moments where you feel amazing and strong and like you can rule the world. You also have moments that make you feel uncomfortable both physically and mentally.

I just finished my third weekend training and I had a really great Saturday training. I felt strong and moved through my practice very fluidly. Sunday I came in and my energy was all out of wack. I felt very off, but not 100% sure how to explain that feeling. My practice wasn't focused. I didn't feel great.

By the time savasana (relaxation pose) came I was exhausted. I laid still and for the first time in my training I felt connected to my inner voice. I heard what needed to be done to move forward in a situation that has been dragging me down for way to long. It was very uncomfortable for me to accept this.

It is times like this that remind me why I am doing this. Why I want to surrender myself to my intention. I want that release. I want to let go of all of the pain, both physical and mental that I have carried with me for so many years. I want to fully know myself and be confident in teaching others who want the same.

My journey is only just beginning, yet I already feel so different. Yesterday I took a yoga class at my studio where I'm training and my teacher asked if I wanted to teach some of his class. I said yes. This isn't something I would of done just 2 months ago. I felt the answer in myself to do this. I felt confident and comfortable leading the class and it made me feel strong.

I cannot explain how great it was to share my teachings with others. I am confident this is what I want to do. It was like the universe knew I needed an answer. Now I know.  I am so grateful for this opportunity.

What practices have led you on a journey to your own self? Do you practice yoga or something else? I'd love to hear about your journey!



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5 Day Goals Vol. 1

Happy First day of Spring! Although there is still quite a bit of snow out there, I know the  nicer weather is coming. It also makes Monday seem a little friendlier when the word "Spring" is associated with it. Am I right?



So today I want to introduce a new 5 day challenge and also let you know with pictures how I did last week. Last week I challenged myself to get dressed 5 days in a row. That to me meant changing out of what I wore to bed into something new. Working from home can make it easy to hop out of bed in your PJ's and start work.

I am excited to announce that I met my goal and dressed all 5 days! I learned it really made me feel put together and made me take my work seriously. I also realized I own A LOT of leggings! But ya know what? When you sit 8 hours a day, this is okay in my book. Plus it's winter.

Here's the proof!



This week I am challenging myself to drink 80 ounces of water every day. Spring is here and I am ready to start working on myself. I gained some weight over the winter and clothing is a bit snug. Time to work towards that summer goal so I don't need to buy a new swimsuit! My current one is new from last year.

Will you be joining me in this challenge? Check back to see my results next week!

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Tracing my ancestry on this St. Pat's Day

Recently I decided to trace my ancestry. It is a lot of work and gets frustrating at times, but it is so rewarding when you find connections that were your ancestors. I found it appropriate to write about this today, on St. Patrick's Day, as I have traced most of my ancestors back to Ireland.

My Irish eyes were shining! Picture from many many years ago!
I am doing this search mostly on my own. I no longer have grandparents to ask these questions to. My parents have been a little helpful. One of my uncles is in connection with an aunt of his who would have some of the info I am looking for. I am planning to call her this weekend.

It is exciting to see the old documents with my ancestors names on them. So far all of the people I have found settled in Brooklyn, New York when they come over from Ireland. My mother told me her grandfather was an orphan, so I would probably have a hard time finding him. I do believe I found him and his siblings.

It seems his parents immigrated here in the early 1900's and his mother passed away somewhere between 1905 and 1910. I was able to find her on a census for 1905, but by 1910 her husband was marked as a widow. I have not found any proper paperwork, but my own suspicion has me wondering if the father abandoned his children after his wife passed, leaving them in an orphanage.

So much to still learn, but so exciting none the less! I am proud of my heritage and what my family worked for to make us who we are today. Everyone I found had hard labor jobs and provided for a lot of children. I today still follow in those footsteps. I have worked 2 and 3 jobs to provide when needed. Hard work is in my blood, and I can see that clearly now from my ancestors.

Today I remember those people who have passed on. I am celebrating by cooking some Irish food and sharing stories with my family. I am teaching my husband some tradition and I can't wait to share this with my children one day!

Have you traced back your ancestry? What did you find? Let's chat about it!


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5 Day Goals - Intro


Sometimes forming habits take time. It doesn't happen overnight. When life gets busy and you have a million things going on (hello yoga teacher training classes, work, and family) you may get even further behind on forming habits or getting back on track to your goals.

Because we all have long term goals we are working towards that may take months or even years, I figured I was going to implement short term goals that will help me reach those long term goals. Little things to remind you of what you want and who you are at the end of the day.

These 5 day challenges may reguire me to do something new each day or reguire me to work on something through out the 5 days to achieve a small goal.

Because I decided March was going to be a month of challenges, I figured this would be the perfect time to implement this. This first week I am challenging myself to get dressed every day. Let me clarify.

I am now working from home. I get to work in my pajamas if I want to, and let's just say I have taken that to the extreme. I get out of bed, throw on my robe, throw my hair up in a messy blob and get to work.

It's really easy to forget who you are this way. I have all of these cute clothes (hello new Stich Fix clothes!) and I am living in my sweats and t-shirts. Not to say this isn't nice once in awhile, but seriously, what's the point of buying cute clothes if I don't wear them regularly?

Starting today, I am fully dressed. I have on real pants, a top, my hair is brushed, and hey I even put on some makeup. Stop back Sunday to see pictures of my 5 days of outfits.

This is helping me reach my long term goals of being a successful #girlboss. It makes me feel better about myself. I'm put together and don't feel like I am dressed for a sick day. I am dressed to be a strong, confident woman.

What do you do to make yourself feel put together and ready to conquer the day? Share in the comments!

Stop back Sunday to see if I achieved my 5 days. I will also let you know what my next 5 day challenge is! I'd  love to know if you have these type of challenges or if you want to follow along with my challenges! We can make reach our goals together!

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Friday Five

It's Friday! Heck yeah! I have had an interesting week, and thought this would be a good time to get back to posting 5 things every Friday. I always loved reading those posts, so here I am jumping back into it!

1. Weirdest thing I did this week: Guys, I showered with my orange. Say what?! So last week I came across this article about people who are taking their oranges into the shower with them and peeling and eating it. There is a whole Reddit thread on this, no lie. People say it's life changing. I gotta say, I was intrigued.

Now that I am working from home, I get to do things like shower in the middle of the day. I needed a pick me up, so I hopped in with my citrus.

 It was strange, but strangely liberating. I got to enjoy a juicy pieces of fruit, while inhaling the sweet citrus scent. It definitely woke me up and brought me back to focus. The fruit itself was kind of warm, as I normally take hot showers. Somehow this didn't bother me.


So I can say I gave it an honest try and can mark it off my list of weird things to try. I can't say I'd do it regularly, but I didn't hate it.

2. Coffee meetings: Me and my group from my yoga teaching class have a project we need to complete before we can graduate. We met up at a local coffee shop for a cup o' joe and some good conversation. It was great. I haven't been out much, and the coffee was much needed.



3. Lot's of great yoga: Now that I have gotten rid of the plague, I am feeling much better and yoga is on my radar. I took 2 really great classes this week that really brought me back to center. I feel much lighter and my focus and mind feels much clearer.

Also you got to see a lot of my feet in this post. I don't find that coincidental as I have been working with grounding and coming back to center this week. Grounding comes from the feet. When you go into a place of anxiety or feel out of control, focus on your feet. It brings you back.

Also my foot tattoo means "dream". Whenever I an looking down, I remember my goals and that I need to stay grounded. It's a great reminder.



















4. Hot baths: I can't remember the last time I took a bath in my own home. I cleaned the living crap out of my tub over the weekend. I think its now cleaner than it was when we moved in. I have now taken 2 relaxing Epsom salt baths. They were both just what I needed. Just me, a good book, and some detoxing.

Also I have a band aid on my toe because I broke it on a chair this week. Yay me! No downward dog or lunges for me this week.



5. Over active thoughts: I have had some pretty amazing ideas come to mind this week. I have pages and pages of ideas for this blog, for my yoga journey, for my career, and my personal wellbeing.

It's like I have woken up out of a fog and all the good stuff is coming full speed ahead. I am a little upset that I am having trouble sleeping due to all these exciting thought, but we can sleep when we're dead right?

Rick doesn't agree. Lol.



How was your week?

Linking up with: High 5 for Friday, Oh Hey, Friday, and Five on Friday

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