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Why I Became A Yoga Teacher

Why-I-Became-A-Yoga-Teacher-Jo-Stevens

London and Brighton based yoga teacher Jo Stevens describes her personal journey to becoming a yoga teacher.

I woke up one day and my fiancé at the time just told me he ‘wasn’t sure’ if he wanted to be with me anymore then packed up his things and left.

It came totally out of the blue. We had only been engaged around 6 months and I had everything all mapped out for our lives together. We had our own place and the wedding plans had begun. All the things I thought I wanted and had begun ticking off my list. Boom, sorted, achieved.

I went into work that week in a haze, filled with anxiety, but knowing I would be busy (I worked in events and we had a biggie coming up) so I could distract myself from feeling so awful.

This time I thought f**k it, I have nothing to lose at this point

One of my colleagues had mentioned the Thursday yoga class and how amazing it was. She had said this a few times before but I never thought to go, having got the giggles last time I tried yoga years earlier. This time I thought f**k it, I have nothing to lose at this point, my life is already in ‘shambles’ so I might as well have a laugh!

I went to the class with the feeling that ‘I don’t have a clue what I’m doing’ however the teacher made me feel so welcome. He asked if I’d done yoga previously and before I had a chance to get embarrassed, made me feel like it didn’t matter and to just try.

Jo Stevens yoga teacher doing yoga by the pool.
Why I Became A Yoga Teacher 27

This time I was going to come back

He led us through a moving meditation, Sivananda Hatha practice. I remember lying in Savasana afterwards, knowing that this time, I was going to come back.

Each week, I could feel my body getting stronger and more mobile. After some months, I could even touch my toes (something I had never been able to do!). I had strength in my upper body after having always been the person to say ‘Oh I just don’t have any strength in my arms’!

Every time I stepped on the mat

But as the months, years of practice continued I noticed I began to learn something new about myself every time I stepped on the mat. I started to enquire more as to how my body would feel in each Asana, and what my mind (which was extremely hard on myself at the time) was chatting. This began to weave its way into my life off of the mat.

Each time those negative thought patterns would begin to swirl around my head, I began to recognise them and notice them for what they were. Initially, this could have been hours after getting wrapped up in my stories but over time I could catch them sooner.

Jo Stevens yoga teacher - touching toes image
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Why I Became A Yoga Teacher

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