Yoga Wisdom from Om Gal (aka Rebecca Pacheco)

Today I took a yoga class with the incredible Om Gal, Rebecca Pacheco.  Rebecca is a Boston yoga teacher, writer, and creator of OmGal.com.  She is currently writing a book, teaching classes and workshops all over Boston, and inspiring lots of people to get their yoga on.

It’s funny how things seem to happen at the right time.   I met her a week after I announced that I would be starting Yoga teacher training in January.  Before I announced this on the blog, I didn’t have the confidence of self assurance to tell new people about my endeavor.  After publishing the post, I received a lot of positive words of encouragement, and have since felt even better about my decision.  Due to all the support I received, I had the confidence to ask Rebecca for some teaching advice after class.

Once again, Equinox opened it’s doors to me and Tracy and we got to take this complimentary class.  This was Tracy’s first ever yoga class so we grabbed two spots in the back of the room.  At Equinox, they provide the mats and blocks so you don’t have to bring your own.  Since I am so in love with my lululemon mat it was really hard to leave it in the locker room. Sorry matty, I promise never do that to you again!

This class was a great way to cleanse and detoxify my body after the big holiday meal, and the added bonus was all the wonderful advice I got from Rebecca after class.  Rebecca is a great inspiration for an aspiring yoga teacher like myself.  She is warm, welcoming and a great storyteller.  Taking her class and then chatting with her after was really special for me.  It really reinforced the idea that yoga is for everyone and that teaching yoga is the right path for me.  I left the class feeling more inspired and at peace with my decision.

When I asked Rebecca if she had any advice for teaching yoga, she was more than willing to share her thoughts.  I tried to remember most of them so I could share them with you guys:

• A good yoga class is like a good piece of writing with an intro, a body, and a conclusion
• Just be you. People have an idea of what a yoga teacher should be based on images they see.  Don’t try to be that image, just be you
• If a friend from childhood came by your yoga class and opened the door they should be able to says “yup, that’s Amy”
• Be “Amy teaching yoga” instead of “Yoga teacher Amy” <—I liked this one.
• If you are trying to be an image or personify that yoga teacher ideal, your students will be able to feel/ read that on a deep level
• Not being able to do head stands makes you more relate-able to the masses of people you would be teaching
• Be honest with where you are with your practice
• Your teaching voice should come from somewhere authentic

All of Rebecca’s advice seemed to stem from one main point: be you, be authentic.

I want to say a big thank you to Equinox, JP from Image Unlimited, and Rebecca Pacheco for letting us take the class!

I’ll end today’s post with a few words from Rebecca’s class:

“If you can breathe you can do yoga”

Namaste!