Read more here about our Clayton Yoga graduate Susan Hanfland. Susan graduated
from Clayton Yoga Teacher Training in March 2016 and is so excited to share the benefits
of yoga with many! I have always been a student.
So I went in search of other teachers rarely finding them in school. During high
school years I spent a great deal of time in zoo’s; certain that the animals had much
to teach me about nature and also about being human. Some of what I discovered
was hard to face and some was just beautiful.
In college I had an opportunity to study yoga as a philosophy and a practice. I
stayed with my teacher until I had enough knowledge to share with others. In
practicing I found myself, and a sense of something more. I delighted in sharing the
physical practice with others and the spiritual practice alone. Over the years I
returned again and again to yoga as a physical and spiritual activity to be closer to
nature and myself. I have taught a beginners class many times but also neglected
yoga all together for 12 years.
I have been a special ed teacher, an administrator, a teacher of teachers, a student of
learning and the brain, a facilitator of community based entrepreneurship
education, a facilitator for personal development programs and a guide for business
strategic planning.
Whenever life became complicated I would bury myself in activity and leave my
yoga behind. I think because I could not hide in it as the practice of yoga and
meditation brought me to myself, and it required concentration and focus on me.
Now I am semi-retired and I have 2 grandchildren. I want to be healthy and that has
led me back to yoga. For the last 5 years I have taught a few close friends what I
know and returned to meditation as a source of centering myself. I seek balance
during this season of my life and yoga has helped me to find that balance time and
time again.
I want to teach yoga because I am strongest and most disciplined when sharing with
others. I want to teach yoga because I have felt the benefits of the practice in my
own life. I want to teach because as a lifelong learner I have discovered that I am a
natural teacher. To teach is to deepen my own understanding and that is what I
seek.
Interested in attending a Clayton Yoga Teacher Training? Choose from one of two options! We offer either a 15 Day Intensive Yoga Training, July 23rd-August 3rd, 2016 or a 3 Month Course, beginning September 16th – 18th, 2016. For more information and details about upcoming Clayton Yoga Teacher Training courses, contact Michelle at 314-630-1677.
Namaste!
I think this is wonderful how she is truly devoting herself to her practice now, something she’s always had a calling towards. I know how it can be difficult at times to stray away from what is good for us when we are under a lot of stress and difficult positions. I am happy for her to study what brings her happiness.
I completely understand the habit of putting physical activity on the back burner during times of stress – I am guilty of doing the same during rough periods. Like you, I really had to make yoga and other physical activity a conscious priority. I realized that when I feel like I don’t have time for something, it really just means it’s not a high enough priority in my life in that moment. Now, I incorporate yoga into my work day throughout the day, and I do yoga before and after work and on the weekends. It is very thrilling to have a balance between work and yoga, and my body really appreciates it as well.