In terms of my teaching, April was about loss and May was about growth. This month, I launched a new iteration of my prenatal class in Five Doors Health + Wellness, and I joined the substitute teacher lists at both Samara Yoga, and YogaWorks. I find energy in meeting and working with new people, so I’m really looking forward to connecting with some fresh faces around Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston.
For each of those three new gigs secured, there was loads of other hustling happening that was not fruitful. And all hustling, successful or not, is draining. For someone who is more comfortable with structure and routine, the instability of yoga teaching creates a lot of stress. To counter that mental work, I deliberately sunk into my self-care practices. I strove to be more present on the mat, I nursed and finally rid myself of a long-lingering glute strain, gave more minutes over to meditation, and I tried some different weight training. And I feel stronger going into June than I did thirty days prior.
May by the numbers:
- 46 classes
- 395 students (way down from April, almost 20% lower)
- 49+ hours
- 9 locations
Student commentary and feedback:
- Let’s do this thing.
- I realized that Tuesday mornings have become my favorite part of the week. Mondays are catch-up, and then I think, “Phew! I get to practice and do something fun with Jill.”
- Is it really “weights and protein shakes” like your shirt says, or is this all vinyasa?
- You are so thoughtful in your sequences. You push us hard, but you always provide a counter pose for whatever muscle groups we’ve just worked. And it feels so good. [Ed: I really, really appreciated this feedback. I spend a lot of time planning my sequences to be cohesive, fluid, and balanced through the body. I’m grateful when people notice.]
- That was fun!
- This was so awesome, so amazing. I’m so glad to be here and so happy to see you.
- She’s very small, but very perfect. [Ed: This was from one of the lovely mothers in my Mommy + Baby class about her new daughter.]
- That Standing Gate pose. Woof.
SomerJill 
Keep on hustling. 👍🏿
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