Lynn Maloney

The stillness and complete absorption that I experienced in my very first yoga class was utterly new and deeply satisfying. I heard myself have the thought, "I want to help other people have this experience. I am going to become a yoga teacher." Well, if you know me at all, you know that I am not an impetuous sort of person. To decide I was going to become a teacher during my first class was highly atypical and even a little embarrassing.

That first yoga class was at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA in 1991 in a room that was quiet, softly lit and filled with other expectant people.

Together, the class spoke the Sadhana Prayer, an affirmation of our commitment to be totally aware and present during the class. The class proceeded with the teacher gently urging us to dive fully into the postures without holding back. I felt respected and supported as I struggled to move my body into uncomfortable and awkward positions. He reminded us again and again that it was our presence during this practice, not the external form of the postures, that was the real goal of this ancient science of yoga.

Despite my clear and unexpected decision to teach yoga, I did not begin regular attendance at yoga classes for a few more years. Instead I began reading about yoga. I took a meditation class and learned some pranayama techniques. I occasionally practiced yoga postures at home on my own and, on and off, I took some classes.

But eventually I felt drawn to practice yoga more deeply. In 1994, I moved into the Kripalu Center and was a resident staff member for three years. Daily yoga practice was required during my first three months and, after that initial period, I continued to practice yoga postures. But the devotional practices really stole my heart!

Kirtan, or chanting the names of the gods and goddesses in a group, became my favorite practice. I chanted each morning with a small group before beginning work. I became a Lead Responder, during Satsang for the community as often as possible. Chanting with the whole community at Kripalu was entirely captivating to me. I picked up chanting tapes, and when I went outside for walks, I would chant with the tapes or simply chant the names of God - this kind of behavior being acceptable while living in a yoga center.

During that time, I completed my Kripalu Teacher Certification. I joined the Yoga Teaching Team and taught one class each week. It eventually came time for me to leave Kriplau and re-enter the world, and I knew that on that re-entry I would focus on work centered around the wisdom of the body. I read a book about Chinese five-element medicine - and again, just as I had known during my very first yoga class that I would be a yoga teacher, I was visited by that rare knowing: I was going to become an acupuncturist.

When I moved to the Washington, DC area for my three-year masters degree training in acupuncture I began teaching yoga classes right away. I remained in DC for another three years after I finished my degree. Eventually, I was teaching seven classes a week at corporations, gyms, yoga studios, and for teachers at public schools. During that time my meditation practice became central to my spiritual life when I began studying with a meditation teacher there, with whom I remain connected today. After six years in DC, I was ready to move on to my next adventure.

It was then that two of my friends from the Kripalu Yoga Center, Kathleen Knipp and Ken McRae encouraged me to move to Columbia, Missouri. I have not regretted this move once. I am honored to teach yoga alongside Kathleen and Ken, who was my mentor during my days on the Teaching Team at Kripalu years ago.

I deeply appreciate their support and encourgement in teaching yoga in the way that is most authentic to me and what I value most about the science of yoga. Back in DC, I often felt pressured to teach a highly physical, vigorous form of asana practice to conform to the expectation many students in the city had about what yoga should be. I was dependent on my classes for a significant part of my income and wanted to meet their expectations of a physically demanding class.

It was Kathleen who suggested that I incorporate chanting in my yoga classes, something I was reluctant to do - again, wanting to keep my classes similar to students' expectations. While many students find chanting uncomfortable the first time they do it, just as I did, they often come to appreciate it as an important part of their yoga experience. I love being able to share a practice that I find powerful and joyful. Yoga postures, after all, are truly preparation for access to this joy, and I find chanting just a faster way to get there.