Last week, I took over Vayusha Yoga’s Instagram and attended the studio for eight yoga classes over one week. As a full-time working mama, it got busy fast, but I am so glad I did it. Here is what I learned attending a yoga studio class with a different teacher every day of the week:

1. Attending class is the best way to share yoga with friends. Over the week, I brought friends to three of the classes. Taking a friend to a class at a studio/with a teacher you know they will love and learn from is easier and more genuine than just repeatedly telling them to do yoga.
2. Even after 13 years of practice, I still have to check my ego at the door. As a massage therapist and yoga teacher, I preach knowing your limits on the daily. But it’s still hard not to try to be a ‘yoga superstar’ when you know there are people watching. Letting go of my ego is something I get to practice more in studio than at home.
3. I have a greater respect for commitment to others than to myself. My commitment to the takeover brought me to the studio on busy days when I would have done a shorter practice at home if I wasn’t committed.
4. Leading yourself into Savasana is just not the same as having someone else talk you into Savasana.
5. There is a difference between your ‘yoga in the morning’ body and your ‘yoga in the evening’ body. I practice flow yoga after my workouts (in the morning or early afternoon). Before bed, I usually practice some Restorative or Yin Yoga. I rarely flow in the evening. So attending two yoga classes after working all day, I realized that I was practicing in a completely different body than the one I practice in in the mornings. I was tired, and it felt dang good to take my shoes and socks off at the end of the day. And my body was so warm from moving and working all day! It was an exhausting, satisfying feeling. I liked it.
6. Yoga teachers work freakin’ hard! Having taught yoga for almost 10 years, I already knew this to be true, but it is still evident from a student’s perspective. Over my eight classes, I had yoga teachers ask me for suggestions, greet me, massage my head, offer me modifications, and tuck me into Savasana. I know how passionately I care as a yoga teacher, but it is nice to know that it is evident as a student, too.