I Found Myself on the Side of the Majority - Reflection Paper
Yoga Studio Internship Reflection
August 9, 2012
I Found Myself on the Side of the Majority
My
classroom was huge and had a window in front that was a picture frame of blue
sky stretching from the ceiling to the ground. When class started, it was
always still light out, but by the time we got to sun salutations it’d be dark
and everyone’s reflections would be visible in the glass. From where we were
you could even see the modest Omaha city lights between the pines.
I took my first
yoga class in the Spring of 2012 at the University of Nebraska every Wednesday
night in the Hper building. Yoga always intrigued me and I guess I also thought
that maybe it could fix me. I took an internship at a yoga studio in Georgia this
summer because I wanted to know more about the sacred practice that had turned
into an industry.
Yoga is a 27
billion dollar industry and over 15 million Americans practice.[1]
I can’t decide if that’s a lot in comparison to the nearly 313 million people
inhabiting the United States today. On the first day of class my teacher said
yoga is so popular now, he’s even seen mats for sale at a gas station. The
number of people practicing is said to be increasing at 20% annually and the
percent increase of spending is 87%[2].
This doesn’t surprise me because my friend Cynthia, a bra specialist at
Victoria Secret told me the yoga pants sell out all the time.
“They can’t all be
actually doing yoga,” Cynthia said.
“But they are! I
blared. “I’ve seen the “PINK” embellished on butts in front of me.”
And then I went on
to tell her how all the girls nowadays must be doing yoga because their butts
look amazing. But, this isn’t proper etiquette of yoga; admiring butts. It
wouldn’t be true if I said I didn’t also pick up yoga for the added physical
benefits.
Yet I can’t help
but think of Mark Twain’s quote, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the
majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
When I got to the
studio for my initial meeting with my supervisor, also the founder and owner,
it was better than I could have imagined. At the risk of sounding like the
unenlighted girl I am; it was totally legit. The studio, open since 2008,
smelled faintly of fours years worth of feet. A smell I have become endeared to
after using the shared mats every Wednesday at school. It’s a light, humbling
scent that does not smell rancid as people attending class have good hygiene.
And it was mixed with so many other smells, too. Like, mint, lavender, and
organic multi-purpose spray. A blue incense bowl with singed Palo Santo sticks
sat on top of the front desk. When my supervisor returned from a retreat in
Peru with a big bag full of the sticks, I asked what they were. It’s a holy
wood that is used to cleanse and purify the air, she told me. When I later
Googled to find that by cleanse, it also meant removing negative energy and
spirits, I purchased two sticks from the studio for $2 and filled my parents
room with smoke in hopes of curing my dad of his insomnia.
Surely this was
the kind of place that could fix me.
Why Intern at a Yoga Studio?
While
some might consider yoga to be a growing trend, interning at a studio as an
English major is not…yet. I originally had a vision of interning for a company
called LearnVest in New York City, combining my four years of banking
experience with copywriting to lay the foundation for a job where I would make
loads of money to stash away in a savings account in preparation to achieve my
dream occupation as a mother and homemaker. When I received a newsletter in my
inbox with an article asking me to consider not
plastering my desk with photos of my future babies, and not changing my name after marriage because I could earn $500,000
more in my lifetime, I started to wonder if that career track was really for me.
LearnVest never acknowledged my application, possibly due to mentioning an
interest in homesteading in my cover letter, and I didn’t want it enough to persist.
During
the same time I was seeking an internship, I was working on an article about
the benefits of smiling for my freelance writing class. I met with my yoga
instructor one morning to interview him as my primary source. In class he would
often float around the classroom with a ballerina’s grace saying, “stretch the
corners of your mouth, to the bottom of your ears.” The experience was pleasant
and I enjoyed feeling like a journalist again. I enjoyed listening to a wise
man speak about smiling, taking deep sighs and closing his eyes to think of an
answer to my question, “How would you modify the saying, ‘I think, therefore I
am?’”
“I
am,” he concluded. And I thought this is the kind of person I want to work with.
By
the end he told me that I was good at interviewing and should consider
publishing my article to yoga journals or magazines. When I told him I wasn’t
sure what I would do after college he told me that it was okay, that one day I
would do great things. His encouragement revived my spirit at a time when I
wasn’t sure how I would fit into the workplace that I would soon have to enter.
All I knew in that moment is that I wanted to be surrounded by people like him.
So I mentioned that in my cover letter to the yoga studio where I now intern,
and I was sure to also mention his prophecy for me, because I learned that it’s
okay to brag in cover letters. I also believe that one day I will do great
things, but it was nice to have someone I admired tell me.
A
major factor in my decision to intern at a yoga studio was my desire to work
with people like my yoga teacher, people who considered things like the effect
their smile could have on a cashier at the grocery store. However,
there a came a point when I realized I needed to let go of my predetermined
ideas of what people who practice yoga are like and I definitely needed to stop
trying to read minds. Just like with anything else, everyone is different and
that’s what makes the practice unique.
I
am still very much a beginner to yoga and I also chose my internship to learn
more about the practice. I wanted to put myself into the world so that I could
better understand it. I participated in the Karma Program, a program created to
allow members to volunteer at the studio, assisting with checking in clients,
light cleaning and filing. Karma members are then allowed to take classes for
free. One day, my replacement came
in, a bubbly, older woman with a sweet southern accent and she was so full of
energy. My supervisor introduced me as a new intern.
“Okay,
okay, great to have you!” She said. “So are you a yogini?”
Confused, I said, “I don’t think so, I’m just a beginner.”
“Aren’t
we all,” she beamed.
When
I looked up the word “yogini” online, I was taken to many websites with similar
definitions but most noticeably, tons of advertisements. I guess that’s how
some people are making a living these days. I don’t like looking at yoga as an
industry. I’m not sure why but for me, industry
sounds like a dirty word. Perhaps it’s because images of the industrial
revolution come to mind and I imagine kids working barefoot, covered in soot with
their tiny fingers picking at gears all in the name of feeding their families
and giving “the man” more power. I often overlook the fact that the man gives
people jobs, but only because I wish we could’ve stayed on our farms and not
wanted for things we couldn’t provide for ourselves. But whether I like it or
not, yoga has become an industry and one that I have actively participated in. I’ve spent a little over $200 on my
class at UNO, about $60 on outside classes, I’ve purchased a mat and somehow
even got my parents involved, as they got me a yoga outfit for my birthday. While
participating in my internship hasn’t revealed any ugly sides to the industry,
Mark Twain’s words still ring in my ears.
“Whenever
you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
Yoga has long become an industry, and as an
industry one of its goals is to sell something. This summer I purchased a book
called The Science of Getting Rich,
which made me realize that it is not always a bad thing to sell goods or
services.
The author, Wallace Wattles said, “Give every
man more in use value than you take from him in cash value, then you are adding
to the life of the world by every business transaction.”
I truly believe that a great thing is happening
through the growth of yoga in the mainstream. It’s beautiful to see different
people coming together to practice and I have noticed that many of the members
at the studio seem to have an unspoken admiration for my supervisor and other
teachers. Having been confused for a teacher on a few occasions, it was
interesting to see how differently I was approached. I think about how I want
to fix myself and if other people join for the same reasons, seeking teachers
who will hopefully provide some answers. That seems like a lot of pressure for
a teacher. And I could have this whole thing wrong, anyway. After over 3 months
of interning, I still can’t say I understand the yoga culture.
What I did
When people were skeptical as to what I would
do interning at a yoga studio, I was a little confused. As I stated earlier,
yoga is a 27 billion dollar industry and over 15 million Americans practice. I
wasn’t sure how it wasn’t obvious that this is a multi-faceted industry that
opens doors for many jobs. After taking the English Career Prep course I have
begun seeing the role of the English major in almost everything. And after
reading Timothy Lemire’s, I'm an English
Major Now What?, I learned that words are everywhere, and anywhere there
are words, there can be English majors. However, what I have yet to discover is
how to find a niche in the industry. People from many backgrounds go on to
teach yoga, which I don’t think is something I want to do.
At
the studio my outlined roles were to be, marketing; helping with flyers, emails
and social media content, and also assisting with research for workshops and
helping organize events. I researched the Hindu deity Hanuman and composed an
outline for a workshop. I enjoyed this work most because I got to do what I
love, find books and read and discover. I also get to find meaning the same way
I would when reading an essay or poem, and find connecting themes to contribute
to the workshop.
Unfortunately these are all things that can
still be achieved without the assistance of an English major. The field I
imagine would be most lucrative in meshing with yoga is web design. Every
studio needs a website and it’s something that most people are willing to pay
for instead of attempting to D.I.Y. My supervisor had a webmaster that likely
set up the site and then occasionally helped with making changes or fixing
problems. It sounds ideal. There is also a program called MindBody that allows
studios an easy method of signing people in for classes and processing payments
and purchases. The software is tailored specifically for the “Well-being”
industry, including martial arts, Pilates, spas, and personal training. This is
a very useful tool, which is obviously why it is very successful. The Yoga
industry would also be a great place for the entrepreneur, as there are likely
countless ideas for kick-starters floating around in the universe just waiting
to be discovered. The truth is, while I tried to maintain my belief that this
was a place I could be useful, my internship has taught me that maybe I’m not. While
I would love to be a part of the kick-starter world, turning a passion into a
career, I haven’t yet found what that passion is. Yoga isn’t something I’d want
to make a business of. When I figure out what I want to do, I hope I can
just say to myself, “I am.” I recently got some great advice when I emailed the
writer of one of my favorite sites.
“How do I donate?” I stated plainly.
“First you define what's of value to you,” he
said. “Then you decide how your values best relate into another's life. Having
chosen the proper recipient to your gift you wait for the right (perfect) time.
Nothing is more beautiful and satisfying within the realm of humanity than the
proper (perfect) gift given at the perfect time,”
The advice came to me in the perfect moment and
I was sincerely grateful for it. I decided to make it my new focus not only in
life, but also in helping to decide on a career. I also realized it was
something I had begun doing subconsciously. When I signed on to intern at the
studio, I valued yoga and the gift of the practice my instructor at UNO gave me.
I then found a studio that I felt aligned with my values and through an
internship, related it into the life of my supervisor. When she emailed me back
after my inquiry, I could feel that I had picked the right moment and that I
would be needed. But a lot times I also felt like I wasn’t making a difference
at the studio, which now that I think about it, could have actually inhibited
me from helping more.
Would I Recommend it?
I
would recommend interning at a yoga studio if you’re the kind of person that
doesn’t mind taking risks, especially if you’re interested in having a concrete
plan after college. If you are looking for a concrete plan, I would also
recommend it if you can find a studio who has had interns before and possibly
has connections to other areas of the industry. It seems to me there would be
more work outside of the studio setting. Working at the studio level would be
ideal for someone who is interested in teaching or owning his or her own studio.
It is also a great place to start if you simply love the practice of yoga and
want to learn more about the behind the scenes aspects. This was my approach
and I don’t regret it.
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