Career & Life Makeovers, Part 1: My Story

Recently, I've had a lot of readers reach out to me wanting to know more about my story--how I went from being a normal office worker to being "self-employed" through yoga, art, and blogging--or, as one reader put it, "how you made the transition from working in NYC to teaching yoga, managing and writing a blog, painting, and building a life you love (at least that is how it looks from this side of the screen!)." 

As I was thinking about writing this post, I looked back at how long it had been since I made this transition, and saw that yesterday marked exactly 3 years since I taught my first real yoga class (!). This realization confirmed the fact that today is the perfect day to tell my story, in honor of my 3 year anniversary and in honor of all of you who are thinking about taking a similar plunge. Since I have a lot to say around this subject, this will be a two-part post. I'll share my story today, and my advice for anyone wanting to make a similar transition tomorrow. Stay tuned!

My Life Transition Story

In 2009, Ben and I moved to DC. I had been working at a small startup marketing company in NYC for the past 2 years or so, and although I enjoyed my time working there, I knew that I wanted to do more. I had urges to make a difference, interact with people, get up and move away from the computer screen, do something of true value. Because of these urges, I decided that I would try a different type of job in a different industry when moving to DC, and that I would also pursue a yoga teacher training once we had settled. 

So, when we moved, I took a social work-type position with a DC Government Contractor that worked with a DC Court Program. My job was to help fathers who had been incarcerated get jobs, pay their child support, and learn how to be a part of their children's lives. I thought this would be the answer--that working with people and helping them get back on their feet would be fulfilling enough to make office life worth it--but again, although I enjoyed many aspects of the work, I was spending my days in front of a computer, in an office with no windows, counting down the minutes until I could leave and go practice yoga. 

My eyesight was fading from staring at a screen all day (literally, my eye doctor told me that the computer was the cause of my sudden need for glasses!), my back was sore all the time, and no matter what position I sat in at my desk, my hips would ache. I was constantly stressed, bored, or uninspired, and I found myself yearning more than ever to find a way to make a change in my life.

Meanwhile, I had also enrolled in Teacher Training at Tranquil Space shortly after moving (I actually visited Tranquil Space 2 days after moving!) and immediately knew that I had to teach upon graduating. My weekends in TT were life-changing and I realized that I simply must find a way to begin spending my days doing more that inspired me and less that didn't. My passion for teaching and for yoga made it easy to see how little passion I had had for my various day jobs over the years, so I decided that I would suck it up and rip off the band-aid.

But first, I did it all at once. For 3 months, I worked full-time, taught yoga on the weekends and in the evenings, blogged in the morning before work, and painted when I wasn't teaching (in my "free-time"). I still remember waking up early in our studio apartment and blogging in the dark before work, while Ben slept about 15 feet away. I would then head to work, practicing my yoga sequences on the metro, teach or take class right after work, spend my evenings planning for the next day, and when I lay down in bed at night, I would sleep like a rock. But at the time, I knew that I had to start my new life while continuing my old one, so that the eventual transition would be less abrupt and less scary. 

Because I had been told by many people that teaching yoga full-time is extremely hard, I decided to look for a part-time job to supplement my teaching income once I quit working. I found one, and believe it or not, it was a "5-10 hour position" helping to manage the new Tranquil Space location.  I figured this would be perfect, put in my two weeks, and immediately took on as many yoga classes as possible, as well. 

At first, my life was insane. I was teaching around 18-20 yoga classes per week at my high point (to put this in perspective, I now teach about 9 per week and am close to my max!) , and as you may have seen firsthand if you're a part of the Tranquil Space community, my "5-10 hour per week" job quickly turned into a 15-20 hour per week job, and then to a 20-30 hour per week job as the studio grew. Similarly, as the studio expanded, I grew with it, going from a "Tranquility Concierge," to Studio Manager, to Studio Director, to Studio Director & Teacher Director. As my role at Tranquil Space grew, I adjusted my teaching schedule to make my life more manageable, but it was (and continues to be) a constant struggle to stay balanced.

While I pursued teaching and studio management, both of which I have ADORED, I also made sure to block out time for my creative endeavors, namely blogging and painting. Thus, Thursdays are my painting days, and I blog every morning, M-F, right upon waking (after stretching and making a cup of tea, of course). I've worked hard over the past 3 years to build a life in which daily creativity, working with people, practicing yoga, and teaching have become non-negotiables, and I feel so grateful, lucky, and honored to have built this life, along with the support of the amazing people around me (my family, friends, husband, yoga community, and everyone I work with at the studio). 

But, I want you to know that within this framework, I've still struggled with my same old issues (as you've probably seen if you're a regular reader). Just because I now love *almost* everything that I do on a daily basis, doesn't mean that I don't still get stressed out, or freak out because I have too much to do, or get overwhelmed when I have big deadlines or too many things scheduled in one day. That's always a part of life, but my new life has helped me to keep everything in perspective and has given me a chance to really work on making changes in order to be happier and healthier. 

One of the biggest parts of this process is having to constantly re-evaluate my schedule and step away from things I love. I've given up dozens of classes and private clients--many of whom I was very attached to--because I knew that I needed more unscheduled time. I've said no to new opportunities and left many emails unanswered (sigh), in order to create more space and downtime, and again, it's a constant struggle.

Thus, this is a good chance to announce another big change in my life. I've recently re-evaluated my schedule (yet again) and decided that after 2.5 years, I'm going to give up my role as Studio Director at Tranquil Space Arlington. I've decided that I can no longer give the studio the time, energy, and around-the-clock management attention that it needs, and that someone else (who we've already hired internally and who is fabulous!) will be able to give it much more heart than I can at this time. Plus, this chance to step back will allow me more time and energy to focus on my art, my teaching, my blogging & writing, the Teacher Director role (which I'll be keeping!), and my other creative endeavors. I'm ready and am very excited for this extra space in my life. 

Although it's heart-breaking to give up this role that has defined me, guided me, and ultimately, been my life (and baby!) over the past few years, I am working to practice what I preach here on the blog. Yet again, I have realized that for my own sanity and creative energy, I have to say goodbye to something that I enjoy. These are the tough decisions that I always talk about, but these are also the kind of decisions that we have to make in order to ultimately realize our dreams. My Director role will officially end at the end of May, so come June, get ready for some fun new projects and additions to the blog. 

Phew! For those who have asked about my story, that's part of it, but know that it is still unfolding. It's a work in progress, and I'm okay with that. In order to "live a life that you love" I think that you need to constantly redefine yourself, make changes, re-evaluate your schedule, your goals, your energy, and continue to grow [every day!]. 

If you're playing with the idea of making a similar transition in your own life, check back in tomorrow, as I'll be posting some helpful tips from what I've learned over the past few years of change. 

Thanks for being a part of my journey! I'm honored to be a part of yours :)

Namaste,
Mary Catherine

PS. I think this is the longest blog post I've ever written!? If you made it to the end, thanks for sticking with me ;) xoxo