A Blissful Life 9/22/2026: Finding Your Voice, The Journey Back

Last weekend, we began our second 200-hour yoga teacher training at Ocean Bliss. Just like our first training, this group is made up of nine beautiful women, each arriving with her own story, her own gifts, and her own reasons for stepping onto this path. Yoga teacher trainings are one of my favorite things to offer. It is an honor to hold space for these women— to guide them, teach them, and share so much of what has helped me along my own path as both a student and a teacher.

Although I may be in the role of teacher much of the time, I never stop being a student. My students are always teaching me. Their questions invite me to think more deeply. Their courage inspires me. Their willingness to be vulnerable reminds me of the strength it takes to grow. Every training becomes part of my own continuing education— not only in yoga, but also in what it means to be human.

Becoming a yoga teacher is about so much more than learning how to instruct a class. Of course, our trainees study postures, anatomy and alignment, sequencing, breathwork, philosophy, and all the other wonderful elements that build a strong foundation for teaching. But underneath all of that, a deeper journey is taking place. They are learning to find their voices.

At Ocean Bliss, I encourage our trainees to become themselves as yoga teachers. I don’t want them to imitate me or anyone else. I want them to let their own light, personalities, creativity, and heartfelt wisdom come through. The most powerful teachers aren’t the ones who sound perfect; they are the ones who sound like themselves.

Finding that authentic voice often begins with moving out of the head and into the body. It means learning how to listen to intuition, trust what arises, and honor the wisdom that is already there. It means letting go of the belief that there is only one correct way to show up.

Throughout a training, it feels as though I am watching each woman slowly crack open her shell. Confidence begins to replace uncertainty. Her voice becomes clearer. She starts to recognize strengths she may not have known she possessed. There are so many “aha” moments— those beautiful flashes when something clicks and she sees herself differently.

It is magical to witness.

Watching this process also reconnects me to my own 200-hour yoga teacher training. It happened many years ago, during a time of enormous change in my life. There were so many unknowns and, certainly, so much fear. I entered the training thinking I was working toward a certification that would allow me to teach yoga. I couldn’t have known that I was beginning a journey back to myself.

For many years, I had tried to be what everyone else wanted me to be. Teacher training helped me quiet the outside voices long enough to hear my own again. It taught me to reconnect with my intuition and begin rediscovering who I was, what I wanted, and why I was here.

That may be the deeper lesson of yoga teacher training— and perhaps of yoga itself. The practice does not ask us to become someone new. It gently helps us peel away everything that has kept us from being who we already are.

You don’t have to be in teacher training to begin that journey. Sometimes it starts with one breath, one class, or one moment of choosing to listen inward.

If you’re longing to reconnect with yourself, find your voice, or simply spend more time in a space where you can breathe and be exactly who you are, I invite you to join us at Ocean Bliss. Your mat is waiting, and you are always welcome here.