Getting to Know You: Becky Field

Today we’d like to take a moment to introduce you to Becky Field, a recent graduate of the Teacher Training Class of 2018, who taught the 7pm Rajas Hour in Cambridge during April.

becky fieldBecky started doing yoga during a summer break during college, but didn’t truly connect with the practice until years later when she found some classes to try on YouTube.  “For many years, I was intimidated by the idea of a yoga studio. I was fearful that my inexperience or struggle with ‘simple’ poses wouldn’t be welcome. On YouTube, I found this community of yogis that allowed me to learn the basic poses and Sanskrit while granting me the safety and comfort of my home and helped create a new sense of connection to my body and a respite to my anxieties,” Becky said. Gaining familiarity and confidence with the practice in the privacy of her own home eventually lead her to agree to attend a class at a studio with a friend where her stresses about body image were washed away when she learned the old adage is true: How to get a yoga body: Have a body. Do yoga.  The other students in the room were diverse in age, size, experience, and ability.  Becky was finally ready to thank YouTube for its gentle introduction to the practice and now commit to spending more time on her mat in the company of others.

The idea that she might do a 200-Hour Teacher Training program started to bloom in the back of her mind in the aftermath of relationship that had left her feeling unseen by her partner.  “I was just a little lost. I began to consider yoga teacher training as something I could gift to myself, something that would maybe help me figure things out,” Becky said. In the early stages of that yoga-daydream, her father passed away.  “His death made me question everything I knew and had built since I moved to Massachusetts five years prior. With this reminder of how short life is, what was I actually contributing? Teacher training was no longer a question, it was something I had to do,” she said. By that point, Becky had a regular practice at a studio where one instructor especially inspired her with her creative sequencing, so she checked to see where that teacher trained.  The answer, of course, was O2. She enrolled in our 200-Hour program not long after.

As Becky went through TT, she wasn’t certain if she’d want to teach when she graduated.  She had an open mind about it but her more introverted nature kept her from committing straight out.  But herein lies the twist: “Teaching gives me some sort of endorphin buzz similar to taking a class and I often leave feeling recharged. When it came to Karma auditions, I figured I’d already invested and learned A LOT to get to that point, why wouldn’t I want to extend my practice and education? I felt Karma was just an extension of teacher training by offering more real world experience,” she said.

In addition to the discovery that she actually enjoyed teaching, Becky’s experience in TT came with some additional treasures.  First of all, there’s what we call The Yoga Bubble. Becky articulates her experience of it thusly: “My world got so much larger because of yoga teacher training — not only because I ended up forging friendships with fellow trainees and mentors, but as I’ve begun to teach, my world has continued to grow. Each class brings in a new collection of students and with that a new collection of individual experiences.”  Additionally, she has a newfound respect, appreciation, and relationship with her body, saying, “As I mentioned before, I’ve struggled a lot with body image and self-acceptance. Yoga teacher training shifted how I think about my body. I don’t think skinny anymore, I think strong. My focus is no longer about how my body looks, but about what it can do, and damn, I’m capable of a lot! The most magical thing about yoga is with each practice I have some sort of ‘ah-ha!’ moment, like a pose that’s suddenly attainable, a better connection to the breath or just a better focus in savasana. It’s always TT2018_16a surprise!”  She also heeds advice Mimi gave her during Teacher Training: Your students want you to succeed.  “Mimi mentioned this a few times in training trying to squash our insecurities about making mistakes in class.  I think most of us struggle with some sort of imposter syndrome in our lives, and it’s no different as a new yoga teacher especially when you’re surrounded by such quality teachers at O2. It’s easy to be hard on yourself when you flub a cue or forget part of your sequence, but that’s all part of the process, that’s how you learn. Your students aren’t going to hold it against you — chances are they won’t even notice or remember.”  Letting go of her preconceived notions of how others might see or judge her for being herself has been a true gift in Becky’s life.

When she’s not doing yoga, Becky works as a designer in the footwear industry crafting narratives around product through color.  She also enjoys perfecting her focaccia bread recipe, chasing down the best craft beer in New England, finding a great DIY project, and is always taking suggestions for “must read” books.

Welcome to Team O2, Becky!  We are thrilled to have you on our teaching roster.  We hope you all get to practice with her sometime very soon. Click here to see her schedule this week.

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