Lauren Fratto

Yoga I
Final Paper

My Yoga Journey

This semester has been a whirlwind of yoga for me, I have learned so much in such a
short amount of time. I did not have much experience before I began the teacher training all I
knew was that I loved yoga and I wanted to share the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits
of it. In this paper I want to start with my background and why I decided to pursue teaching, then
share a few of the insights I have gained while in the program, and lastly what I want to do when
I am finished with my training.
At the age of three years old I began ballet classes; right away my mom and ballet teacher
noticed I was weirdly serious and dedicated to learning this new skill. While the rest of the girls
would goof off I was always very serious and passionate about being in class. I was the little girl
on stage at a performance that all of the other girls watched to know what step came next, and
while they all waved at their families I kept on dancing not missing a step. I have carried this
passion for ballet with me my whole life as a young dancer I would have class six times a week
and I loved it When I was about fifteen I was encouraged by teachers to advance out of Utah and
seek a more pre-professional dance institution. I auditioned for a school called Walnut Hill
which is located in Natick Massachusetts. My mother warned me that if I was not offered a
scholarship that covered at least half of the cost I could not attend that school. A few weeks later
I received an acceptance letter and was awarded a full merit scholarship for tuition so that my
parents would only have to pay for housing. It was obvious to my parents it was meant to be so
they allowed a sixteen year old girl to get on a plane and travel over 3,000 miles to begin a new
adventure. I was there for my junior and senior years of high school, afterwards I attended a very
intense summer program in Atlanta that at the end of the program a few lucky dancers would be
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Final Paper

picked for the company. Unfortunately I did not make it and I returned back to Utah and began
dancing at the University of Utah while seeking my dental hygiene degree.
Ok what does all of this have to do with yoga you might be wondering? Well my life as a
ballet dancer is what brought me to yoga. While ballet made me more focused, dedicated, and
strong it also left me with some deep internal feelings of never being good enough or thin
enough. While dancing I struggled with anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder and I did not
even realize it until I quit dancing in college. I began to eat properly and I returned to a normal
weight but the negative thoughts were always there and I would just ignore it because I knew
that I could fall into old habits very easily. It wasnt until I took a yoga class that I realized I
could help myself by dealing with the real issue of not seeing myself clearly and never feeling
good enough to truly get my mind healthy again. What I love about yoga is that your best is
always good enough, there are no expectations and it is about finding your true Self. I want to
share that message with as many people as I can so that if they are maybe struggling with similar
things I can help give them the tools to let their minds become peaceful and balanced.
There are many things that I have learned this semester that have really enlightened me
and have helped me find more truth in my life. I want to start by sharing what I learned as far as
the four pathways and eight limbs of yoga. The four pathways are: Raja or royal path which is
physical yoga, Jnana which is the path of study and wisdom, Bhakti which is the path of
devotion and Karma which is the path of selfless action and service with intent, mindfulness and
love. The very first thing I noticed was how closely this related to my religious beliefs. We are
taught that to attain peace and inspiration from God we need to study scripture (Jnana) pray and
go to church to show devotion (Bhakti) and serve others (Karma). The one thing that is missing
Lauren Fratto
Yoga I
Final Paper

is the physical path Raja which I have come to fully believe that tuning in with your physical
body can have so much power to help the Self be recognized or to connect with God or the
Universe or whatever it is that you believe. This enlightenment that I received also made me
realize that most religions want the same things but they just go about them in different ways
which is ok! Whatever you need to do to find peace, happiness and truth that is what is right for
you and that is what you should do. This helped me really see our humanity and how we really
are just searching for the same things in life.
The eight limbs branch off of the Raja pathway and they are: Yamas, Niyamas, Asana,
Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. The Yamas and Niyamas are social
behaviors, constraints, and expectations to live by. Asana and Pranayama are postures and breath
work which form the physical practice we call Hatha Yoga. Pratyahara is withdrawl of the
senses, Dharana is concentration, Dhyana is meditation and Samadhi is blissful consciousness or
connections to a universal power or being. I also found similarities in these and my religion. We
have our own yamas and niyamas such as not partaking in drugs or alcohol, being honest having
integrity and many others. My religion also believes in focusing on a question you might have,
pondering on it Dharna and Dhyana and then attaining a spiritual revelation. Just like in the eight
limbs and my religion both believe that to reach Samadhi you must be following all of the
principles. However my religion does not focus on a physical practice like yoga does. I think that
having a physical practice where you tune your mind in to your body would help so many people
find peace and Samadhi who may struggle to find it.
Another principle that I learned this semester is Mantra. A small part of me is always a
little skeptical of things and Mantra was one of them. One of my teachers taught me about
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Sadhana which is where you pick a mantra and you say it 108 times a day for 40 days. You can
say it out loud or in your mind. I chose to take on this challenge and I chose the seed manta Hrim
which is a clarity mantra that increases our aspiration and receptivity to divine light, wisdom and
truth. To be completely honest I was a little skeptical at first so I was amazed when I began
seeing changes in my life. I felt less anxiety and always sought to see truth in every situation. I
was surprised that I began to see my physical body more clearly and it helped dispel the negative
thoughts I have surrounding my body image which was not my original intention with this
mantra. I really enjoy mantra and maybe one day I will try a longer one that is not just a seed
mantra.
One thing that I have recently realized is that to be a yoga teacher you need to focus on
vocabulary and you need to be able to communicate difficult postures and concepts with your
words. Verbally speaking is not my strong suit. I do much better with writing and even then I
struggle. I know that I will really need to focus on becoming more comfortable speaking, and
that I will really need to ponder what I am going to say and what words will be the best to
convey the message. I think that for me I will need to write down my sequences as well as
thoughts that I would like to share with the class because I do not do well with thinking on my
feet and expressing with words what I am thinking. I am very grateful that I have next semester
to practice and gain more experience before I begin teaching on my own. One thing that has
helped me a lot is to listen to other teachers and what they say or dont say. It helps me pick out
what I like and what I dont like so that I can maybe incorporate it into my own teaching style.
When I am finished with my 200 hour teacher training at the end of fall semester my plan
is to try and teach maybe a couple classes a week at either a studio or gym or something. I really
Lauren Fratto
Yoga I
Final Paper

want it to be a part of my life on a weekly basis. Currently I am a dental hygienist full time and it
is already paying a price on my body. Next year I am hoping to stop working on Fridays and
teach a few yoga classes instead to help me counteract the negative forces on my body from my
career. When I began the teacher training I thought that I only would want to teach a vinyasa
type class with a lot of movement and sweating. However recently I have been very interested in
teaching a restore class. I want to learn more about it so that I can feel comfortable teaching
others and have confidence that I am doing it correctly. It was while taking a restore class myself
that I decided that I wanted to help people in this way. While in the class the teacher just rested
her hands on my back while I was in a pose and it brought me to tears. It wasnt because it hurt
or I was uncomfortable it was because I hold so much tension and negative energy in my back
and her hands brought a loving healing energy to my back that made me feel a lot of releasing
emotion. I was amazed at the effect that it had on me. That is when I decided that I wanted to do
this for other people as well because yoga isnt just about working out it is about healing or
minds and our bodies and restoring balance and peace in them.
While I still feel intimidated and inadequate with my teaching abilities I know that with
more practice I will get better. I am so grateful for the positive force yoga is in my life to help
my physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies become balanced and peaceful. It has given me the
tools to help deal with stress, anxiety and everyday life. I am so excited to share this knowledge
with others to hopefully help them the way it has helped me.