If you completed a Yoga Teacher Training with me in the past, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard this story. It’s a story I was a bit ashamed of initially, but over time it’s become something I’ve shared widely.

Let’s take a trip back to 2009. I had just completed my first 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training and I was eager to take any and all teaching opportunities that came my way. I scoured Craigslist (because that’s what we did back then) and came across a job prospect at a family-owned gym in the south suburbs. I emailed the contact listed on the posting and received a quick, enthusiastic response. Within a week or so I met with the gym manager where she expressed that she had been looking to add Power Yoga classes to the gym schedule. She was familiar with the training I had completed and was thrilled to add me to her teaching team. No audition. Only trust that my foundational training had prepared me to teach the members at this small gym.

On my first day I showed up early, set out props for students who might want them, and waited patiently for the students to arrive. Just before class was scheduled to begin a group of students filed into the studio. The students looked around, looked at me, and politely asked, “Where are the chairs?” The chairs?, I thought.

Turns out the time slot in which I was scheduled to teach had previously been a Silver Sneakers Chair Yoga class. (A name that desperately needs to be updated.) Students had not been informed of the change. I had not been informed I was going to be teaching a brand new class on the schedule - a class that was very different from what the established students had grown accustomed to.

Unfortunately, the 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training I had completed only prepared me to teach one specific sequence and it was a Power Yoga sequence consisting of no less than 20 Chaturangas (high to low planks). I was not prepared to adapt the sequence for specific populations. I didn’t even know Chair Yoga was a thing! To say it was a miserable hour for the students and me is an understatement.

With time, members from the gym who were looking for a Power Yoga class found me. They became very dedicated students and attended my classes twice a week. However, I always had a sense of sadness for the students who had counted on their Silver Sneakers classes. They deserved better. They deserved a teacher who could meet them where they were at and I was not that teacher at that time.

Fast forward to the present, and I’m in a very different place professionally. In 2020 I completed a Chair Yoga Teacher Training and in 2025 I completed a specialty certification to support older populations in strength training. Working with and training older populations has become a bit of a special interest area for me. I wasn’t surprised when my soon to be boss at Life Time offered me a couple classes to coach that were specifically geared towards 55+ members.

In the lead up to my first week of teaching at Life Time I planned out my classes and playlists. I wanted to make sure I left a good impression on those who were taking my classes for the first time. Deep down, I also felt like this was my chance to redeem myself. The Silver Sneakers students from 2009 should have had a much more positive experience in my class. Of course it wasn’t necessarily my fault that the students and I were put in an unfortunate and confusing situation. I just wanted to do better by them.

I’m one month into coaching at Life Time and I’m so grateful I was given the opportunity to work with their 55+ members. I’m often smiling ear to ear in these classes because with every move, every lift, every stability drill that I coach I am reminded that all people are capable of challenging their bodies and minds. Age is not a limitation. Age does not define an individual. All people should feel empowered to work out and be apart of a community.

And the classes I coach for 55+ members aren’t just for senior populations! All are welcome! There’s so much value in stepping into a space with people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities. So if you’re in the Downtown Minneapolis, consider joining me for one of my strength or aqua classes. Not to toot my own horn, but they’re pretty fun.