Shortly after I posted on my blog that I’d be finishing my hike early to pursue teacher training, A friend texted me and said, "Yoga????". I checked the text; he really used that many question marks. The question is a fair one though -- "Why are you doing yoga teacher training?"

It is hard to answer this question without also answering why I ended my hike early.

On trail when I answered the question of "what I am doing after the hike?", I'd explain that instead of completing the Great Western Loop, I could, for the same amount of money, check off another bucket list item and get certified to teach yoga. This is a true answer because ever since seeing my former boss and close friend, Rachel, go through yoga teacher training, it'd been on my bucket list. Although so is becoming a pilot, traveling to all seven continents, running a marathon, and other crazy things.... but I am doing none of those things.

The deeper-than-surface level answer is of course longer and more complex. It begins with a conversation Sandman (the guy I met on trail and hiked with for several months) and I had when we first met and were getting to know each other. He'd already hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Te Arroyo in New Zealand, and I wanted to hear his perspective on what it was like to transition from hiking into normal everyday life.  He said to me, "When you finish a trail like this, no one will understand what you went through and you'll have nothing tangible to show for it."

Woof. This big goal of mine to spend 7 months hiking damn near 7,000 miles around the Western USA didn't mean anything? Of course, it did mean something (more on this later) but nonetheless it made me wonder... was this truly how I wanted to spend my time and energy?

So, I spent a shload of time pondering the question. First though... could I even quit the goal I'd set out on? I wanted to do this journey to push myself physically and mentally and redraw the lines of what I thought I was capable of. However, I realized this adventure was successful the first day I decided to do it because it began a series of events, like quitting my job or saving money or getting really into yoga, that changed drastically changed my life for the better. This realization brought me peace.

Now, I could focus on what I wanted to do next. My next move would be something that fulfills my dharma (my life's purpose, the reason I am here on this earth). The hike provided clarity on that too. After deep reflection, I understand I am at my best and feel most fulfilled when I get to work with others to challenge and empower them to be a better version of themselves. To be clear, my dharma is not to be a yoga teacher. Rather, teaching Yoga gives me a chance to be in the work of connecting with and challenging my students towards a common goal of becoming better humans. This excites the hell out of me.

Additionally, the month-long intensive training I will be participating in will be an excellent way for me to grow personally, reassess my value system, and also provide dedicated reflection time to ingrain the lessons I learned about myself on the hike.

It is somewhat poetic to think that hiking was the first thing that led me to a consistent practice of yoga when I was training for my first thru-hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail, and now it was my attempt of the Great Western Loop that led me back to further expand my yoga practice. It is also fitting to know I’ll still be living out of a backpack. Some things never change!

This new journey promises to be just as challenging as my last, but just in a different way. Whereas before my focus was on being on the move and pushing myself to go further, now I must focus on being present and still. This is something that doesn’t come natural to me. In a lot of ways, I am more nervous for this challenge than I was before the hike, but just like the hike, the only way to know is to go!

Dream it. Do it.