new school supplies

Do you remember how much fun the start of the school was? Not because you were going back to school, but because you got all the fun stuff that goes along with the school year....new paper, fresh crayola crayons and a shiny little plastic box to put them in. Well I'm finding myself embracing that same feeling with the studio. I opened this time last year, when the school session begins. Last year I didn't get to experience that feeling of excitement about new stuff. Well I suppose I did, but I was probably more focused on "I hope people like me and that they come and do yoga." A bit more nervousness combined with excitement.

Now I'm getting to buy and do some fun stuff, preparing the studio for fall. I've replaced the lights in the ceiling (the Christmas lights did last nearly a year), done some reorganizing, ordered more Mexican blankets, got some new music, got another set of "cubes" for people to store their belongings, and I'm getting ready to buy a laptop for the studio and order software specifically for the yoga studio. Hopefully this will eliminate "signing in" as we know it and help me get rid of the paper trail. I've also gotten a couple new plants and have done some rearranging with old ones. I think it's important for students to enter a space that is maintained and well cared for. I love Barefoot Works and I can't help but hope that everyone that comes through the door loves it as I do. OK, so maybe they won't love it quite as much as I do. That's understandable :-)

It's also the time for new students to join and begin coming to the studio. It's very important to me to know people by their name. So I'm working on building a relationship with these new yogi's. Chatting with people before and after class helps build trust, and when you're teaching and leading people through poses that are mentally and physically challenging, trust is important.

I do enjoy this time of year. There is a certain sense of renewal and excitement in the air.

*Many congrats to my sis-in-law Beth and her husband Clint. They welcomed their very first little bundle of joy into this great big world today. Joseph Luke Netherland is his name. Welcome Luke. Lots of love awaits you.