Yoga, my travelling classroom
“Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was yesterday or where I long to be.” – Linda Sparrowe
Travel has taught me more about myself than I could ever have imagined. I’ve learned who I am, what I value, what I’m capable of and how to express it. It’s taught me when to stay and when to go. I’ve been life’s student, and life, in turn, has brought me my own students.
The last decade of my life has centred around travel. Having roamed through 18 countries and countless cities, my definition of “home” is no longer tied to a physical location. Now, my anchor lies in sharing the practice of yoga around the world.
Before I became a traveller or a yoga teacher, I was a friend. The piece of my identity I valued the most was being a good companion. I never invested much into my apartment or my wardrobe. I cared much more about being an important member of my community. When I graduated from university, I watched many of my closest friends settle into long term relationships, sign mortgages, and climb corporate ladders. It really shook me when I realized I didn’t want any of those things. I felt like an alien for objecting, but I knew that it just didn’t fit. At least not yet.
At 20 years old, I set out on my first big solo trip. I didn’t have a plan, but I knew I had to go. My home and the people within it were changing. I was changing too. I decided to find out who I was without my home and all the people in it. It only seemed right to leave before I came to resent the place I’d always felt comfortable.
Through trial and error, through missed flights and lack of language skills, I learned to find my new “comfort zone” in what others viewed as “uncomfortable.” At the time, the stagnation of life in Canada was a lot scarier to me than the constant flux of travel was.
For the first three years of living nomadically, I couldn’t imagine stopping. There was always so much more of the world to see.
Things changed when that craving for community crept back in. The idea of seeing the whole world was so enticing that I found myself rushing off to the next destination without even really knowing why. When I did make friends, they too were transient. I didn’t know how or when exactly, but I knew something had to change. I suddenly wanted to be stagnant.
I put pen to paper and reflected on what made me feel most at home. Despite the country, the climate and the culture, the one constant, I came to realize, was yoga. When I arrived in a new place, the first thing I did was find the nearest shala. After long flights and stressful journeys, I kept coming back to yoga. I unrolled my mat, time and time again to ground myself. Knowing that there was a global community sharing the same passion for the practice made me feel seen and connected.
This year, at 27, I returned home, and it felt good. It’s no longer as jarring to settle back into familiar spaces. I think it’s a residual effect of my practice. I can see things more clearly now. There’s a lot less temptation for me to label myself a “traveller,” or as anything for that matter. I’m a lot more comfortable living in the grey area. My yoga practice has taught me to stray away from linear thinking and understand that neither evolution nor stagnation need to be feared. They can both be met with grace.
Through visiting countless studios around the world and being guided by incredible teachers, I too set out on the path to serve others. Travel inspired me to become a dedicated student, and now, a teacher too. I’ve had the privilege of connecting with yoga communities in India, Portugal, Guatemala, Mexico, and Canada. I’m always open to discovering the coordinates of the next classroom, but I no longer chase it. I’ve really come to embrace the idea that the only true home we have is within ourselves, and no matter where I am on the map, the community is always available.
Victoria Maybee
Guest Blogger
After obtaining her Journalism degree at Carleton University in Canada, Victoria followed her free spirit and moved to Australia. She has been feeding her wanderlust ever since. She has completed her first Yoga Teacher Training in India followed by the 300-hour Teacher Training with us in Portugal, and has been teaching yoga in many different places around the globe while travelling solo to over 15 different countries.
”I really like this idea that the only real home we’ll ever have is within ourselves. That’s where my practice comes in. Yoga is like my interior designer. It starts by exposing, and then tidying up my inner world. From there, it gives me the confidence to look outside of myself and make that space beautiful too.” - Vicky
