Meet Your Teacher Training Lead: Kathryn Smith

This week marks the beginning of CorePower Yoga’s 8-week Teacher Training program in studios all around the country. If you’ve practiced in a CPY studio this week, you’ve probably felt the excitement—or maybe even some first day jitters! We checked in with Grant Studio Manager Kathryn Smith, before she kicks off leading her first CorePower Yoga Teacher Training at her Denver, Colorado studio.

What brought you to CPY for the first time?

A friend of mine wanted to try Hot Yoga and asked me to join her. I was instantly hooked. I loved the sweat, the challenge and how good I felt after class. But what really made me come back to my mat was the mental clarity I found and the way I learned to accept myself.

What is your favorite memory from Teacher Training?

My favorite memory from Teacher Training was when I was paired with another teacher trainee to practice teaching the Integration Series. This student had actually been teaching at another yoga studio, but was taking CPY’s training to further her education. It was early in training, and when I tried to cue Downward Facing Dog, I literally felt like I had gone mute. She looked at me, smiled and said, “You’ve got this, you know? It’s hard because you’ve never done it. That’s why we are here!” From that point forward, I just reminded myself, “I’ve got this!”

Why did you want to come back and lead Teacher Training?

Sharing yoga as a teacher has been the very best thing I have ever done for myself. Not only have I grown more in tune with my own practice and who I am, but being able to give yoga away makes my heart sing—every single day! I wake up and want to pinch myself thinking that I’m living a dream. Life is really this good. I want people to own their yoga, their practice, their life and then be able to share it.

What excites you most about leading Grant’s program?

It is such an honor to be a part of the Grant Studio Team, the original CPY Studio, the mothership, if you will. There is just something about the energy that exudes from the yogis at the Grant studio, a contagious excitement that gets me going. To help lead the next generation of yoga teachers with an amazing team at my side is such a gift!

What makes you most nervous?

I’m not sure that I would say I am nervous. I just want each student to know that we genuinely care about them individually, and we know what yoga has done and is going to continue to do in their lives. We want their voices to get big so that yoga continues to make the world a better, happier and stronger place to live.

Give me three words to describe how you feel with the program starting in just a handful of days?

BRING IT ON!!!