July: The Opportunity to #Realign

Here's my realignment story and a little bit of how Treehouse came about.

For those who have known me for over a decade, I was already a teacher — just not in the yoga world. I had spent over 13 years in corporate training, most recently as a training head for a bank. Teaching, facilitating, designing programs, doing organization development, upskilling talent — that was my comfort zone. I thought I had found my niche, and I was so sure I was going to spend all my working years doing this.

Yoga, for me, was a personal sanctuary. A quiet space to move, breathe, and soften after the demands of everyday life, and I'd remember so fondly the days of logging out of work to walk to a nearby yoga studio, changing into my leggings, practicing for 90 minutes, and walking home to my condo, only to do it all over again the next day.  Like many, I came to the mat for the movement — the physical release, the grounding effect after long days, and to bask in the silence in savasana, when I am asked to not do anything at all.

I never intended to teach yoga, at least not in my 30s then. I had mentioned it to my boyfriend (now husband) that when my daughter finishes school, that's when I feel I would be ready to honor the occasional whispers to lead a yoga class.

But something kept tugging. Those whispers grew louder and more consisten with time. My practice started to feel like more than a practice — it was beginning to feel like a path. And slowly, I realized I wasn’t being pulled to teach for the sake of teaching. I was being invited to realign with my life purpose.

The more I practiced, the more I realized that yoga wasn’t just something I did. It was changing me — or maybe, it was helping me return to who I really was.

And so, with the full support of my partner, I signed up for a weekends-only Yoga Teacher Training with White Space Wellness in Katipunan. It was such a big commitment, because I have moved to BF Homes, Paranaque then, after getting engaged. So imagine the trek from BF to Quezon City every Saturday and Sunday, and back home on those weekend nights. On some days during the 12-week long training, honestly, I would question the decision to take YTT, like, "Why am I even doing this to myself?!" I trudged on every morning, but would come home with my spirit recharged and mind clear, every time. My physical body was tired, but it was happy tired, like, "Yeah, this is what healthy bodies do" kind of tired.

That was me: during the week, working from 8:30am to 5:30pm, teaching in the corporate setting; during the weekend, I was in Quezon City, learning about yoga philosophy and asana.

I was a banker during the day and during the workweek (here with my HR team)...

... and a yogi at night and during the weekends (here with a co-worker and one of my best friends, Karla).

I joined YTT with no clear plan. I didn't want to change careers then because my profession as a corporate trainer was something I really enjoyed, despite it being a rat race. I remember an interview I had in my younger years, when an HR manager asked me why I liked my job, and I said, "I like helping people get to that 'aha' moment, when they finally understand the why behind things. It's like changing the world, one class, one person at a time. I think this is my life purpose."

The YTT didn’t just deepen my knowledge; it reoriented my entire way of being. It gave me space to reflect on how I showed up in the world, in relationships, in leadership, and in rest. It connected me to a community of seekers, of humans asking the same quiet questions I had been asking in the corners of my heart. On some days, there were a lot of answers; on most, just questions whose answers were yet to be discovered. The conversations I had with my mentors and fellow trainees were the most profound ones, about the most mundane things, that it was mindblowing and grounding at the same time. The YTT became a place to connect with like-minded people. We were different, but we were also each other's mirror.

And teaching yoga asana? It flowed beautifully out of being, not from memorization and drills. The "being" had to come first, before the actual "doing," and I think that is what Yoga Teacher Training programs are supposed to ignite.

2015, taking yoga pictures after class, just like you all do!

2015 July, when I graduated from 200H YTT at White Space Wellness with (L-R) my mentors Teacher Eileen Tupaz and Teacher Abby Rivaledo, my Reiki Master Teacher Sarah Salcedo, and our energy healer, Jammi. I was 34 years old.

That single step — hesitant, kinda murky, and a little unexpected — became the best pivot of my life.

That YTT has been a decade ago. I graduated in July 2015. Shortly after, an idea to put up a yoga space slowly started to materialize. First, the space was just for myself, so I can teach whenever I wanted to while still maintaining my corporate career... until I thought that was ridiculous, "Why would I keep this space all to myself, when I can share it?"

And so Treehouse Yoga was born.

There were many things I had to give up, and while there was excitement and anticipation, there was also a lot of fear and uncertainty. I had to recalibrate frequently, wipe tears, stand tall, walk forward, pause for a bit... only to do it all over again. Every day. So this is what business owners do, I would always think to myself.

2015 November, Treehouse Yoga during its skeleton days, with my mother-in-law's hands on deck.

Now, when I think of our July theme — Realign — I think of all those moments when we’re quietly called to shift. Not because we’re lost, but because we’re being invited to live with deeper integrity.

"Change the world one class, one person at a time." Teaching yoga was my big realignment.

2015, when Treehouse started its partnership with NGOs and Child's Pose Yoga

2015 November, our first team meeting and team photo. Teacher Kim is a founding teacher of Treehouse Yoga.

2016, Treehouse opening to the public, with 11 classes a week

Realignment doesn't imply leaving behind what you've established. At times, it involves letting all facets of yourself — the professional, the parent, the partner, the human, the soul — come together completely and gradually merge (and even transform) into who you were always meant to become.

And it doesn't always have to be as drastic as a YTT.

Sometimes, realignment is as simple as pausing and making healthier choices in our lives, like putting back the instant noodles in the grocery shelves after you've autopiloted on picking it up, or remembering to hydrate with water after drinking 2 cups of coffee.

Whether you’re exploring new practices, letting go of old patterns, or standing at the edge of an unexpected next step — know that it’s okay not to have it all figured out.

What matters is that you are listening.

This month at Treehouse Yoga, may you come home to yourself. And if something inside you whispers that it’s time to pivot, don’t be afraid to follow. You just might end up exactly where you were meant to be all along.

What are you realigning to this month?

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