What’s really going through your yoga instructor’s mind while you’re holding that pose? This week on My First Year, Joseph Lecz sits down with his best friend from college, Bettie, aboard the Queen Mary 2, halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. As they paint and catch up, Bettie looks back on her first year teaching yoga, from rehearsing classes with her family to a phone that wouldn’t stop ringing and the nerves of having her boss walk into class.

Bettie found a new path that fit her life after years as an executive assistant. She shares the unexpected lessons, funny moments, and growing confidence that came with becoming a teacher and why you don’t have to be flexible or fit a certain image to belong in a yoga class.

An honest conversation with two longtime friends about starting something new, finding your footing, and giving yourself grace along the way

To take Bettie’s class in Northwest Chicago Suburbs, check out Pulsation Yoga in Mt. Prospect, IL

https://pulsationyoga.com/

Bettie’s Book Recommendation: The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

Code: TIHEPOD2VEZO8CGZ, PUJKYYLQN6MGLUEI

What does becoming a shaman actually look like and how do you follow a new calling when you have bills to pay?

Michelle Bailey joins Joseph Lecz on 'My First Year' to share her journey from corporate America into shamanic work. A former chief operations officer whose preferred title is simply “Human Being,” Michelle explains what her practice involves, why she uses meditation and how she gradually built a business while balancing work and family.

The conversation gets personal as Michelle reflects on growing up around addiction, the emotions she had tucked away, and what she learned during her first year of training. We also explore intuition, spiritual guides, retreats, financial uncertainty, and a revealing exercise: writing down everything you say no to and noticing how often it’s something for yourself.

If you’re considering a career change, exploring your spiritual life, or wondering whether it’s time for a new beginning, Michelle’s story offers plenty to think about.

Connect with Michelle:
Website and retreat information: https://www.kairoswellnessct.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kairos.wellness.ct/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kairos.wellness.ct0/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kairoswellnessct
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bailey-31b408235/

'My First Year' explores the messy, honest beginnings behind life’s big changes with stories and advice to help you feel a little less alone in your own.

Subscribe for more conversations, and tell us in the comments, Have you ever felt drawn to a completely different path?

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

Code: UY4N5TPTHEUKDORU, TTHIMDKWSKSJDYNF

Tami Scime drove from Buffalo to Skagway, Alaska, for a summer job. She expected an adventure. She didn’t expect to arrive and discover her employee housing was a camper or to stay for 14 years and counting.

Tami shares what happened after the cruise ships left and finding love in a town where everyone knows your business. Also making a life through long winters, and watching tourism change the place she’d come to call home. It’s a story about following a pull you can’t quite explain, then knowing when it’s time for another new beginning.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

Code: 5MXL2QHJBOBHAFXN, B41WBDSBCYZAR4B9