So I'm considering a radical departure from my current life. I'm being lay'ed off at the end of June from my job as a computational chemist in the biotech world.

I'm giving a lot of consideration to doing a month long teacher training camp at the Kripalu Yoga institute in the Bershires. The goal would then be to open up a Yoga studio and fully embrace the spiritual side of life that I feel called towards. Of course I have this ego that has identified with being a scientist for a very long time and I have a lot of reservations. However, my wife is being very supportive of this and is quite encouraging.

Have any of you made a transition like this?

Do any of you teach yoga?

If so is there any advice you mind sharing with me while I consider embarking on this path?

Well, Yoga is in desperate need of actual science and understanding backing it.
All too often I hear people who practice and teach yoga spewing some of the craziest new-age misinformation I've ever heard. You know...stuff that "sounds good", and may be confusing or alluding to some "higher form of awareness."

Anyway, Maybe you could combine your scientific side with your yoga business. Just an idea.
Probably wouldn't be as profitable as new age mumbo jumbo yoga tho. Who knows...

Do what feels right. I wish you the best on your path.

I hope you find what you are looking for. I agree with house as well, a yoga instructor/scientist is a pretty awesome combo.

best of luck!

hey joedirt,

I actually find myself considering a similar transition in the near future, though not quite as near as yours most likely. If I can somehow manage to, I will try to finish my phd in a little more than a year left (also natural sciences), and then go on to do something like you were suggesting. Personally I wouldn't mind leaving the science world. I think no one can take my degree away from me, undo what I've learned and how I think, so I will always have the valuable things science has given me. All the other crap, well they can have it all. Whoever they are. The important things in life I think are found outside of the lab anyway.

So I reiterate this quote to myself over and over:
~ The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. ~
Charles DuBois

You will always be a scientist. Maybe it's time to be more?

Joe, Does your ego really push you towards science, or is it towards the social approval of being 'corporate'? I had a corporate 'science job' that I left 10 years ago but I didn't loose my love for science. You can find a way to teach yoga and work in the science world. There's lots of work options such as a consultant, volunteer, writer, inventor, hobbyiest, teacher or even starting your own corporation.

I grew up watching my father work the corporate job to bring home the bacon. I had to purge lots of social programming to allow me to even consider that I could do serious science without corporate approval. That type of thinking really limited me. Be careful what you wish for, you probably will get it.

As ۩ said, a spiritual/science combo is pretty awesome.

Maybe it would be good to consider which part of Yoga you want to teach: hatha, dhyana, pranayama, bakhti, raja, kriya, ashtanga,... Because a "Yoga teacher" in its widest meaning is a "teacher of Union", Union which you must first be immersed and maintaining yourself in, thus being a living example and embodiement of the highest attainement of that path, whose only presence is a true teaching...
Just saying, cos' there are lots of people calling themselves "Yoga teachers", but who apparently haven't understood that they must teach their own selves before they teach others. That's basic human behaviour, wanting to modify outer things and other people but neglecting the inner...

Now without being enlightened, you could probably become a teacher of say, asanas (Hatha Yoga, postures), and your scientific background will be of great help when it comes to knowing the human body, and understanding the discipline: many Yoga masters were true scientifics who wrote extensive treatises. You surely won't feel cut off from science. Then again, long years of practice before getting to be a good teacher... If you haven't, do get some good books on the different areas of Yoga to see how deep it can get, mystically and scientifically.

Also, it might be wise to visit a few such Yoga studios and speak with the teachers there to get some practical advice and experience before launching full force on that path.

believe me brother. i know exactly what you're going through...

i'll write more when i get home...

L&G!!

Thanks everyone for some good feedback. I was also thinking a science/yoga instructor would be a good idea and last night I found a local yoga instructor who was a physicist for several years before branching out. So I'm certainly not alone.



Good question. I am certainly not drawn to the corporate world. In fact I hate it. Once upon a time I believed that I with a degree in Medicinal Chemistry I'd be working to bring new drugs to market that would help a broad range of people. While this is true to some degree, the reality of the situation is that we go after targets that billionaires think will make them richer...and yes typically this overlaps with the most needed medicines in first world countries. However I have a personal problem knowing that we only go after targets that people can pay for. Some diseases like Malaria are grossly neglected because there's no money in it.

I think for me it's just partially the respected position of being a PhD scientist that my ego doesn't want to let go of. But the reality is no one can take away the accomplishment.... As for loosing my love for science....well I feel that if I stay in the corporate world much longer I will indeed loose my true love for it.



Thank you for this. Almost exactly what I needed to hear! Yes, I will always be a scientist in some form or fashion. I mean once you learn to think in a logical fashion you don't just wake up and decide that today I'm going back to irrationality! I'm a naturally curious person about the world I live in and to a degree this alone makes a person a scientist. Fancy degrees just confirm it for others and help you get a job!



Rooftop I'm interested in the whole of yoga and I've been a practitioner of aspects of it for about 10 years now. I agree with your definition of a Yoga teacher...Yoga does indeed mean union. However I'm not sure I agree that a person has to obtain enlightenment to begin teaching others. I'm certainly not enlightened, but I've been an active meditater for over 10 years and in that time I have learned a lot about myself, meditation, and yes I've had some non drug induced experiences that suggest a slow but gradual waking up. I think on this front there is quite a lot I could share with others. But the point of the teacher training would be to really immerse myself in yoga to fully determine if this is something I am really called to do. Yoga is a life long practice that helps both the teacher and students learn to grow. Just like we don't require people with PhD's to teach elementary school I don't think all yoga instructors need to be fully enlightened beings to share what they know with others. However, I have no time for those that fake their enlightenment to get followers...this is not at all what I'm talking about doing.

Also there is a large part of yoga that is indeed focused on physical fitness via diet and asanas. The west is often times slammed as perverting yoga with our focus on the fitness side, but I don't agree with that. Top physical fitness is required if you want to sit and meditate for more than a few minutes at a time. Ironically what most people miss on the asana front is that it is a non stop pranayama exercise. Sure you have to learn the poses, but the focus is always on the breath and body sensations. Increased flexibility is a side effect of proper practice. This is something that is lost on many in the west, but certainly not all. As for running a studio, well there is a portion that has to be focused on the Hatha yoga poses because that's what people want to pay for. So you give them what they want and at the same time you give them a little more. Perhaps it's just as simple as a little bit of philosophy during the class. But there is no reason you can't introduce people to meditation and pranayama as well. I can't show them enlightenment, but I can help them find their path...and that IMHO is a great thing. If I can just help a few more people to begin the process of waking themselves up I will feel like a more complete being...and this will ultimately help me on my path of self realization as well.




I'm always interested in what you have to say ant!

I have wanted to radically change the direction of my life with a shift towards immersing myself in the spiritual and natural connection that, like you, i feel drawn to, too! Having a young child, it hasn't been in the cards yet - but maybe one day

What an experience it would be for you! I agree with those who said, you will always be a scientist - what science has given will never be taken away from you. And don't take for granted your supportive spouse... it sounds to me like the situation is lined up to possibly do something that could make you happy.

Maybe it could be helpful to add a little more. I actually quit what most would consider a great job about a month after GW Bush was sworn into Residency. That in itself was a terrible reason to quit but it had been building for several years. My boss was a greedy, rascist bully, but also, it was the end of the dot com boom and I was pretty burnt out anyway. The boss was probably typical for a so called "captain of industry".

My wife was very supportive and I had a plan for a socially responsible business that I believed could help the world. Then came 9/11 and a financial meltdown and I found myself with an irrelevant business plan having to earn a living through consulting. Then came another new company and that has been working well for quite a while...but...

The plus side:
I am in control of my time
I like the work
I feel a great sense of freedom and independence
I don't have to deal with jerks (except when the customer turns out to be a jerk)

The minus side:
I don't make as much money as the corporate job
My wife is still supportive but she misses (what I think is a false sense of) security
In tough times I do have to work very hard to keep things going

At this point, there's no going back for me. Many aspects of being a corporate lacky are very nice, but as a lackey, your role is just to please the Master. Once you've tasted freedom, you can't go back.

Henry Thoreau described some thoughts related to this topic back around 1860. His idea was that it takes about 6 weeks of work for a man to provide for himself for one year. Any time spent working for others beyond 6 weeks was somehow benefitting someone other than the worker. Thoreau had a pretty spartan lifestyle so his 6 weeks of work probably didn't provide much luxury but that's the quantity of effort he thought it took to live. Right now, I need to work about 50 weeks a year to survive. Thoreau's lifestyle didn't include a car or computer or auto-magic heat, but I often wonder if maybe he got it right.

Thoreau Link

OutThereSomeWhere...sometimes life just comes along and pitches you a slow pitch down the middle. Your time will come if you want it

chker thanks for the insights. I'm a little anxious about taking this route as there is pretty much no way what-so-ever I will make as much money....certainly not for several years while starting the studio. But then I realize that there are a lot of reasons why I wouldn't need as much money. Doing something you love for enough money is the best route as all of our time is spent enjoying life. The corporate route sure pay's the bills and provides insurance and retirement, but make no doubt I'm trading time of my life for money which hopefully I can use to make a future purchase on quality of life again. Since the future doesn't exist yet and only right now does it seems pretty foolish to trade time from this valuable life doing things that we hate.

I literally feel like my soul walks me to the front door everyday and waves me off to work. I can almost hear it say, "Hey buddy have a good day at work I'll be here when you get home!". Yeah that is an exaggeration, but not a gross one. Weather I go the yoga route or another route it is time to get on with finding me real way in life.

Is there anything that concerns you more than your time? ~~ Jack Johnson