Week 2: Getting to Know Colleagues at Living Yoga

Already in my second week at Living Yoga I feel pretty comfortable at my workplace. Since the office is small, I have had a chance to meet everyone and I feel as if I have been working there for months. I work side by side with two other women who are absolutely wonderful! They are so kind and helpful, but they are also somewhat distracting because they are always talking about something off-topic. However, this makes work a lot more fun and I am still able to stay on task. These ladies have taken me under their wings and have made me feel like an important contributor to the workplace.  

My boss has been very helpful in the sense that he wants me to gain from this internship in my own way by finding projects that interest me and will help me develop skills I can use in the future.  This is inspiring because it gives me the chance to discover something that truly excites me and that I could see myself doing in the future. I have been learning about the ins and outs of a nonprofit organization and the business behind fundraising procurement. I had never thought about working for a nonprofit organization but so far from my first two weeks, I have realized it is an atmosphere I enjoy being around.

One of my co-workers

This week I had the chance to visit a couple different treatment centers where we offer yoga classes to recovering drug addicts. This was really exciting for me because I was able to see how all of the efforts of the organization pay off. One class in particular was very rewarding for me. I went to an all female class at DePaul Treatment Center—it was packed with women of all different ages. Due to the high volume class, the instructor ended up needing my assistance even though I was only there to observe. At the beginning of the class I had asked the women a couple questions about their practice and why they come to yoga but I did not get many responses. However, after the class once I had had the chance to work with some of the students, they were much more responsive and willing to answer some of my questions. Although, some of the women said they only come because it is mandatory for their program, others said they enjoyed how yoga made them feel relaxed or eliminated their pain. I really enjoyed sharing that practice with the other women and being apart of a natural healing process. I would like to maintain relations with this organization even after my internship so I can continue to help in some way whether it be logistical or physical in teaching a class. My boss will be a great source of advice for determining whether the nonprofit sector should be a career path or a side hobby in the future.