Yoga Training Scholarship Essay

Yoga Training Scholarship Application

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service relationship to humanity.”  As an individual, I want to enlighten society about the extraordinary wealth received when we are willing to serve, and I know my life story certainly provides such examples of this truth. When I was young, life presented me with “opportunities” that were initially difficult to embrace. My family faced financial challenges that required frequent moves and being satisfied with basic needs. As a child, this was not always easy, but from this experience I have come to realize that my life philosophy and so many of my values were shaped in those tender years. In one respect, I learned to be self-motivated and diligent to obtain things that would be deemed luxuries. When I was just 14, I struggled with low self-esteem because I had poor hearing in one ear and my teeth were, quite frankly, a mess. I knew my parents could not afford braces, so I took it upon myself to get a job and after two years I had paid for my own braces—a very empowering lesson to learn as a teen! My desire to become a dentist was solidified when I was given the gift of confidence from my orthodontist. I knew immediately after my braces were removed that I was interested in a career in dentistry so I could provide that same gift of confidence to other individuals.

I began dental school one year ago. As you may already know, professional school is very demanding. The stress level rises with every exam.  The first national board exam is rapidly approaching and my mind gets wrapped up in every little detail about school it’s very difficult to let go. Once school began I quickly realized how I needed to find a way to release tension and stress, which is when I found the practice of yoga. I found peace when I was sitting on that mat. For the sixty or ninety minutes that I was in class, I felt relaxed and forgot about life for a moment. There was no anatomy assessment the next day, there was no practical I needed to prepare for, there was only me, and my breath. I gave my mind and body a gift everyday by going to yoga and I would love to be able to go through yoga training not only to be able to provide that same gift to others, but to be able to learn and dive deeper into a practice that I am very much interested in.

Considering I am in dental school I am living off of student loans. I have a strict budget and cannot afford the full cost of yoga training. When I found out there was a scholarship, it gave me hope that I could potentially make this goal a reality. I know I could be a great student in the yoga training program because of my positive attitude and commitment to serving others.

Although I may lack control of everything that happens in life, I am ultimately in control of my attitude and response. My mission is to empower individuals to find ways to improve their own circumstances, or at a minimum develop a new perspective, by igniting a spark to find their niche in the world of service. My niche is serving others within the dental health care field and hopefully providing the practice of yoga. My life story has proven to me that it is only through reaching out to others that we truly realize life’s greatest joys.