One of the most astonishing parts of being in a beautiful setting, couped up with strangers you don't know from 8-5, is that you learn so much about your yoga teacher colleagues than you would if they were simply teaching classes at the same studio. I was as inspired by the beautiful women in my group (and the ways they're reaching all kinds of teenagers) as I was by the material we were taught, so I thought I'd share with you some of their stories and all the wonderful ways they're sharing their yoga with the world:

Molly and I spent more like 24 hours together a day during the trip because we decided to split our hotel and car expenses for the trip so I have to start with her. As tourists, we did a lot of driving around and gawking at all the huge, gated homes, and searching (to no avail) for Jessica Simpson. She's a Cincinnati girl whose passion is working with teenage criminals living in a detention center. Beneath her sweetness and soft demeanor, you can tell that she's up for the challenge of working in the horrible, heart-wrenching conditions of a prison. She also, planned and executed a "yoga camp" for children over the summer. My heart swells with gratitude when I think about all the lives that she has touched through yoga.

Marnie, "like the big, purple dinosaur but with an M," is one of two token school teachers. This was a big help since we were learning about how to bring yoga into school systems, which are ripe with bureaucracy and burn-out. She already utilizes yoga tools in her classroom of 3rd graders, so she had a lot of information to share. Her aspiration is as big and admirable as her personality—she hopes to open a school of her own that includes yoga as part of the curriculum. She wants to, as she puts it, "Serve children that are financially rich, but emotionally starved."

And then there was Nikki. I was particularly touched by Nikki because in our first introductory session she spoke about how she hoped to bring a greater health awareness to her son and into her son's school. (A private school that refuses to offer healthy choices at it's snack bar.) She is one of the most fun, free-spirited women I've met in the yoga community. When she packed her things to leave us on the last day of the training, she put her arms around me and another younger woman in the training and advised us to have fun being young and single "Don't worry about it!," she said. This is why I know she is going to be an amazing teacher for high school students.

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear about all the creative and meaningful ways people find use their yoga. The world is a better place because of these women and the love and care they put out into the world with each breath.