Finding Me

So, I am still in the throes of Yoga Teacher Training. It IS 200 hours of intense reading, history, anatomy, asanas and learning the art of yoga. It is also more so learning about yourself, what you are capable of, what you, alone can do. It’s also teamwork. Taking 17 people who all signed up for the same adventure and seeing where this goes.  As of December 1st, 2 have dropped and we’re down to 15.

Back in September, we had our first 4 days intensive.  They call it intensive because a whole lot of information is crammed into 4 days.  It was intense. By the second day, I was ready to hang up my yoga mat for good. But I went back and it’s been quite the journey.  There was another intensive in early November. That was a much better process as I kind of knew what to expect, I felt prepared somewhat.

What I didn’t expect is to be such a novice, not knowing many poses. I didn’t expect to not have teacher support. I paid good, hard-earned money to go to the Yoga School and learned that the instructors have a closed-door policy. That, itself, was tough to take. Anything we wanted to know, we had to email the instructor. Despite this, I am doing the best I can.

I know myself. I know that if I really want something I will practice and I will attain it. My passion for yoga has waned during this process of trying to be a teacher. I have found myself needing to decompress a lot and to get away from all things yoga. Perhaps it’s because it was so much crammed into days, maybe the closed off teachers, maybe it’s you gotta learn it on your own mentality that has driven me away. I am not sure, to be honest, I don’t find the studio owner to be personable.  She’s brash, harsh and unfortunately interrupts the class flow.  It is unnerving.

So if I were to give advice to someone wanting to go to YTT?  Definitely six months to a year’s consistent practice (3 x a week or more) under your belt. Research your yoga school, look at reviews, costs, location, time invested, how much time is invested out of the classroom, refund policy. How is the syllabus set up, is there an agenda, do you know what’s happening beforehand? How do the instructors communicate? Get to know the owner and instructors and how are you graded? What are the expectations?

Stay tuned, I am sure I’ll have more to say in the coming days/weeks.