Teacher Training Weekend #1 – March 2016

So the first weekend of teacher training was pretty hard work. I sort of knew it would be, but also some part of my ego thought “well, how hard can it be?” – The answer is, pretty tough! But I mean that in a good way. I’m excited at this new challenge and can’t wait to immerse myself in the reading material, and to learn about the history and spirituality that accompanies the physical practice.

I must admit, I forgot for a moment we’d be learning more than just how to adjust poses and I was a little lost when we began talking about the traditions of yoga and everything was in Sanskrit; (it literally is a whole other language!) But I soon realised that’s completely okay; everyone has to start somewhere and I’ll soon catch up. Its fascinating learning the history and traditions of yoga and how they are still so relevant today all over the world.

I was surprised and impressed by the diversity of ages, backgrounds and genders in our teacher training class. I am definitely one of the younger students at 24 years old, and the oldest man is in his late sixties. This shows that yoga practice is not only for the young and flexible and also that yoga unites people of all backgrounds and experiences, no matter what point in their lives they are introduced to it. There’s a lot I can learn from every member of our group and I hope to get to know them all better as our training continues.

Reading List

We have quite an extensive reading list to keep us going between the training weekends. This is another reason I’m glad to have embarked on a slower route to teacher training, as I wouldn’t have time to absorb all these texts in a month of intensive training.

I suppose that some yoga studios tend to focus more on the physical side of the practice than the historical and cultural context, and although I have a lot more to learn this way, I’m glad that I am able to gain a more rounded understanding of yoga practice, as I will be able to apply these traditional teachings in a modern day context and will have more knowledge of the spiritual root of yoga than if I just learnt to teach poses.

My current reading list:

• Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews
• The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
• Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Bihar Publications
• Yoga Sutras by Swami Satchidananda
• Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyanda Saraswati
• The Art of Adjusting by Brian Cooper
• The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaren
• Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaren
• Pocket Yoga Teacher by Martin Thompson

I am also reading Teaching Yoga by Mark Stephens               (as pictured above)

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu