Teaching From Within

When we sign up to a YTT course, we direct our compass to potentially one of the most meaningful paths we can possibly take.
Meaningful because we step onto a sacred path that can expand our self-awareness through learning and facilitating. Quite simply, we are committing to a path of integrity, to stand strong in our values and our truth, to make a profound difference by supporting others to do the same. The humility of a yoga teacher is balanced with the underlying and unmovable dedication; I see such softness yet immense strength in my community of teachers. This path is a courageous one. I see yoga teachers as true warriors; warriors of peace, in a world of great change.

How do we establish inner peace and balance in a place of community facilitation and responsibility? How do we integrate our new meaningful vocation into our existing everyday lives?

The notion of work/ life balance is an interesting subject when sharing such a personal approach to our ‘work’. After 25 years of teaching; the two are intimately fused, my life experiences inform my teaching and vice versa. Whilst authentic integration is so meaningful, it is not always an easy path.

This integrated lifestyle and the balance of our inner/outer world begins on the YTT. To help us remain focused, we need to never lose sight of the ‘why’ we signed up.

I like to repeatedly ask my students what triggered their decision to train, how do they visualise their ideal setting, structure and purpose of sharing their passion of yoga? How will it deepen their own enjoyment and understanding of life?

There will be moments when this vision is so clear and exciting, particularly at the start and the end of the training. During the journey, the paradoxes and juggles of life will be evident. The sacred and profound will need to be balanced with the study, practice and reflections, home life and family commitments.

Therefore, I would always highlight the importance of being able to self-organise efficiently before the course starts. To allocate time for personal practice and study aside from other responsibilities

This is a good opportunity to set up a distinction between how yoga can feed and nourish us and how we feed and nourish others through yoga.

We need to call upon the wisdom and support of our practice more than ever in our training, to support us in the adjustment from practitioner to teacher.

The many aspects of being a practitioner and a facilitator can easily fuse together as yoga permeates through everything. If we are not careful, we can lose our own practice and experience stress and anxiety trying to apply ourselves to study whilst going about our other life commitments.

This is where the paradox is. Yoga is unifying by nature, it allows us to find equanimity in many opposing forces. This is the beauty of such a sacred life choice as our work is deeply authentic and alive in us. Yet, we also must be able to differentiate our inner needs from what our study or ultimate work path demands from us, otherwise we are in danger of losing ourselves as we learn how to share something so intimate with others.

The training is where we start to figure all of this out.

We are aware of the profound step we have taken, the ‘yes’ in our hearts as we embark on learning how to share what we love. We are then also presented with learning, discussion, study, research, class planning and assessments.