Zero Pressure Yoga Teacher Training
Take a deep dive into all things yoga… without taking a yoga teachers’ training. By Vidya Heisel
Reading time: 4 minutes
Yoga has transcended its traditional boundaries and evolved into a widely practiced art form with profound implications for physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Many practitioners are drawn to delve deeper into yoga’s philosophy, history and postures without necessarily aspiring to become a yoga teacher.
I have had many students join a YTT course simply because they have yearned to know more about yoga. Most YTTs have schedules that include a lot of applied anatomy and teaching practice, which may be too much information for students that are not planning to become teachers. But up until now, there haven’t been many other options for deepening your practice.
During Covid-19, I designed an online version of our YTT and I ran the programme several times. As a long-time trainer, I didn’t enjoy the online trainings as much as the live ones. I love the immersive journey of a live, in-person intensive and although we did include some interactive live sessions, I concluded that the old-fashioned offline training was more rewarding for both the students and myself.
I have thought a lot about live vs online training. I believe learning online can be great, if what you are looking for is a deeper understanding of yoga, as opposed to the ongoing assessment, encouragement and critique present in live training, which I find difficult to replicate online.
Online modules from YTTs can serve as invaluable resources for anyone looking to deepen their understanding and practice. This ‘a-ha’ moment led me to redesign my own online YTT, so instead of all topics of the training being mixed together (replicating the live training), it is now divided into different standalone modules for people who simply want to go deeper into a specific topic. These cover areas such as the history and philosophy of yoga, and how to integrate it into daily life; how to meditate; how to practice different types of pranayama; or gaining a more in-depth understanding of postures, correct alignment and modifications.
By accessing these modules, practitioners can enhance their knowledge of yoga philosophy, refine their postures, delve into meditation, and integrate yogic principles into daily life — without having the pressure of having to teach.
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
