Before I dive into this post, I wish to note that I will be wrapping up these monthly posts at the end of this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed having an opportunity to explore my own practice deeper and the things that I’ve learned from and about yoga over the last several years. Including – in line with this month’s topic – going through two teacher trainings.
As I’ve signed off these posts, these posts reflect my own experiences and opinions only. And with The Mat Yoga Studio planning to offer another 200-hour yoga teacher training, I thought I might offer recollections of my own experience going through teacher training. Other than expecting to learn more about the poses, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I learned there was so much more. Now, it was many years ago that I first went through a 200-hour training, but I continue to carry what I learned through today.
The first thing I think of is the foundation I built for my own practice. Going through teacher training, we spend time with the poses we learn. There are so many little cues that could be offered for little adjustments. It was also helpful to be able to talk about how the pose feels between us students and examine how different cues or adjustments feel (I think this has helped me over the years interpret the cues I hear in a class). We also learned different modifications, which have also aided me over the years in different classes to modify as I may need on a particular day.
Another thing I mention often when I reflect on my time at the studio is the community. That was no different with my teacher training group. We spent many weekends together through the course of the training – and some evenings as a study group over our summer break – and I greatly value that time together and the friends I made that year. My fellow students were so supportive of each other, and it was such a great experience to learn from them and see them teach their practice classes towards the end of that year.
With weekends spread out over the course of a year, teacher training is certainly a commitment. But if it is something you might be curious about, ask questions! Keep an eye out for question-and-answer sessions the studio hosts, or also stop by to talk to one of the teachers about their experiences.
This is the part of a series of posts for The Mat Yoga Studio, sharing my thoughts and observations as a student only. The views and opinions are my own experience.
