Image by Adam Broadbent
By Studio Manager, Lydia Richards
So…You’ve finally mustered up the courage to follow your heart and step into the [roller-coaster] ride of your life: a Yoga Teacher Training. Congratulations, decision made, but now comes the challenge: deciding which, of the countless options out there, is right for you?
It’s a big decision. And one that I personally agonised over for many weeks. And, I admit, it’s even harder for those seeking today. I have whiplash just from seeing all the teacher trainings currently on offer around Melbourne and abroad. Which is why, years later, I am drawn to share my own learnings with you in the hope that it may help you to navigate this potentially overwhelming space.
In keeping with my type-A, perfection seeking, over analytical mind, I found myself seated in front of my computer for hours, raking through what felt like hundreds of websites, meticulously researching, watching videos, reading blogs (like this one) and, importantly, talking to Yoga teachers I knew about their own training experience. You’re also probably not shocked to learn that I had created (and colour-coded, obviously) a detailed Excel spreadsheet summarising information on each training option, including teaching faculty, cost and structure – which, in the end, were my three deciding factors.
My deciding factors
Cost
I may as well knock this one on the head now. Early on in the process, I had resigned myself to the fact that a Yoga Teacher Training was going to be a big investment of both my time and money. I knew also, however, that it was to be a huge investment in not only in my own personal development but also my future. I found most to be around the same price, so I guess in the end cost wasn’t a huge factor in my decision making but simply something to consider in the whole process.
Having now as a teacher conducted a number of my own workshops and offerings, I have much more insight into the amount of work that goes into shaping such an experience in a way that is both impactful and meaningful for students. So please bear this in mind before balking at costs associated with something as significant as a Teacher Training program.
While I understand that cost, for some, is a prohibiting factor, my advice would be to not to go with the cheapest training available unless you’ve done your research into the course itself, the teaching faculty, and what experience they’re bringing to the table. If after this, you still have reservations, then perhaps it’s just not the right time for you and you need to keep saving your pennies.
Program + timing
This is an important one. One thing you must understand about yourself before embarking on any kind of learning or education program is: “How do I best learn?”
For example, are you easily distracted and therefore likely to benefit more from an immersive experience where you extract yourself from the reality of your life for a month or so and go deep? Or, are you good at compartmentalising and managing a workload as well as additional learning on nights and weekends? For me, I knew I would benefit from time away from the busy-ness and distractions of my life and that one of my core values is “adventure” and thus opted for a one-month immersion overseas.
The other great thing about an immersion is that it’s a total deep dive. It’s Yoga, all day, every day. Heaven!!! For me, this was one of the most transformational aspects of the process and during this time I formed some of the most unbreakable bonds of friendship that will be carried with me throughout my time left on this earthly plane. Some of these ladies, including my teacher Judit, have continued to be a support for me and I value their openness and love immensely.
But if you can’t manage a whole month away, don’t worry. There are lots of models out there, look for a teacher training that offers an immersion as part of its offering and you will get the best of both worlds!
Also, start to get comfortable with the fact that you might just have to go with the teacher training that fits best into your schedule. Controversial, I know but I’ll be honest, that’s what I did. I had a break between work contracts and already having made the decision to embark on teacher training, I seized the moment and went with the program that suited me time-wise. But not before doing my due diligence on the location, training facilities and of course the teaching faculty.
Teacher
Hands down, my first choice would have been to train with a teacher I knew personally and loved practicing with. I had such a teacher in my life but, unfortunately, she was not yet offering training (so it’s about time you did, Amy!), so I had to look elsewhere. I was already 35 and looking down the barrel of a very daunting career change, so I had to stop procrastinating and jump in.
Me and my first teacher, Amy Leonard-King ✨
The training I finally landed on was in Bali during the month I had off between work contracts. Living costs in Bali I knew would be affordable and it was all looking possible timing wise. The studio where the training was being held looked nice and their administration team, were being very helpful by responding quickly to all of my emails with a tonne of patience and understanding. Everything was looking good. But the teacher! I had no idea who she was!? Eek!
My mind raced, what if I didn’t like her teaching style or approach to Yoga? She was from Hungary, what if I didn’t understand her? Judit, an experienced teacher and trainer of teachers, had already thought of all of this and provided all of her prospective students with a video of her teaching and the opportunity to hook up on Skype to chat and ask her questions.
Had Judit been a teacher local to Melbourne I would have taken myself off and attended a number of her classes before deciding she was a good fit for me. So, if you have the luxury of doing so. Please do. You’ll probably feel straight away whether you mesh or not. Most studios will offer a great introductory offer that you can take advantage of.
Having practiced with Judit a few times via the video supplied, I then jumped onto Skype and connected with the woman that not only would become my teacher but so too, a life-long friend and support.
It was like a first date. I was so nervous, but took the opportunity to ask all the questions burning from deep within. What did her own daily practice look like, what styles of Yoga did she like? What was Yoga to her? How has being a teacher of Yoga changed her?! I wanted to get to know my future teacher as not just a teacher of Yoga but more importantly as a student of Yoga. For me, it is a dedication to sadhana (a spiritual practice) and being able to communicate their dharma(their life’s purpose in a spiritual context) that makes the teacher. And today, I hold myself to that same account.
Your teacher on training has an important role. To be a vessel for the ancient wisdom practices of Yoga to pass through them and to also support you in what will be one of the most transformational experiences of your life.
Be assured, you will change. You will not see the world in the same way as you did before you studied to become a teacher of Yoga. What happens is you start to wake up while most people around you remain half or even fully asleep. You vibrate at a higher level than most of the people in your life and you must do so without judgement or wanting to try to change them.
In his book “The Wisdom of Yoga”, Stephen Cope explains this state as samvega. A way of being in which you start to experience a spiritual urgency to attain liberation from life’s suffering. Ironically, this state brings with it its own level of suffering and so your teacher needs to be adequately prepared on both an emotional and spiritual level to be able to support you through it. And the only way they can do that, is if they too have experienced the transformation.
In the end…
Yes, the program you choose for your first Teacher Training IS important, but it’s not the MOST important decision you’ll make in your teaching career. When you’re lying in bed at night not able to sleep because you’re so daunted by choosing the wrong one, please know that this is likely to be the first of many training courses you will undertake.
Me and my teacher, Judit Varga ✨
My advice is not to hang your whole future as a Yoga Teacher on the first 200hrs or so. There is so much more work to do in order to grow, learn and hone your skills as a student and teacher of these practices.
In the years since graduating from my 200hr Teacher Training, I have undertaken advanced teacher training, trained in three other styles of Yoga and have participated in countless one and two-day workshops with local and international teachers as well as a mentorship program. Not to mention of course my daily practices and scripture study. This next chapter of training will be determined by what kind of teacher you want to become. The first 200hr+ course is the first step on the path towards being in the space to consider such a notion in the future.
Should you decide to make a career out of teaching Yoga, let me assure you, you will never stop learning. Because stopping, well, it creates a deep yearning inside of you that only a true seeker of light and purpose will understand. You become an eternal student of life constantly craving not just the incredible wisdom the practice of Yoga endows you with but so too the time and space to embody the practice and all that it brings so that it becomes you – and you become it.
THINKING OF TEACHER TRAINING?
YC Founder and my teacher Amy Leonard-King, in collaboration with guest teachers, is (finally 😉) offering up a 200/250 Hour Teacher Training based out of our studio in Melbourne’s CBD, starting April 2020. Find out more information here.