After much deliberation I’ve just signed up for my 200 hour Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Training in Bristol, U.K. I’ll be starting in Nov so I’ve a few months before getting started. I simply cannot wait to take my practice up to the next level. I guess I am a bit nervous about what lies ahead. It’s a 9-month course of numerous long weekends so lots of commitment on/off the mat. . I’ve got a full time job and twins to keep me v occupied!
Have any of you done teaxher training? How did you find it? Were you juggling other responsibilities? How did you msnsge? Do you have any top tips to help me prepare?
That’s great! So happy to hear that you’re taking it on. It’s a great process to go through to learn about yourself and your body.
Managing the training, a full time job and twins would certainly be a challenge. You may want to work through what is most important to you and those closest to you so you’re prepared when you need to make sacrifices due to time constraints. That way you have a loose idea of how to make hard choices before they come up.
It is worth all the effort ten fold! I am just starting out on my 300 hour, and it is much different juggling wise than my 200 hour was. I was lucky enough to take a month off and do my 200 hour all at once so was fully immersed in the process. This time I am doing it over 9 months and have 2 little kids, a house and family to keep me busy! I know that it is worth it and all part of the journey! Good luck!
Thanks Fiji and congrats on taking the next step with the 300h course. We’re all on a journey and that’s what’s so exciting, albeit a little daunting starting out on my YTT. It’s what it’s all about though the challenge, progressing with practice. I’ve now attended the 1st 4 day module - I and the other students absolutely loved learning to deconstruct standing poses, scratching the surface on yoga anatomy. It was exhausting but also enlightening and exhilarating. I’m lucky to have such a great course run by Laura Gilmore at Bristol City Yoga. I run lunchtime classes at work nowadays and really noticed a difference in my teaching style this week. I had such positive feedback from the 11 colleagues that joined me. Having you and the rest of the DYWM team to hand online continues to be such a valuable resource to me. I also can’t forget the support I’m getting from my own family in allowing me to develop my practice. Best wishes for your studies and thanks so much for the amazing classes - your new Chakra series is fab.
I took a teacher training course with the British Wheel of Yoga in the mid 90s. You will learn a great deal and cover lots of topics that might not appeal - I hated using the neti pot but we had to experience it! Perhaps if I had sinus trouble I would have welcomed it but I only did what I had to do.
The meditation I loved to the extent that I went on to deepen the practise by going to a Buddhist nun and I still spend more time in meditation than asanas to this day.
Safety has to be your main concern and for that reason I do not give any instruction on neck rolls or double leg lifting/lowering. I have found that only very fit people can do them and most of the people that inquire about yoga are overweight and unfit. You first “classes” will be your fellow students, therefore they will likely all be flexible and know how to breathe. When you get out into the real world, they tend to expect that a lesson or two will have them athletic and skinny.
To pass the course you need to develop skills in lesson planning and time management. Plus how to recognise progress in your students - it is not enough to be able to demonstrate the asanas perfectly.
A “good” lesson will include a suitable (always bear in mind the age, condition and obvious health issues of your students) warm up, forward and back bends, rotations, a balance and an inversion. Then you need a bit of philosophy such as a reading from the Gita, also some pranayama and a relaxation.
Finally, if anyone asks for medical advice please do not give it! Always refer them to a doctor,
Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m now a few months into the course, and in fact part way through my 3rd module (4 day block) where we focused on back bends and sutras presentations today. There has been so much to take in on so many different levels, a lot of which I am just processing in the background, as if i didn’t i have a feeling that my mind would just implode! It’s been such a great course so far though - Laura Gilmore that runs the course at Bristol City Yoga is such a great tutor, and we are all learning so much from her in terms of asana, philosophy, pranayama, meditation and anatomy. I absolutely loved reading the Gita this week, and although at first i thought that writing an essay on it would be difficult, once I had a theme in mind, it flowed, not necessarily easily, but it certainly enabled me to inquire more within myself. I guess this is what I am finding most surprising about the course so far, it’s been so revealing of my self, learning so many different dimensions, and i’m well aware that I’m only scratching the surface!
The biggest challenge is juggling everything - work, home life, teaching, training… there are only so many hours in the day, and it’s making sure I allow enough time and energy for everything. I’ve certainly struggled to find time to write on the forum of late, but I’ll be back in due course
