Yoga Teacher Training: A Ton of Stuff I Wish I Had Been Told
Photography by Nik Linde
So you want to do a yoga teacher training? There’s some stuff you should know.
1) THERE WILL BE TEARS. Yes you will learn anatomy and Sanskrit but you’re also going to take a really good look at yourself. You’re going to dive head first into deep self-study. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to start off training by feeling like you’ve seriously got your shit together. You’ll likely walk out questioning everything about the attachments that you’ve chosen for years to create your own identity. Ditching your ego slice by slice is brutal work. Know that going into it and most importantly don’t run from it.
2) AGAIN, THERE WILL BE TEARS. Yoga asana has this insane ability to tap into every layer of our being. Try a huge chest opener and your heart no longer feels protected. Then BOOM, just like that you’re vulnerable. I’m telling you now that you can expect this. Your physical and emotional bodies are going to merge. Allow it. Eat that shit up, its so good for you!
3) Own your story. Yoga training asks that you give it a little pinch off your heart. People are going to share things. You are going to share things. Then you’ll start to realize how much trauma lives in a room when you’ve cultivated the space for that kind of openness. This is the work that I find most necessary about teacher training; creating space for the stuff that so often goes unsaid. It becomes a space for the really heavy stuff to finally come out in a room full of people sitting with you in strength. Just listening. That’s where the healing happens. Although I can’t promise that the training is going to heal all of you, I can promise that you will leave a changed person.
4) THE WORK IS NEVER DONE. Finishing your 200 hour yoga teacher training is a huge feat. Bask in it and seriously allow yourself to feel like you’re on top of the world for a bit. Celebrate your first time teaching, no matter how many times you said left when you really meant right. Then learn from it. It’s crucial that you keep teaching and practicing. You must keep expanding on the knowledge sourced from all kinds of inspiration and teachers in your life. As a reminder, your teachers are everywhere. DO NOT NEGLECT THE WISDOM BEING HANDED TO YOU even if its not coming to you in a studio or class setting. Little hints of what sparks your dharma are what you will be able to elegantly fold into every class you teach in order to craft your work in a way that truly evokes your spirit. When you never stop learning, you will always be teaching from your heart.
5) When you’re nervous about teaching remember to ditch your ego. Teach from a heart forward space knowing tha its not about you.
6) There’s going to be times at the very beginning, maybe in the middle too, where you feel like a total impostor. This is called imposter syndrome. I’m a white, middle class, millennial teaching yoga in the mountains. Yes, sometimes I feel like a god damn imbecile. OWN IT. Laugh at yourself. In the beginning I would even tell people how I’m a new teacher, expressing the gratitude I had for them for just showing up for me as I learn. It doesn’t have to be shameful. I needed someone to tell me this. You might teach 100 classes before you’re feeling even 80% confident. Roll with it.
7) This last one is a rule my teacher taught me and it’s an important one. Don’t use the Sanskrit terminology unless you are saying it right. Simply put: if you can’t pronounce it, don’t butcher it in class. Honor the tradition. Enough said.