Yoga, I Love You! Let Me Count The Ways.

Is this you? You love your yoga practice so much and you think you’d be lost without it. Whenever you feel “off,” you know a little yoga practice will get you back on track.

You’ve received so many benefits from your practice. Maybe too many to count, some so subtle you can’t even put words to them. You have a vague sense that yoga is limitless.

And you feel like you want more - a deeper practice, a deeper understanding - but you're not sure where or how to get more. Do you need more frequent practice, or perhaps harder classes? Or maybe more workshops is the way to go? Or maybe it’s meditation?

You're kind of thinking you might want to teach yoga, but you're not 100% sure.

If this is you, let’s talk.

Teacher Training is not only for people who want to teach yoga. It’s for anyone who wants to deepen their practice. Teacher Training is right for you if you want to:

• seriously focus on your self care
• sharpen your focus
• be strong and flexible
• understand anatomy and how yoga helps different parts of the body
• learn more than just yoga poses (breathing, meditation, etc.)
• learn about yoga philosophy
• figure yourself out and get clear on your purpose
• learn how to modify the practice for your or others’ specific needs
• share yoga with your friends and family
• cultivate a yogic lifestyle
• invest time in honest self-study
• learn about the history of yoga
• learn the benefits and contraindications of yoga poses and breathing practices

Emily and I recorded a video last week about what goes on behind the scenes at Teacher Training. If you’re considering signing up for Training, you might want to take a gander at it.

We talk about the stages of growth that students experience during our 11 month program. I think the video provides a unique and interesting perspective that may be useful to you.

All my best,

Zelinda

P.S. It’s not too late to sign up for our 2016 Training! Let me know if you’d like to set up some time to chat with me and/or Emily. We’d be more than happy to answer and questions you have.

Yoga Philosophy for Yoga Teachers

In last week’s newsletter we talked about yoga philosophy at a high level, the Eight Limbs of Yoga. This week I’d like to dive in to the first of the limbs, the Yamas, which are ethical guidelines for interactions with other people, and explain the Yamas in the context of the role of the yoga teacher. The Yamas are:

• Ahimsa - non-harm or helping, kindness
• Satya - truthfulness
• Asteya - non-stealing
• Brahmacharya - conservation of energy
• Aparigraha - non-possessiveness

These concepts are familiar and we all know what they mean, but take a moment to think about how they apply in the context of different areas of your own life. And for the purposes of our discussion today, let’s dive a little deeper to what these mean in the context of being a yoga teacher.

Practice Ahimsa (kindness)

• Learn your students’ names. It makes them feel recognized and cared for.
• Offer options and modifications so that no student is injured.
• Encourage students to be kind to themselves in their thoughts.
• Welcome all students.
• Respect privacy.
• Respect personal space and boundaries. Be mindful with hands-on adjustments - both for physical safety and privacy.

Practice Satya (truthfulness)

• Walk your talk.
• Make a true representation of who you are.
• Conduct yourself with dignity and respect.
• Teach what you know. Be honest about what you don’t.
• Ask for guidance or refer out when necessary.

Practice Asteya (non-stealing)

• The world is abundant. The pie gets bigger.
• Your students will find you. There’s no need to poach students from other teachers or studios.
• Respect the start and end times of class to avoid stealing students’ time.

Practice Brahmacharya (conservation of energy)

• Show up ready to teach. Check your baggage at the door.
• Be careful not to over-commit to teaching numerous classes. Over time, the quality of your teaching will suffer. Eventually you can become exhausted and burn out.
• Establish boundaries with your students.
• Do show up to class and be present and prepared to teach. Do teach with caring and compassion, but remember that their issues are their own issues. Your role as a yoga teacher is to lead the practice.

Practice Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)

• Encourage your students to try classes with other teachers. Cultivate their confidence in their own practice so that they feel comfortable trying new things. Do not make them feel dependent on you.

When we think of yoga, it’s the physical practice that is usually top of mind. But as you can see, there is a ton of substance and value in the more subtle aspects of yoga. Yoga philosophy can transform your practice, your relationship with yourself and with others, and even your life.

If this type of learning is of interest to you, consider signing up for our 2016 Yoga Teacher Training program. You can read all about it on our Teacher Training webpage.

And please note that we’ve extended the Early Registration deadline just a bit. Applications received by October 15th are eligible for the Early Registration Discount through October 31st. Email us if you'd like us to send you the application.

All my best,

Zelinda

Yoga: Beyond the Poses

Have you ever thought about whether there’s more to yoga than just the yoga poses? There definitely is! We typically think of yoga as physical practice, the poses. But in fact the poses, or Asanas, are just one of the eight limbs of yoga.

The complete Eight Limbs are:

• Yamas- ethical guidelines for interactions with others
• Niyamas- ethical guidelines for the self
• Pranayama- breathing practice
• Asana- physical yoga poses
• Pratyahara- learning to not reacting to stimuli from the senses
• Dharana- learning to concentrate on a single point of focus
• Dhyana- sustained concentration
• Samadhi- ultimate meditation, becoming one with the object of focus

In our Teacher Training program, we spend the majority of the 200 hours on what our trainees must learn to be able to teach a high quality class: anatomy, asana, therapeutics, class sequencing, modifications, critical thinking, and practice teaching.

But we also devote a good amount of time to additional Yoga Philosophy topics such as the other seven limbs of yoga, the history of yoga, and the Business of Yoga.

We feel it’s important to provide an expansive foundation so that our Teacher Trainees are knowledgable about all aspects of yoga and prepared to answer questions from their future students.

Plus, the broad overview gives our trainees a sampling of and piques their interest in many possible topics and areas of specialization they can focus on after graduation from their 200 Hour Training.

If you’re interested in learning more about yoga, deepening your practice, and/or possibly becoming a yoga teacher, click over and check out our Yoga Teacher Training page.

Our 2016 training class will begin in January. The training is 11 months long, and the classes are held on one full weekend per month. We have the Early Registration deadline quickly approaching on October 15th.

If you’d like to register by October 15th to receive the $200 Early Registration discount, please let us know ASAP so we can answer any questions you may have and send you the Teacher Training Application.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Best regards,

Zelinda

P.S. Stay tuned for next week's newsletter - it's going to be a good one! We're going to explore how the Yamas apply to teaching yoga.