Please follow my blog. Share it if you like it. You can post comments or you
can email me at frannytuttyoga@gmail.com.
I am enrolled in Yama Therapeutics 200 hour Yoga Teacher
Program. If you would like to learn more about the program here is the link:
http://yamatherapeutics.weebly.com/
I am going rewind and tell you how and why I choose this
program and why I want to be a yoga teacher.
It will be interesting
to see how my feelings change about what to teach and why teach as I go through
training.
WHY TEACH YOGA RATHER
THAN TAKE YOGA?
I have been practicing yoga for about 5 years. The more I
practice and learn the more I LOVE yoga. I find that yoga allows me to leave my
world and move into a place that nourishes and heals my body and mind and makes me
physically strong and less stressed.
I started thinking about teaching yoga about a year ago. Yoga
helped me get through some tough times. I have not been fit my whole life. About 5 years ago I
made some pretty big changes in the way I take care of myself. I changed my attitude
towards my life and how I wanted to live. I am often encouraging my friends and coworkers and even strangers to find their path to being more fit and live a happier life. I encourage them to take better care of themselves by getting some
kind of exercise. I encourage everyone to love themselves as much as others love them. I am pretty good at motivating folks and helping them feel
good about themselves. I want to help people find the benefits of
yoga. I want to show the whole world (LOL) that yoga is not about being bendy and feeling relaxed!
Right not I am all over the place as to who, when,
and where to teach. After all the whole world is out there waiting!
These are some of the groups of people and places I think I may want to teach:
VeteransHigh School Kids
Athletes
Care Givers in Hospitals
Therapeutic Heeling Yoga for the disabled
Sunrise and Sunset Beach Yoga
NARROWING DOWN THE
YTT PROGRAM THAT WAS RIGHT FOR ME
I had a great pool of resources in my friends. I asked for and received lots of advice from all of them. I have
friends that teach yoga and own studios. I talked to my friends that had been
through YTT and asked them what they liked and did not like about the program
they took. I had Fantasies about taking YTT from a famous yoga teacher such as
Elena Brower or Tiffany Cruikshank.
(I still do ha!) Then I thought about a destination YTT program on some island with a famous teacher. How lovely would
that be? All of that aside I knew that a local program would be the most
reasonable choice for me. I visited yoga studios and took classes from the
teachers that would be my instructors. Each studio and teacher had their own
style and what I call a vibe. Some made me feel warm and cozy and others kind
of rattled me and made me feel uncomfortable. All of the programs I checked out had
very popular YTT programs and a strong following. My mission was to be sure the program
I chose was right for me. Just because my friend loved a program did not mean I would. I also made it clear to my friends not to take my decision personally. I also checked into
the logistics to travel to the studio from work and home, parking etc. All of
those details can make a difference when you have to attend classes for almost
a year.
I found about
Yama Therapeutics thorough a good friend, mentor, birthday twin, and yoga
teacher. I met one of the teachers from Yama at a community yoga class my
friend was teaching. I felt like it was fate that I was at that class that night. I am not sure I would have found Yama otherwise. I went to Yama’s
YTT orientation and felt comfortable with all the instructors, their format and class design. They actually
have 4 teachers, each brings a unique perspective. I liked that the program
is focused on Therapeutic Yoga and not focused a specific style of yoga. Our classes meet
once a week in the evening rather than on weekends. I work full time I spend
lots of my time outside on the weekends fishing, gardening, biking etc. The
thought of giving up my weekends did not make me happy. Meeting once a week was perfect for me!
So my YTT training begins!
YTT WEEK ONE
Our first class
started with Asana. I met the teachers at orientation so I had an idea what
they were like. I was ready on my mat excited, a little nervous and very interested to see and meet the people who would be my classmates
for the next 23 classes. I heard from my yoga teacher friends that during this
experience I will be touched by the relationships I form and that I will make life long friendships. During our first class I was looking around at our group of students. I know you are not supposed to “compare’ in yoga but
it is hard not to. I know I need more practice and training in that area. In all honesty, I was observing not
judging. We are all different and that makes things interesting. Anyway
I during our yoga practice I noticed that no one in my class is super bendy, including me. I just
found that interesting. Not every yogi and yogini is bendy.
We reviewed the
history of yoga and everyone shared why they are in the YTT program and what
yoga means to them. I found the stories to be touching!
We then got in groups of two's and tried to come up with a
definition of yoga. Our mission was to agree on one definition for yoga. It was much
harder than I thought it would be to define yoga and then to agree! We were limited on time and finally had to settle on the best definition we could agree on. We all read our definitions out loud. I enjoyed and agreed with all of
them. They were all unique and showed our love of yoga.
This is what my partner and I
came up with:
Yoga: A mind body
practice to unite with the divine in you and the divine in the universe that
has no starting point or end and involves movement and breath to achieve balance
and clarity.
What is your definition
of yoga?
What is not Yoga?
I started asking
my friends and teachers what they think makes a great yoga teacher.
I will keep posting weekly on this topic.
ADVICE FROM MY YOGIE FRIENDS… WHAT MAKES A GREAT YOGA TEACH
Be true to yourself.
Allow time for your students to feel the pose, do not rush.
Once you students are in a pose allow them to be there and find their edge then
allow them to stay or push further.
Remind your students (and teach tem how) to use their breath
to facilitate movement.
Remember people have busy lives they want to come to a place
where they can let go and enjoy their practice.
Everyone may not be
there to work hard.
Have fun and do not
be too serious.
Smile!
My favorite yoga
teacher reminds that this is my journey and to listen to my body. She has a
very calm, confident nature and watches me in a way that I do not realize she
is ....anticipates where my hurdles may be and works to help improve me in my
practice. She totally amazes me ...I had other instructors that I liked and
some not so...I think because they made class their agenda and not in sharing
the experiences
Teach rather than
lead.
No Judgment!
They make you feel like you are the only one in the whole
class...they take a special interest in you and help you see and work toward
your own goal. Please share your comments on what you think makes a great yoga
teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment