The Axis Yoga Teacher Training Program opens the door to Yoga’s vast traditions to its students. Each student experiments with chosen yogic principles to see how they affect their lives. This student found access to a whole new healthy lifestyle that included some self-acceptance and mental clarity.
Being new to yoga, and I mean really new; only having practiced for a year and very inconsistently. I decided to go into Axis’s yoga teacher training program as a self-practice in hopes of it leading into a career change. I am seeking change in myself. I am seeking clarity and balance in my life. […]
Day one was interesting. I woke up around 8:30am, which is very unusual for me because usually I’m hung over and sleep until noon. So this was good. I went for a run, but not so I can be skinny but so I can get the blood flowing and the juices going. I felt good! […]
By the following Sunday I was confused. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be feeling or thinking. I hadn’t had any “aha moments”. I didn’t feel enlightened or powerful. I felt…normal-ish. I think I let the doubt take over and by Tuesday I hadn’t done my morning asana in three days. My mind […]
Through this experiment I have learned to not judge myself so harshly. I have learned that being sober and quiet is good for my mind and my well being. I have had moments of clarity when I can think back to when I started drinking so much and the reason why it became so prevalent […]
Each student experiments with yogic principles throughout their journey in the Axis Yoga Teacher Training program. This student found valuable insight and personal progress through the application of the yama (observance), aparigraha (no-harm).
When we were first instructed to select a yama or niyama to cultivate throughout our first experiment, I found myself immediately drawn to the yama aparigraha. Aparigraha is often translated as “non-possessiveness, or refraining from hoarding,” and it involves a letting of greed, attachment, wanting, and the desire to own.[1] For me, this idea of […]
I was given a mantra from the Ganapati Upanishad, “Om Gam Ganapataye Namah.” This mantra, a petition for the removal of obstacles blocking our path to success, is also invoked such that we can merge ourselves within Ganesha’s supreme knowledge and peace.[1] It was recommended that I use a mala to chant this mantra 108 […]
Similarly, I was conscious throughout this experiment to remove any competition from my asana practice.[1] Rather than focusing on how amazing virabhadrasana II might make my triceps look if I held it for x number of minutes, I turned my attention to my breath and to the trueness of the postures. Additionally, instead of struggling […]
Last, my inquisition into the systemic perpetuations of “thin as beauty” led me to a place of introspection that I didn’t realize I had been avoiding. Many consumers are conscious of the “airbrush techniques” that lead models to thinner bodies and flawless skin, but we (women especially) forget this illusion of perfection when we are […]