Traits of Yoga Teacher Training Students

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There are lots of yoga trainings in Denver. Each with its own approach and clientele.  Here is a traits of yoga teacher training students that resonate with us. And, in full disclosure, the qualities that don’t.

  • Yoga is not a fad for you. 
  • You want to teach yoga (formally or informally). You know that life can be impossibly overwhelming. People struggle to manage their emotions, feel trapped within their lives, and spiritually depleted.  Yoga helped you to address all of that and it can help others as well.
  • You are easy going, friendly, giving and supportive of one another. You can get on board with a culture of ‘service’ and ‘support’.
  • Value being punctual, and starting class on time out of respect for your peers. You participate in classes and workshops by asking questions and even challenging some of the ideas presented.
  • You have a home practice (in some capacity) and want the most of each class.

Other Traits of Yoga Teacher Training Students…

  • You are willing and able to complete assigned papers and readings.
  • Crave to know yourself more fully and to be inwardly resourced when facing the challenges of life. You stretch into new territory and the discomfort that may go along with that
  • You regard the roots of the yoga tradition. You want classic teachings beyond common cliches such as “this practice is for you”.
  • You have a genuine interest and curiosity about yoga beyond simple asana. Asana is a means to a much greater end that includes stability, equanimity, and spiritual development.

And we have a special place in our hearts for people who…

  • You desire conversations and philosophies with depth. You value wonder and mystery more than “knowing things”.  Our yoga training content is multidimensional.
  • You can be open, honest and self-reflective and are willing to be vulnerable.
  • If I ran into you at  Natural Grocers (Vitamin Cottage), at the Tattered Cover bookstore, we could strike up a nice conversation
  • You are dubious of excessive technology and excessive materialism.
  • A rich supportive community of like-minded seekers is your jam
  • You care about the welfare of the underserved and may want to bring yoga to those communities. You resonate with underground movements that do a lot of good although they don’t get much recognition. 
  • Appreciate that we are a good-hearted and small business. Some administrative details will feel more like a drive through a scenic country road than mainlining on the interstate.
  • You continue to seek balance in your life between your own needs offering help to others.

The following kinds of people are not a good fit:

  • People who are not interested in introspection and just want the yoga teacher training certification
  • Principally want to study yoga as a form of exercise, and no interest in the entire scope of yoga, including spiritual or personal growth
  • Habitually late, and have minimal regard for the collective learning environment
  • Are better suited for a luxury cruise liner than being on a sail boat working side by side with their peers actively contributing to complete the journey together
  • Dependent on technology and could not envision a class, a 10-minute break, or even shavasana without checking their phone
  • Have no interest in personal development.
  • Are exceedingly dependent upon mobile devices. They could not see themselves getting through a lecture, or even a 10-minute break without logging in.

Ever studio has its own culture and set of expectations. These traits of yoga teacher training students offer a clear indication of whether or not our program is a good fit for you. Go with a program that most resonates.

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Yoga Pulled You Through Hard Times

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It’s always fascinating to hear how people got into yoga.  For some the process was quite gradual. For others it was a more immediate and affirmative knowing.  “I did not even know it was possible to feel this way!?” For others the road to yoga may have been more rocky and could generally be classified into one of five ways.   Perhaps yoga pulled you through hard times:

  • A Traumatic Event: For some this was a difficult divorce, ending a significant relationship, or an accident. Something has changed their lives forever and they can’t go back to how it was before. Yoga has provided shelter, healing and renewed hope and they want to build on that foundation and perhaps teach others.
  • Burned Out: Whether it’s being a social worker who is continually exposed to the plight of so many, a parent or caregiver (or just an over-giver), many people come to us depleted.  The stress of “trying to keep it all together” has become too much. Maybe they are looking for a career change. They may also come to us in malaise or even depression. They are ready to fill their cup for a change (and not feel guilty about it).
  • Wound Up: Others have come to us with unwanted anxiety, a stressful job,  feeling trapped, questioning if they will ever “be enough”, or generally frustrated with life.  They want to know how to regulate their emotions.
  • Physical Situation: a persistent health issue, sports or dance related injury, body image concerns, or general bodily discomfort. While we won’t promise any miracles and we are here to support one in feeling greater ease and vitality in one’s own skin.
  • Conscious Life Shift: Some have felt lost and without a compass. Others have overcome an addiction, a career change, a recent move or some other big life shift.   The timing seems right and they are ready to mature spiritually and finally do that yoga teacher training that they have been waiting for.

Regardless of the issue, yoga has pulled you through hard times.  Perhaps it even healed you.

If it is, and you’re considering our Denver based yoga training, here’s some of what we’ve learned over the years about who is and is not best suited for the program. 

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Yoga and Intention Reactivation

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The dust and confetti of the holiday season has finally settled and perhaps you have gotten some traction on your intention for 2019.  Mine is/was to give up sugar for 40 days. However, the path of living into a new lifestyle is rarely a straight line. More often than not, affecting life changes is a much more messy process.

The seductive voice of comfort and convenience can creep in and derail our deeper knowing and higher aspirations.  In the words of the famed warrior, Arjuna, in the infamous yogic text the Bhagavad Gita:

The mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate, O Krishna.
It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind.

So how do we get a grip on our detracting desires and live into our higher aspirations? And more specifically, how can yoga help us with that?

On a physical level, yoga postures (and meditation) have been scientifically demonstrated to re-pattern the neural structures and pathways in the brain as well as correlate structures in the heart and gut, each of which has a unique intelligence.  

Yoga can unlock stuck psychological patterning on a neurological level – something like untangling a knotted ball of twine and rolling it back up again, neat and organized.

There are many stories of yogis who willfully embraced extreme disciplines to arrive at a transcendental boon.  Parvati ate nothing but leaves for years to win the hand of Lord Shiva, Arjuna vowed to avenge his fallen son before sundown or take his own life, Gandhi fasted and performed other acts of austerity to strengthen his resolve for an independent India.

Maybe you are not out to marry a god, make a mortal vow, or to topple an empire but you can move towards your higher-self.  This requires a willingness to trade in something of lower value for something of higher, yet unknown value.

Here are four simple suggestions to help you to reassemble any bygone resolutions for the new year or simple take up a new direction for your life.    

Choose Your Battles
What’s the one thing that you can embrace, or let go of, that is going to give you the greatest return on your effort?  If you try to make too many changes on many fronts you are far less likely to succeed. For me, that one thing was giving up sugar.  In part the benefit has come from not eating a toxic substance but the other part is that it has forced me to eat far less processed food.  Which in turn has led to much more emotional and energetic stability.

Practice skillful-means.  Be selective about what changes you want to make and find one simple act that can foster those changes.  Maybe you want to take the task in parts.

Make Incremental Changes
People can cook up an overinflated version of who they think they should be.  Book stores and libraries line their shelves with texts espousing the virtues of being a ‘Bad Ass’. And the latest seminar promises it all: wealth and glory.  Grandeur can often be a toxic mimic of our true place in the world and within ourselves. Perhaps authenticity is more powerful and real than boundless desire.

Sustainable change is much more gradual than sensational.  We see this in nature, the sun moves just slowly enough to be imperceptible; yet we know it is moving by watching the shadows slowly bend in its light.  All life lives in relationship to the sun.

On a psychological level the mind has many self protective mechanisms, many of them unconscious, that easily rebel when they perceive the unknown coming down the road.  Part of us wants to change while other parts stand ready to put on the breaks.  Transformation is less about conquest and more about patience and consistent effort.

Get Support
Another part of the great American mythology says that we must do everything by ourselves, to triumphantly brave adversity and arrive at our personal promised-land.  In fact, you are far more likely to be successful with the support of the tribe. Many people are not fully aware of the degree to which they are isolated and lack the perspective of outside eyes.

Is there someone who is close to you that you can confide in, and start to bridge your intention from your head and into the world.  Even social media could be a possible outlet for getting some collective support and accountability. Or better yet, get the support of a dedicated group of peers.  This could be colleagues at work or some circle that shares the values that you are trying to create for yourself.

Practice Yoga
Yoga has been proven, time and time again, to move the needle away from self-sabotaging behaviors and replace them with more positive ones.  Think of it as having a magic power. And if you water the seeds of this magic power regularly, it will grow. Whether we are trying to sleep better or give up drinking, yoga can help, particularly when given guidance from an expert teacher.

Of these four recommendations I would recommend the last one, practicing yoga, the most.  Followed by getting support. Practicing yoga in a committed circle of peers, under the guidance of a advanced teacher, will nurture your intentions in ways that you are currently not present to.  What’s more it will safely open the door into new realms of possibility.

Much of the year is yet to come and I invite you to gradually foster a more joyful version of yourself for your own benefit and for the benefit of those who surround you.

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What Does Yoga Say About Life Off the Mat?

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Traditionally, yoga was offered freely in service of the welfare of the whole creation. As students and teachers of yoga, how do we live in alignment with this noble ideal and still pay the bills? How do we live in attunement with yogic principles and fulfill our responsibilities?

Classic yoga offers a method -Karma Yoga.

Most of us are familiar with the word “karma”, it literally means “action”. The word “yoga” refers to a means of spiritual development. Karma yoga is the “yoga of selfless action”.

Typically we perform actions with some degree of self centeredness:

  • If “I” purchase this new car, I will gain great social prestige.
  • If “I” buy this person roses, they will love “Me”.
  • If “I” do handstand in the middle of the room, everyone will think “I AM” Awesome!

It is difficult to not get emotionally invested in our efforts, to expect a certain result and become identified with that result. This will result in one of two outcomes; either disappointment or a temporary sense of self-satisfaction.

Karma yoga asks us take a different approach, to set aside our agenda and act impartially, without attachment to the final outcome.

Acting impartially is not to be confused with apathy. As a yogi, it is necessary to perform actions wholeheartedly, just without getting “stuck” or “attached” to the outcome. Perform all actions for the actions sake alone.

Karma yoga has more to do with the spirit in which we perform actions and has less to do with the outer circumstances surrounding our activity.

One could be working in Mother Teresa’s ashram in Calcutta, tending to the needs of destitute people, all the while thinking about how awesomely selfless they are, and miss out on karma yoga. Or, perhaps someone acts as a farmer who tills the earth in service of the people who will eat the food, accepting a “good” or “bad” crop with equanimity.

The main idea is to recognize any ingrained selfish motive when performing actions and dedicate all actions in service of the highest good.

Application

Just like asana practice, karma yoga is a practice. Karma yoga gives a point of reference in which we can bring the spirit of yoga to all of our actions (including practicing and teaching yoga). It will shine the bright light of self awareness into our activity and can be practiced at every moment.

It does not have to be perfect from the get go – it rarely is.

Learning how to recognize our own motive and choose to live in a universal way is an ongoing process one that will bring greater peace to the world and, in the great cosmic equation, benefits all (including you :)

200 Hr. YTT Open House – Aug. 13

Come find out more about Axis Yoga’s ongoing yoga teacher trainings. This will be a great opportunity to experience a class, meet graduates, get your questions answered and get a taste of what Axis is all about!

Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017    9:30-11am
Sixth Ave. UCC – Upstairs
3250 E. 6th Ave, Denver – 80206

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Denver’s Free Guide to Evaluating Yoga Teacher Trainings – Free Guide & Worksheet

Denver's Ultimate Guide to Evaluating Yoga Teacher Training Programs with Studio Comparison Worksheet10 MUST-ASK Questions Before You Pick A Program in Denver

Some have called Colorado the mecca of yoga. And as the popularity of both yoga and Colorado have grown, the number of certified yoga teacher training programs have skyrocketed. A quick internet search will turn up dozens of training programs throughout the Denver-Metro area. But it can be challenging to determine which yoga teacher training program is right for you.

To help make this process easier, we have created a free guide to Evaluating Denver’s Yoga Teacher Training Programs that includes 10 must-ask questions and a bonus worksheet you can use to evaluate the programs you are considering.

The answers to these questions will not only narrow down your search, but will also help guide you to the training program that meets your specific needs as a yoga practitioner and future yoga teacher (if you choose to go that route).

A representative from the Denver program that you are considering should be available via email, phone or even face-to-face through open house events. If you are having difficulty getting your questions answered, this could be a sign that the program may not be a good fit.

Print and fill out the comparison worksheet at the end of this guide to help make narrowing down your selection easier. With the answers to these questions, you can find the Denver yoga teacher training program that best aligns with your values and aspirations.

Remember that the benefits of your training will feed you well for the rest of your life, far beyond the length of the program. I’m excited for you and the amazing journey you are about to embark upon. Namaste.

Click Here to Download Free Guide to Denver’s YTT Programs + Bonus Worksheet 

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Bringing Spirituality to Class

People find their way to Yoga through many avenues. Some through meditation. Some through breath work. Some through spiritual study. And many, like the student in this account, through a physical asana practice. The posts below describe an experiment to deepen a physical Yoga practice to include more of Pantajali’s eight limbs of Yoga.

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Bringing Spirituality to Class: Background and Hypothesis

In the West, most people equate “doing yoga” with asana practice.  However, yoga as a system encompasses much beyond this.   As Patanjali outlines in the Yoga Sutras, the Ashtanga-based system of yoga is comprised of eight limbs, with asana being one.   When combined together, these eight limbs are primarily designed not to enhance physical strength, flexibility and endurance, as many Westerners who “practice yoga” believe, but rather to provide a pathway to spiritual enlightenment by facilitating connection with the divine.

Prior to the teacher training, I like many in the West, experienced yoga primarily through studio-based asana classes.  Because such classes tend to focus on the physical aspects of yoga, and minimize, or many times completely ignore, yoga’s spiritual aspects, I was surprised to learn through the teacher training that “doing yoga” is actually mainly a spiritual venture.  You don’t even have to sweat!

As I have progressed through the Axis training, I have become more and more interested in the idea of teaching yoga to others.  I view the lack of emphasis on spirituality in studio-based classes a potential need in the local yoga community that would be satisfying as teacher to provide, and hopefully also useful to students.  Thus, one of my aspirations as a yoga teacher is find ways to bring the spiritual experience of yoga to people “doing yoga” in studio-type settings.  Similarly, as a yoga student I aspire to find ways to personally experience greater spiritual connectedness when participating in a studio-based yoga class, no matter how much or little the teacher emphasizes this aspect of yoga practice.

Given this, the goal of my experiment was to test the effect of introducing different actions, practices or thoughts during studio classes to see how they impacted my spiritual experience of yoga.

Hypothesis: Some actions, practices or thoughts will enhance my spiritual experience of yoga more than others during studio-based classes.

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Bringing Spirituality to Class: Methods

At the beginning of the experiment I brainstormed a list of different activities (see Table below) that I could try in order to enhance the spiritual connectedness I felt during a typical studio-based yoga class. My usual asana class schedule is three times a week (outside of Axis training times), split between Core Power Yoga and Advanced Asana classes at Samadhi. I systematically went through the activities listed in the Table during the asana classes I participated in throughout the weeks of the experiment (including both at Axis training and studio classes). Following each session I journaled about how the various activities affected me spiritually.

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Bringing Spirituality to Class: Results

The Table below lists the different activities that were tried during the experiment period and their results.  NE = not effective, SE = somewhat effective, VE = very effective.

 

Table.  Spiritual Activities Tried During the Experiment, and Their Impact

Activity

Where   Tried

Results
Bringing   “prayer hands” to third eye instead of heart

Samadhi

Axis

VE
Devotional   focused practice

Axis

VE
Prone   supplication during practice

Core Power

VE
Doing   asana practice with eyes closed

Core Power

Axis

VE
Using   Anjali mudra during practices as much as possible, even if not cued by   instructor

Samadhi

VE
Meditating   after asana practice

Core Power

SE
Setting an   intention to honor God during practice

Core Power

SE
Picture of   religious icon next to mat during practice

Samadhi

SE
Saying a short   prayer with each down dog hold

Samadhi

NE
Meditating   before asana practice

Core Power

NE

 

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Bringing Spirituality to Class: Discussion

Overall I found this to be a very useful experiment as I was able to identify some simple maneuvers that I can take with me into any studio-based class to enhance my spiritual experience.  This experiment also prompted me to think in depth about how I might, as a yoga teacher, incorporate some spiritual practices into my classes, being mindful of creating an environment that is not threatening, and meets people wherever they are spiritually.

Based on this experiment I plan to continue to use Anjali mudra, prayer hands at third eye, and prone supplication throughout asana classes I attend.  It is heartening to know that these three simple actions can increase my spiritual connection in any asana class environment, even during classes that are highly physical (my favorite type!)  In addition, the devotional practice that Brenna introduced was a lovely experience and one I plan to do periodically do on my own. I would love to share a devotional practice similar to what Brenna taught with others.  Thank you for introducing me to it!!!

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