Why do I want to become a yoga teacher?When I was first introduced to yoga years ago, I did not immediately fall in love with it. I was not consistently moved by my own “needs” or “wants” to do the exercises. My practice was on and off, and I experienced a long pause and procrastinations in between. However, as time went by, the feeling of “needs” and “wants” to yoga grew considerably.
I enjoyed the benefit of yoga in the aspects of mental, physical, and spiritual. First, I learned to listen to my body. My ears opened up to understand what the body was trying to say, whether it stiffed or whether it wanted to go any deeper. Then, I started befriending to myself. I turned within, started building more respect and love to myself. Amazingly, I found so much in the world of “Me”, so much to explore inside. Yoga is indeed a journey to self-discovery.
I became mentally and physically healthier and stronger. In additions, yoga helps me celebrate life in each moment, in the good and the bad times; in the smooth and rocky pathways; in success and failure. I began to understand that it was alright to experience the taste of bitterness in life. Thus, when life turned sour, instead of hibernating in pain, I would learn to appreciate it as an opportunity to grow and to be spiritually mature. Since then, if tears were rolling down on my face it would be only the tears of bliss, the tears of joy, the tears of happiness; not those of sorrow or sadness.
Well, those were the times when I practiced yoga for my own achievement or goals. Now, while I am grateful for indulging the benefit of doing yoga, the Universe Bell is ringing for me to address my call, my dharma. The time has come for me to move from making use of yoga for my own into helping others and making a difference to a wider scope. I have burning desires to share my passion for yoga and spread to other people the joy of doing yoga and the huge benefit it offers. I am passionate about inviting people to find their true nature and move towards supporting wellbeing. These strongly motivate me to become a yoga teacher.
There are a wide range of yoga practices introduced by different teachers. I believe that all yoga teachers are inspiring in their own way, style or method. One is not necessarily better than others and they are not to be compared. However, in my home-practice, I usually follow Shivananda yoga style. Shivananda Yoga includes a set of 12 basic yoga postures, pranayama, and meditation. I love the five simple principles which rule out the method of Shivananda Yoga: proper exercise (asana), proper breathing (pranayama), proper relaxation (savasana), proper eating (vegetarian), and positive thinking (shivadanta) and meditation. These simple rules cover everything you need to promote the physical, mental, and spiritual well being. Moreover, what I found appealing and suitable to me is the gentle move in this style. Shivananda Yoga is one of the largest yoga schools in the world.
I choose to take the course at Shakti Spirit Yoga School, which will be conducted in Bali. As a Balinese, I am grateful that one of the yoga instructor training courses is offered in Bali. Certainly, if I can have the course in my home island, I do not think of having it outside Bali. Not for the reason of being narrow minded or not wanting to explore the other part of the world and mingle with the locals of different culture, but I simply consider the potential opportunity costs, not only economically, but also environmentally. That is, having the course in Bali, I can save the travelling expenses for flight, accommodation and the kinds, and at the same time I can minimise the opportunity of contributing CO2 foot print produced by my overseas travelling activities. Furthermore, in term of quality, I do not have even a drop of doubt of all participating yoga schools in this competition. Certainly this respective event is organised by such a credible and well established organisation in which quality is not questionable.
Yoga is much more than a physical stretching or discipline. By uniting the body, mind, and breath, one would tune inward, create awareness within, and build inner connections. These are the importance gifts of yoga that I eagerly want other people to enjoy. I will start my move from my little home town. My first step would be to invite my neighbourhoods to practice together. The second one, a little bit further than the first move is to introduce yoga to schools and college which are located closely to my home. Kids and teenagers are the future of the world. Introducing yoga in the early years (teenagers in particulars, as they are having tough transition periods in terms of emotions and physical), will be advantageous in helping them finding their potentials within. Having the belief that one will never be poor by giving and serving, these introductory programs will be offered voluntarily or at the most, will be based on donation. Next, when the Universe gives the green lights on the opening of my own studio, I will expand my yoga activity to a wider community. With my yoga classes, I will encourage people to come and practice. The following agenda after that will be to focus on pre-natal yoga. The rationale for this agenda is again about the future of the world which is on the hands of the kids. Thus, the wellbeing of a pregnant mother is very important to the kind of future baby she will give birth. Furthermore, the social conditionings have continuously hypnotised people to focus on the achievements on material and external comforts instead of internal joy. In pursuing such misleading achievements many people become miserable. People suffered from their own desires. Yoga is the key to cope with such situations. Those who are facing turbulence in life and those who are enjoying a fine life can both get benefit from yoga. Yoga and meditation are significant to an individual achievement of making peace within. Accordingly, the individual peace is significant to creating the world peace. After all, if yoga offers such a precious gift in the mental, physical, and spiritual aspect, my gift to the world will be to perform my duty and my dharma as a yoga teacher; to share and help people to connect to a higher aspect of their selves and improve their quality of life mentally, physically, and spiritually.
2012 Yoga Scholarship Essay
By: Nana Trianasari
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