Reflections Yoga is a slow flow vinysasa class, based on feeling the inner body and thus promoting health. It is more of a healing practice than a exercises class.
Its hard to say what actually inspired me to become a yoga teacher. It feels more like a calling now. I never planned to be a yoga teacher and take a yoga certification program. I wanted to become a psychologist. Then I found myself dropping out of my PhD because the pull of yoga, not just asana ,was so true to me. Something deep within me (like a calling) was saying “this is the way to go” and I went.
I took multiple yoga teacher training programs and trained with many well known yoga teachers. I would say my real teacher, the woman who taught me to feel my body and understand its nature was Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen. As a yoga teacher she had an amazing impact on me and really opened the flood gates to becoming a yoga teacher.
My teacher Bonnie. She is one of the deepest yogis I have ever met. She doesn’t teach you anything but guides you to the lessons the body would like to teach. She has an intuitive sense about her which was very subtle and calming and really made my yoga certification experience beautiful.
What was your biggest challenge in becoming a Yoga teacher?
Becoming a yoga teacher was easy for me. It pulled me in. I was asked to teach before I graduated from my first yoga teacher training. What I see is that the new yoga teachers suffer from burn out. They are trying to make a living teaching yoga and find they do more running from place to place then they do teaching. I think it is best to keep a steady income and making the transition slowly in a more sattvic way. This way you don’t add all the stress and burden of “need to make it” right away and you can allow the process of becoming a yoga teacher be a more natural process. It is really helpful to see whatever job you are doing as yoga and meet it from that place … because yoga is a state of mind not how well you can do or teach a triangle pose.
I would say that keeping my own yoga practice has been the real challenge for me as I teach yoga more and more. But I know without my practice I have nothing to teach and nowhere to teach from so I have made it work. Its a dual edge sword but in the end I find my balance.
Becoming a yoga teacher is not that glamorous. You must love it deeply and that isn’t even enough. You must also want to show up for others, meet them where they are and know how to listen. Patience is one of the main ingredients in being a yoga teacher. You cannot always teach what you want to teach but you better serve your students when you teach what they need. Less is more! Showing some restraint and respecting where people are at in their process is crucial. Don’t worry about what you want to teach, focus more on what it is they need to learn now to make it to the next rung in the ladder of their yoga practice. Simply put, remove your ego when teaching yoga.
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Useful Links
Yoga Teacher Training Schools – Are you interested in becoming a yoga teacher and taking a yoga teacher training? Then check out our list of schools from around the world offering yoga certification programs.
Yoga Teacher Training Scholarship – Learn more about our scholarship program where we offer one lucky student the opportunity to win a free yoga teacher training.
Amazing Yoga – Power Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training with Amazing Yoga is an incredible opportunity to learn how to facilitate transformation—physical, mental, and spiritual. You will leave the training radiating and filled with confidence and joy. Whether you aspire to teach, are an experienced teacher or simply want to deepen your practice, this training will empower you. Our trainings are held in exotic locations such as Tulum, Mexico and Costa Rica. Get ready for a full immersion into yoga at the most peaceful and magical places you can imagine. Click here to learn more about Amazing Yoga Teacher Training
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