Yoga Teacher Training: Weekend #2

Is it weird to feel invigorated after 20+ hours of yoga teacher training?  I would expect to feel drained and tired, but after what I learned, my mind feels open and I want to learn more.  I don’t know what I expected when I signed up for this, but I’m amazed by how much sense everything makes!

This was my first full weekend of yoga teacher training and I don’t even know where to start to convey a snapshot of the weekend. 

It began with June teaching us about Agni Sara which means fire essence in Sanskrit and is also called the “master practice”.  We attempted to do this in two different ways. The first way involved standing with our hands on our knees and we worked on the engagement of our pelvic bowl and the slow “rolling” of our stomach in conjunction with our inhales and exhales.  We did the same method in table top as the 2nd version. I find it amusing how difficult some poses and practices can be when people make them look effortless.

Saturday was spent working on standing poses and counter poses.  We practiced teaching and refining our movements and language and worked on getting a student both in and out of the pose.  The knowledge I gained from this class alone has made me a better yoga student.  I am much more aware of my alignment and the proper feel of a pose.  One of the biggest hurdles for me is not getting caught up in the minutiae of a pose and better present the big picture of a pose. 

Sunday we spent more time going over standing poses but we delved into Chakras midway through.  For me, it is truly eye opening to see how logical yoga is.  I usually try to approach new concepts with a scientific mind.  I like to understand the why behind concepts, and information that is not grounded in science or logic is either not represented correctly, or is completely made up.  This is not the case with Yoga.  For example, for the most part, the chakras are directly aligned with the spinal cord, which is a hub of nerves and energy.  That the chakra’s correlate almost directly with the spinal column is so logical to me, that I am able to embrace the more spiritual nature of Yoga without the cloud of doubt that had previously followed me.  I wish I could go back in time and “discover” yoga at an earlier age.

We ended our session by working on diaphragmatic breathing exercises and it was so relaxing I almost fell asleep!  It was a mindful end to the weekend’s training which helped me further absorb the weekend’s lessons and experiences. I’ve enjoyed each training session more than the last, so I can’t wait ‘til next month to deepen my knowledge and understanding of something that is now so large a part of my life. 

~Laura