1. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must do?

Be committed to learning.  Be open to new knowledge.  Be committed to having a personal practice.

2. What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must avoid?

I think it’s important to be enthusiastic but I also believe to have longstanding interest, there must be practice on a daily basis.  Thus, as everyone gets excited about starting new things, I think it’s important for a yoga teacher trainee to avoid jumping on the band wagon and denouncing other beliefs and other experiences they may have had that led them to the program in the first place.  I think it’s important that learning is a process and that it’s a journey.  Learning happens throughout life and these 10 months are just the beginning of that journey.

3. Is being a yoga teacher just trendy or is it here to stay?

I believe for some it is trendy but I also believe that there are those where the principles are so clear to them that they’re here to stay!

4.  Can a yoga teacher still be successful if they are in a crowded niche?

Yes, I believe that each teacher brings to their teachings something unique to them.  They will then attract those who need that uniqueness in their lives.

5. What has the yoga teacher training done for you?

It has made me very proud.  It has made me very happy.  This was something I have always wanted to do.  It has also made me very thirsty to learn more.  It has also made me very aware that I am more on the path to finding my true self then just the practice of physical asanas.

Kathy Leung Degen, B.Sc (PT)
Registered Physiotherapist
Osteopathy – Thesis Candidate

Kathy Degen graduated in 2009 from Body Therapies Yoga Training, Hamilton, Ontario.