This is the 6th in a series of interviews with graduates from the Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher training program offered through Body Therapies Yoga Training.

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

Know that it is your journey and it can only be travelled by you.  You must be true to yourself and that means honouring both strengths and limitations.  Like all travels you will forget some of the experiences so keep a journal and remember that the destination is the ability to know your true self.

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

Do not compare yourself to the person beside you.  Yoga can never be a group sport nor a competition.  Yoga can only be about your own personal practice. Anything else and it is not yoga.

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

Yoga has been practised for over 3000 years and it will continue to be practised but I believe the practise of yoga in North America will go through changes until it will find it’s own balance. Yoga is about finding a balance, individually and universally.

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

Absolutely.  It may seem crowded because of the attention it is gaining in every gym and health centre but that is only one very small representation of yoga.  Yoga is about adapting a practise to individual needs.  Yoga can be practised by everyone no matter their limitations.  The very young, the very old, the sick and the healthy, yoga can benefit all.

5. What has the yoga teacher training done for you?
Yoga teacher training has changed the way that I think about myself, about other people and about the journey that I am on.  It has taught me how I must continue to remove the obstacles that I have so carefully constructed around me, obstacles that have prevented me from living in the moment.

We hope you are enjoying reading the experiences of these lovely teachers. If you are,  let us know. And if you’d like to learn more about our Integrative Yoga Therapy yoga teacher training program, check for information send us an email or give us a call at 905-628-6463.

This is the 5th in a series of interviews with graduates from the Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher training program offered through Body Therapies Yoga Training.

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

Create more space in their lives so they have time to do the work on the course and allow it to integrate into their lives.

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

Being a perfectionist

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

It depends on the intention of each teacher and how seriously they take the yoga journey.

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

Each teacher brings their own gifts.

5. What has the yoga teacher training done for you?
It has shown me that yoga literature contains a vast and deep body of knowledge.  As I integrate yoga more consistently in my schedule, I find it is gradually unwinding my body.  As I prepare for the classes before I teach, I continue to learn more about yoga and am happy to share that with others.

Rashné Baetz, Certified Yoga Teacher (IYT), Reiki Master (Usui Shiki Ryoho)
rashne@cogeco.ca
905-628-1140

We hope you are enjoying reading the experiences of these teachers. If you are,  let us know. And if you’d like to learn more about our yoga teacher training program, check for information at www.yogatogo.com and send us an email at heather@yogatogo.com or give us a call at 905-628-6463.

This is the 4th of a series of interviews with graduates from the Integrative Yoga Therapy teacher training program offered through Body Therapies Yoga Training.

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

Homework!!! No seriously… Learn… But more importantly practice. And be enthusiastic about it. In the IYT training there is a lot of information to cover but it’s all important. The more you put in the more you get out. K. Pattabhi Jois says “Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.”

And do your breathing exercises…they help!!
What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must avoid?

Your ego and a closed mind… As a beginner student and teacher trainee I went in with the mentality that Yoga is supposed to be something specific or done in a certain way. The more you learn about this entity known as Yoga, the more you learn that Yoga and everything surrounding it is constantly changing. Our lives are changing… Our philosophies are changing… Yoga done with an open mind will help you to flow and adapt with that change.

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

I would say for some it is a trend but for some it’s a way of life. For me, I give my energy to Yoga and Yoga gives it’s energy back. In the end I believe that those who begin to teach Yoga from a pure intention will be in it for the long journey. But once you start, I can’t fathom how you could ever stop.

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

Yes !!! For sure… Every Yoga practitioner has their own little piece of themselves that they bring to their teaching… People connect with this. No matter how you teach, or what style you teach, you will find students that are attracted to your style and personality of teaching. And the more you can expand your teachings the wider spectrum of students you will attract.

What has the yoga teacher training done for you?

What hasn’t teacher training done for me??? It’s funny because in the beginning of IYT Teacher Training I was all about the Asanas. And I was so stuck in the physical body. I came in with the expectation that we were going to learn how to teach Asana and maybe get into the philosophy a little bit. In some instances I became slightly disappointed in the curriculum because I felt we weren’t focusing on the poses enough. Boy was I wrong!!! One of the most important things that Teacher Training did for me was help me put my ego and expectations aside.

I learned about Yoga and not just Asana. It turned me into a more well rounded and holistic teacher. It taught me that I don’t just do Yoga when I step on my mat and do crow pose or headstand… It taught me that I can “be” my Yoga every minute of every day. IYT gave me the foundation to be a true Yogi and not just someone that teaches poses. Most importantly I learned that maybe I don’t need to try so hard… especially in Standing Half Moon. Thank you Heather for everything… and I do mean everything.

Steve Ferrell RYT, PTS
Teaches Group and Private Yoga/ Personal Trainer/ Boot Camps
(905)297-7318
steveferrell23@gmail.com
www.ifreeyoga.blogspot.com

If you are interested in becoming a yoga teacher, check for information on www.yogatogo.com and send us an email at heather@yogatogo.com or give us a call at 905-628-6463.

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.

What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must do?
Expect the Unexpected!
Share your experience with your loved ones – this will help shape and strengthen your support network. The more aware they are, the easier it will be for them to listen and be there for you.

What is one thing that every yoga teacher trainee must avoid?
Forgetting that boundaries and finish lines do not exist when one is learning. Wholehearted dedication to self study and personal practice will harvest the best reward.

We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.–Ben Sweetland

Is being a yoga teacher just trendy or is it here to stay?
For some, it is a trend and one cannot judge the path that those are travelling. With luck those individuals will meet a teacher who will share the traditions and origins of yoga that have withstood time. As the stability and history of yoga is understood it is then obvious what amazing gifts a teacher can give to the world around them and within.

Can a yoga teacher still be successful if they are in a crowded niche?
If the teacher remains true to themselves, then yes, they will be successful. Every individual has unique gifts to offer and likewise there are special people waiting to receive them.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.--Albert Einstein

What has the yoga teacher training done for you?
The training has opened my heart and inner courage to pursue my dreams for a full and healthy life. It has allowed me to become more comfortable in my own skin.

Laura Young, Burlington, Ontario   LOGANL@dal.ca

I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree’s way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.–May Sarton

Laura Young graduated in 2008 through Body Therapies Yoga Training, Hamilton, Ontario. www.yogatogo.com