Apr
22

How To Choose Your Yoga Teacher Training

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Choosing to do your Yoga Teacher Training is an investment in your future. And, like any good investment decision, it’s good to know your options and what things to consider to make the best choice for you.

How long will it take me?
200 hours is pretty standard for your first YTT. Consider if you can invest all of that at once (in a 4 week training program) or if you’d prefer to do it over the span of a year. Don’t forget that pre-requisite readings or assignments may also need to be done before the training itself begins.

Do I go away or stay close to home?
Sometimes it’s great to get away and be fully immersed in a new culture while studying to be a yoga teacher. A residential experience can be a nice change of pace. Since its a transformational experience, you may also prefer the comfort of your home and support system nearby (and saving those vacation days for another adventure).

Who’s going to teach me what?
This was the most important factor for me. Do you want to know the teacher you’ll be studying under? Is there a particular style or lineage of yoga that really resonates with you? Consider taking a training from someone you really respect, or comes highly recommended by a teacher you trust, that teaches a style (or multiple styles) you enjoy. Ask your favourite teachers who they studied with to start getting an idea of where you may start your research.

What else do I want to learn?
If it is a Yoga Alliance certified teacher training, there are set requirements it must follow in terms of content to cover. That being said, each training has an emphasis on different elements of being a yoga teacher. Know what you want to learn before signing up to ensure you are going to get what you are looking for from the training. The training I’m taking with Radiantly Alive in Ubud, Bali, for example, has an emphasis on personal development, clean eating, and instructing sequences. Others I looked in to focused on communication style, meditation, music and dance, etc. Know that your options are vast in this area!

How much will this cost me?
The price tag of your training will depend on how you answered the above questions. It can vary from around $600 – $8000. Know that you’re a worthwhile investment, and that you have the ability to create the resources you need to make it happen, if you really want it. Let your budget support your experience, rather than limit it.

The secret perk
At the end of the day, what is really making my training a complete blast are the people that I am studying with. They were complete strangers to me a week ago and it feels like I’ve known them for months now. That part of the experience you’ll just have to leave up to the Universe to provide for you.

And, if you don’t think you’re ready to become a yoga teacher yet, if you read all the way to this part of the post, you probably are.

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Apr
20

Shining Bright

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When things get challenging, it’s easy for me to give up.
Heated conversations can be walked away from instead of being dealt with.
I can come out of a difficult backbend instead of breathing through it.
I can also end wavering relationships, or write off annoying people, before I actually work on our partnership.
These are all easy.

They are also self-serving.
No one wins here but me.

And, as I was told this week when I was in one of those difficult backbends,

“those who wish to produce light must endure being burned.”

Breathe deeply.
Commit to bringing the light.
And BURN BABY BURN!

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Apr
17

A Day In The Life: Yoga Teacher Training

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When I said I was going to Bali for a month, people often thought I was living as a vagabond – doing yoga and taking naps in rice fields all day. Rest assured, my experience thus far has been quite different. Here’s what my days look like:

4 am: The roosters are awake, which means so is everyone else. The sun isn’t up yet, so I check my emails in bed or do some morning writing before my alarm goes off to tell me it’s time to get this party started.

5:02 am: The alarm goes off. I pack my bag with two pairs of Pacebreaker Shorts, two Metal Vent Teach tops, my Mat, and my notebook + manuals and head off to the studio.

6:05 am: I walk into the studio in ‘noble silence.’ None of the students are permitted to speak, make eye contact with each other, or be “outside ourselves” until after our yoga practice.

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6:30 am: Morning meditation begins for 30 minutes.

7 am: Insert 2 hours of the most gruelling asana practice I have ever taken. They lead the class with the intention of making us remember what it is like to attend a yoga class for the first time. This means new poses, new sequences, holding poses for 5 minutes (“you should be able to stay in headstand for 10 minutes” they say), and so many chaturangas! And it isn’t a workshop where you get to stop and look at what the next sequence is (and catch your breath). No, this is straight vinyasa the whole time.
Needless to say, I had tears streaming up my face as I was in wheel pose yesterday. My body is getting rocked!

9 am: Noble silence ends just in time to send us off to breakfast (after some withheld “good mornings” are joyously exchanged). Raw meals are the prescribed menu option while we are doing our training, and there is a great group of us who are diligently sticking to that plan. Bring on the coconut smoothies!

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10:30-6 pm: Class time. Guest faculty members come in to talk about NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), yoga philosophy, alignment, teaching techniques, Ayurveda, and clean eating. We sit on bolsters on the floor during lectures and have already started teaching each other sequences and getting feedback on our approach. It’s cool to see how everything is beginning to tie together during these sessions.

6 pm: Food time!

7:30 pm – ???: “Still More” sessions. These are surprise sessions we don’t know much about. One has been a “get to know each other” activity with our mentors. Tomorrow’s, we have been told, is to review our morning asana practice that they are going to film so we can see what a class looks like after we’ve experienced it.
We sneak in another yoga class here if there isn’t a Still More Session in order to take advantage of the free classes at the studio we get as trainees. Hanging Restorative Yoga – don’t mind if I do!

10:30 pm: I get home to take a quick dip in the pool to cool off and calm my body down after a full day. I jump into bed – ready to do it all over again the next day.

—

Rinse and repeat for the next 25 days.

Napping in the rice fields seems pretty nice right about now…

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Apr
12

It Keeps Getting Easier

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I stepped off the plane in Taipei totally zonked after my attempt at sleeping on the first leg of my journey was rather unsuccessful. This jet lag induced sloth is familiar to me though so I go through my practice to reset my body:

stimulate the mind by reading, get outside or sit by a window to soak in some sunshine, lots of water, and a few sun salutations in a serene corner to send breathe back into my body.Rinse and repeat.

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I also stepped off the plane and was surrounded by foreign words on signs with symbols and directional arrows – and not a lick of audible English anywhere nearby that may point me towards someone who could help me translate where I need to go next. The more I travel, the more common this experience becomes as well. Meaning, each time it happens, it phases me less and less.

When we stay in the same place (be that in a city, in a relationship, or in a job) change can seem daunting or hard to do. When we change a lot, change becomes easier each time.

I still catch myself freak out the second I get off a plane in a new city.
And, each time it happens, it gets easier to handle.

Boarding time for the next leg – here we go again!

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Apr
11

Bali, Here I Come!

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I head to the airport tonight for 4 weeks of yoga teacher training in Bali (someone pinch me!) and there is so much I want to share with you.

Matt Corker - tree pose

I want to tell you about the e-mail response I got from my boss when I told her that I got accepted into the training that simply read “I love it!!!” This goal felt big (and still does) and knowing that I have had her support this entire time means a lot.

I want to tell you about my conversation with Tif over lunchtime ceasers that kicked my butt into gear to actually map out and complete my required reading list. Without that little umph, I would probably still be on page five.

I want to tell you that I’m shutting down my Facebook account while I’m gone. Partly to immerse myself in my experience, and partly to streamline communication while I’m gone. #emailme

I want to tell you that I don’t know what I’m coming back to. While my client list and lululemon gig will be picked up again when I am back in Vancouver, if this past month is any indication of how fast (and big) things can change in those two realms, I can only imagine what my career will look like when I get back. This makes me really thankful for working with the aforementioned rad boss (and being my own boss as well).

I want to tell you that my favourite Vancouver transplants that are now living in Australia will be coming for a visit while I’m on that side of the equator. Rob and Michelle – I am stoked to see you!

I want to tell you that I have no clue if what I packed in my bag is actually what I need to bring, that I most likely won’t be publishing posts at my usual cadence while I’m away, that I’ve never been anywhere in Asia besides a trip to HK for 5 days, and that I am in fact a big bag of nerves and quiet confidence rolled into one right now.

I also want to tell you that I am stoked to hear how your month was when I get back mid-May.
What adventures did you go on?
Did you fall in love?
Did you finally land that job?
How did your last masters exam go?
Where did you celebrate your birthday?
Did you bring a third person in to lunch club?

Did you do it all?
Cause that sure is my game plan for this next month.
Let’s do this!

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Apr
09

Would Your Best Friend Be There?

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Do you think your best friend would be up to the challenge?

Pick of the Post: Cody Simpson – Be The One

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Apr
08

My No Pose

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This past weekend I was graciously offered a spot at the Baron Baptiste Immersion in Vancouver. Amidst a very sweaty practice, Baron spoke about our “no pose.” The pose that, when the teacher calls it out in class, you just want to get up and run away from.

For me, that pose is malasana:

Which feels more like this for me:

Get me out of this!
I don’t want to be here!
When will it be over?
She said only one more breath!
Do we have to do it again?
Why am I doing this?

I often come from “no” when I get into that pose. When I come from “yes” I begin my practice of patience and acceptance – loving my hamstrings and hips just the way they are.

I also realize I have “no poses” off the mat.

When I’m with pessimistic people or people trying to impress me in hopes that I will get them a job or buy their product – I’m often a no. Get me out of here revs up again.
And that is where my practice of patience and acceptance begins.

What’s your no pose? What practice does it trigger for you?
 
Pick of the Post: Calvin Harris ft Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing

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Apr
07

If You Decide To Open Your Mouth…

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“If you decide to open your mouth, then you better have something to say.”
- Lisa Nichols

One of the best talks I’ve ever attended was led by Lisa Nichols at AwesomenessFest 2012.
It was perfectly timed. I was fresh out of my MBA, getting grounded in Vancouver, with a speaking schedule and new client list starting to take shape. In this session, she unveiled some of her secrets that have led to her success as a speaker – and, as she says, if we are in a business, in a relationship, or have children, we are in the business of speaking.

Grab your Sunday smoothie and watch the below filming of that session on Speaking To Make A Difference. (You may also want to grab your notebook to catch the truthbombs she drops!)

And if you ever want to attend an event where great people share their stories of transformation and living beyond their wildest dreams, watch out for the Beyond Luon marque. You won’t want to miss it when it comes to your city.

Pick of the Post: Kelly Clarkson – Catch My Breath

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Apr
05

Inhale Deep

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We all know that life can get hectic,
but if you live in the second
you exist in the present
and that’s how you stay connected.
Through good times and hardships
if you learn to just accept it
and know that every struggle in life
is gonna teach you a lesson.

It’s times like this that make you.
It’s always the darkest part of the night
right before the sun has its break through.
The spirit’s there to knock you down,
but if you make that the end you’ll never
know the beauty of being able to stand up again and face it, with patience.
The basis is dealin’ with judgements and hatred
depressed hopeless feelings,
but I’ve been told ‘you only create your own ceiling’
and ‘life is limitless’ and knowin’ this is what the spirit is.

That’s why I try to inhale deep
so i can find peace, in essence just find me.
That’s why I lose myself in these beats
as I become one with the drums and set myself free.

- Macklemore

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Apr
03

The Outs

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Earlier this year, my friend sent me a link to The Outs which sparked a conversation that went like this:

T: “If you haven’t seen these yet, where have you been?!?”
Me: “In Copenhagen…”
T: “You can watch a web series from anywhere. Bad excuse. Catch up so we can chat about it. Stat.”

I watched the first episode and I was hooked.
Set in Brooklyn, the first six episodes follows a freelance writer and his ex-boyfriend as they navigate breakups, hookups, success, and love in the city. In this series the usual campy stereotypes found in gay media have been replaced by the familiar friends you’d brunch with on the weekends. The situations and characters are both amusing and heart-wrenchingly realistic.

And they just released the final episode of the series. (oh how I wish it wasn’t the last…)

So …. if you haven’t seen these yet, where have you been!?!
Catch up so we can chat about them soon.

Pick of the Post: Jason Reeves – Save My Heart

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