It’s hard for me to believe that I am half way through the yoga teacher training program – since we started in January and it goes through November, we are actually a little more than half now…
Yay! Pens win!
The certification program I am in requires at elast 200 hours to become a certified yoga teacher. We start our program on Friday nights – usually the Friday night practice is a bit low-key since it is the end of the week and later in the evening. This week, we did a sort of round-robin asana practice, each one of us teaching our peers a pose, and then passing it off to the next student. It was fun and challenging. We finished that up and moved into our regular Friday night fare of philosophy and discussion. We are making our way through the Bhagavad Gita* as part of the training, and there are always interesting insights and interpretations to gather.
Saturdays are usually “asana intensives” and many of the weekends have themes. Last month, we did a whole series of backbending postures – performing them ourselves, and then practicing the languaging in order to teach them. We often turn to our neighbors and practice teaching with them. It is a rich experience. This month’s theme was twists and forward bends. We did a number of amazing twists; twists are like a deep massage for the internal organs, they detoxify the body in many ways, and also give your spine and abs a nice workout. Plus, they just feel really nice 
Going along with the theme of twists and detoxifying the body, we also studied some Ayurveda this weekend. Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of health. There are three primary doshas – or elements – that people fall in to, and once you learn what dosha you are, you can do certain things to bring yourself more in to balance, i.e. exercise, diet, etc. It is quite fascinating and really opens up a whole new research interest for me. (If you are interested, you can find out more about your Ayurvedic dosha with this free online test).
Sunday’s class often starts with a meditation circle and some more philosophy discussion- yamas and niyamas, which I will most likely write about again soon – and then moves in to more asana practice. Sunday focused more on forward bending postures – the primary benefits of these postures may be obvious – they stretch and lengthen your back body, from your spine down to your heels. They also quiet the mind and the central nervous system. We ended the day with a little bit of partner yoga – Cindy and I are demonstrating the “double dog” pose – I am in a full downward facing dog, while she is balanced in a half-handstand on my hips. Many thanks to Hannah for snapping the photo!
In two weekends, I will be doing another intensive workshop at another local yoga studio (in Silver Spring for the locals). It is not part of my teacher training, per se, but the hours that I go can be counted towards another certification, if I decide to go that route. In July, I will begin working with a wonderful teacher (who also happens to be a first-rate knitter!) and apprenticing in two of her classes. She teaches a Therapeutics classes – ideal for people coming back after surgery or illness, or who experience chronic pain issues. I have observed the class a handful of times, and I greatly look forward to working with this group of students and learning more about their unique needs. It is a great opportunity for education and for enriching my own practice.
I look back at all that I have learned in the past few months – and I can’t help but think about all of the wonderful things I will learn in the future!
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*We are doing a readalong of the Gita in the Namaste Knitters Group on Ravelry, if you are interested in joining us! we just started so there is plenty of time to catch up!
Great photos! I love hearing about this journey. Sign me up for your first yoga retreat!
I love reading your updates about your yoga training program! Your enthusiasm for it comes through loud and clear. I love that!
Wonderful photos and post! (And congrats, Penguins!)
I have a somewhat silly question for you that I was hoping you would address in a future post: Is yoga teacher training….well…scary? I have wanted to start a teacher training program for a while now, but I am really anxious! I have chronic pain issues in a few joints, and have a knee injury that may have permanently damaged my knee. Would I even be eligible to participate in a teacher training program?
Also, I have been so self-concious of my body since I was in middle school and got teased for being overweight. I get scared just going to my regular yoga class – can’t imagine actually having to learn how to teach!
Anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this if you get a chance. Thanks for keeping us posted and good luck!
This is all very interesting to read about – thanks for sharing.
i am enjoying your experiences, it all sounds so interesting.
It sounds like a wonderful weekend. I’ve also been thinking about Ayurveda recently, I think I’m going to get a professional consultation about my diet; I’m a Kapha-Vata, and the two types seem to need virtually the opposite kinds of food. Too confusing for me to work out on my own!
Your photos are great, it looks like you are having such a fun time!
I really enjoy your yoga posts, Lolly. I miss doing twists more than anything…my spine won’t let me do them anymore.
I am really enjoying following your teacher training. That double dog pose is amazing.
Enjoy the yoga posts. Very inspiring!
Thanks for sharing more yoga with us. Looks great!
I just commented in your namaste thread for the readalong. Trying to decide which version to buy. Feel free to give any insight. I’m leaning towards the one you have over Stephenl Mitchell’s. It sounds like I’d like the deeper discussion and glossary.
O man… I love that downward-dog/half-handstand thing. It feels weightless being in the half-handstand and the down-dog just feels sooooo gooood. Yummy.
Sounds like a rejuvenating, thoughtful, intense weekend, as always. The pictures were great – that partner yoga looks really intense and interesting. Yoga is so personal and I think people are really particular about having their own space as they practice, so it’s interesting to see people practicing together. Also, your green top is cute
Keep learning and growing, lovely lady. xoxo
I love the relaxing effect of yoga.
I am curious to know what the benefit is of the partner / double down dog?
This is so great, L. Thank you for sharing about it. It makes me so excited to think of the possibilities of teacher training for myself down the road.
And thanks for the aruyvedic dosha quiz link! It is stunningly clear that I am a Vata (I have tried to figure it out before but was never able to get such a clear picture) – and a very out-of-balance one at that. I’m enjoying that site!
You look great – so happy! Glad you had a joyful weekend!
Thanks for sharing your progress! I also liked the link, especially since some of the dietary suggestions make lots of sense out of how cruddy I’ve been feeling lately. Good luck with your training
I really enjoy reading about your experience with your yoga teacher training program. It sounds so interesting! I also love how evident your passion for it is.