So you decide to take the plunge. You’re ready to move from student to teacher, bringing your knowledge and unique message to the world. Great news that you are starting your yoga teacher training! There is so much excitement and anticipation associated with an immersive and comprehensive yoga teacher training session. In fact, it’s often a life-changing step for most people who follow this path.
But is it all Om and Namaste? only. Teacher training can be an intense, transformative journey that can make you sing with joy and cry with frustration all at the same time. It’s a journey that takes you down a difficult road, but with you the whole way. There are undoubtedly countless reasons why you should absolutely take on this assignment, but not without knowing what to expect. Here are 10 things no one told you about yoga teacher training.
you will fall in love
you will fall in love
You can’t just walk into an intimate, often spiritual setting and open up with other like-minded people without falling in love with at least some of them. Teacher training provides us with this incredible opportunity to connect with people and places you may never have had the chance to reach. You’ll make new friends, sometimes for life, and you might even fall in love with one of them (or your teacher). When you train at your destination, you’re likely to fall in love with your retreat, the beautiful places in the world where you live, and the kind people. You’ll also fall in love with yoga. Teacher training offers this fresh, stunning perspective on practice that can rekindle your passion for yoga. Either way, you’ll come out of this experience with cherished memories and a more open heart. You will be eager to continue learning and pass this love on to others – your future students.
you will feel sick
you will feel sick
Despite years of practice or a fairly aggressive workout, at some point during your teacher training you will likely experience soreness and all-around pain. It’s intensely immersive learning, and it comes with growing pains. A lot of activity combined with a desire to find deeper stretches and refine your workout can lead to muscle soreness, joint fatigue, and general fatigue. In addition to feeling physically exhausted, while your body is going through a massive detox, you may also feel a little groggy, cranky, or have the odd headache or mood swings. bright side? strength! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and you end up being a tough guy. Your yoga practice will improve dramatically, you’ll gain strength, flexibility, and balance, and you’ll be keenly aware of your future students’ potential for burnout.
it makes you cry
You will most likely cry in your teacher training. Maybe a little, maybe a lot. Maybe every day. You can still cry for weeks afterwards. Yoga teacher training gives you a blank slate, a time and a place to thoroughly understand the negative aspects of your life and personality that distract you from day to day. But crying is one of the body’s most beautiful releases, and it proves that you are changing. Teacher education is not just an intellectual endeavor. You must also learn to accept the spiritual changes that yoga brings and learn to deal with your emotions. This ultimately makes you a more compassionate teacher and removes a lot of unnecessary limitations from within you.
you’d consider running to the door once or twice
you’d consider running to the door once or twice
Teacher training is like summer camp for us spiritually minded adults. When you travel away from home, you may feel homesick or worry about the things you left at home. While we have come with hope, we are still anxious about the unknown, and this may be an extremely difficult transition for some. Meeting new people, having a new teacher, expanding yoga physical training, new surroundings, hours of dissection, sorting, and a whole host of potential travel issues—it’s a physically and mentally demanding endeavor. But don’t worry, it will definitely be worth it in the end. If you want to quit, just remember it’s part of the process and you’ll stick with it.
you must face your demons
you must face your demons
As mentioned above, yoga, and teacher training in particular, is a nasty good way to bring out all those demons hiding in the closet. In a peaceful environment, these little guys have every opportunity to sneak in and destroy your inner world. stop! Don’t be shy and don’t hold them back – this is a great development happening. We must address these buried emotions, insecurities, doubts, and negative thought patterns in order to keep moving forward and improving from where we are. Take this opportunity to look these demons in the eye and tell them they are no longer welcome. You come out of teacher training a little bit emotionally drained, but much wiser. Dig deep, face it, then clean up and let go.
you won’t be ready
Maybe you’ve been practicing yoga for decades, or you recently fell in love with the practice and have been devouring all the information since. You might think that putting in the time to research, practice, read, and skip grades will get you a head start in teacher training, but the truth is, there’s no way to truly prepare for this adventure. Practice, read, and meditate all you want, but the intensity of teacher training is inherently different