How yoga teacher training shifted my perspective

I explained the surprising things I learnt through my Yoga Teacher Training at Sukha Mukha in this blog post, but it is only now that I have had time to reflect on the experience as a whole have I really noticed the profound shift in my perspective both on and off the mat.

Everybody says yoga teacher training will change your life. I wasn’t so convinced. In one of our first classes (maybe even THE first), Idit told us that at some point throughout the training we would all cry over something.

“Not me” I thought. I’ve got this.

But in the five months of training I’ve probably cried more than five times. Not because it’s hard, or because it made me sad, but because when you have an awakening, an a-ha moment or a realisation about yourself, your experiences and the people around you, it really bloody moves you.

The teachings of yoga are ancient. Sure, they have been interpreted many times over the years, but for me, the Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Bhagavad Gita are so chillingly relevant today that it makes me feel like the tiniest speck in a very wise, expansive and all knowing universe, while at the same time making me feel like the whole universe contained in my insignificant and small physical body.

You learn that these teachings can be applied to your asana practice, your relationships, the way you react, give, take, and show self love. They impact your ethics and morals, influence your communication and soon become guidelines for everything in your life. At first the theories feel like something that you just need to learn for the theory exam at the end of the training, but very naturally they weave their way into your subconscious and without even trying you’re drawing on this ancient vedic wisdom.

Personally, the teaching of an asana practice has come second to the yogic philosophy modules of Yoga Teacher Training. And I know I’m not alone. After our Bhagavad Gita module with Sunita Patil, every one of us was begging to hear more (like a classroom of excitable pre schoolers at story time).

If you’ve been considering yoga teacher training and like many of us you’re worried that your asana practice isn’t strong enough, I urge you to let that go. Because trust me, the asana practice is simply your introduction to the true practice of Yoga.