Yoga Teacher Training

I began my training this weekend, and it was truly fabulous. There are 15 students in the class and our instructor, making a sweet 16 of the group. One of the many things I've always liked about Yoga is that it attracts interesting people with a lot of positive attributes. Everyone in this class is interesting and contributes to the institutional learning base that makes this experience valuable.

After a 12-hour session on Saturday and a seven-hour session on Sunday, I have already noticed a change in my approach to Yoga. In class tonight, a flow class, I found myself looking around the room in the beginning of class. I found myself scanning the people in the room, observing how they were sitting and their initial posture. My thoughts raced back to reference the material I'd learned over the weekend and I started thinking about the things I might say or do to help the students be more comfortable in class.

It became more difficult to observe my classmates as we began our movements. Rebecca continues to bring new and refreshing "dances" to the class. Some of the postures are advanced, and I found a new internal thought process occuring as I explored both sides of my edge. I am more thoughtful of moving into the postures carefully and am starting to become more aware of the movements and the involvement of the body. (I have to do a deep analysis of 35 postures by next month, so it's really important to be aware of the muscles and joints, how they work, and which way they move to support the movements and postures.)

Having been away for several weeks, I haven't taken this class for a while. It was joyful to see Rebecca demonstrate the postures and to lead the practice. While in Chicago, I took classes with three teachers, and all were very good. I spent the weekend with 15 others who are thoughtful and diligent in their practice. Rebecca has a special way of taking the poses and moving between them, and she will always serve as a role model for doing a truly beautiful Yoga.