I recently started my 350 hours of yoga teacher training and want to share the journey here on the blog as I progress into becoming a yoga teacher this year. As I publish this series I will link them all together, so they’re easy to find. If you’re a beginner, a passionate yogi already or interested in yoga teacher training for yourself, I hope this series brings you insight.
Why I decided to become a yoga teacher
So the best place to start with this journey is why did I decide to become a yoga teacher? As I already work as a Life Coach + Self Worth Mentor, the question many people have is why are you becoming a yoga teacher.
There are a few factors that really helped make this decision for me and I thought I’d share my thinking about the why, right up here at the start of this journey.
1. I love yoga as a practice
The first is that obviously I love yoga. It has been an ongoing part of my life over the last decade and I enjoy the practice of movement. I especially love the lessons of yoga that translate into life as we move through physical postures, breathing and observation the lessons I’ve learnt in yoga have replicated as life lessons. Yoga has also been deeply healing to me and it is a practice that allows me to take my power back.
I struggled for many years with really destructive anxiety. It’s also been a challenge over the years, navigating physical injury and the changes that pregnancy, birth and babies have brought to my body. Yoga has been a practice which has always supported me with surrender and acceptance while also realising that nothing ever stays the same. Change is the constant and labelling it good or bad is what makes it most difficult, what a gift to have learnt this!.
Yoga is also said to be a practice of self discovery. That practice assists with clearing away blocks, beliefs and limits we place on ourself that hide the truth of who we are. This very much aligns with my coaching work and really excites me in my own journey constantly moving back to my truth.
2. I want to get out of my head and into my body
The second reason is that over the last year, I’ve realised how much I live up in my head. This is just my default habit, going up into my head and future tripping (remember I suffered with anxiety for years, as soon as I jump into my head it’s a trigger for anxiety). I’ve begun to see this pattern causing an instant disconnect from my body and how it takes me out of the present moment. One of my ‘words’ (you can read more about that process here) for the year this year is Embodiment and a big part of that for me is living in the present moment and inhabiting my body. Like actually fully living in my body by default, rather than my head.
I want to have the courage always, to notice emotions and energy in my body and cultivate the strength to lean in, even (and actually especially) when it’s uncomfortable. I’m learning on another level that feelings are just energy in the body and nothing can actually cause me harm if I go into them, breath and allow them to flow on through.
3. I want to be able to help others with this too
I’ve noticed that my Coaching clients are often in these same patterns. They are also living mostly in their heads. Avoiding inquiry and deeper self connection because just like me, they perceive discomfort in the body and feelings as ‘bad’. I’m learning to support myself more deeply with this so that in turn, I can empower others to live in their body more and that I can facilitate on a whole new level, deep self enquiry and getting out of our own way so that we can be who we truly are.
4, I want to live in my truth
The final reason is simply to embrace more of my essence. The entire yoga philosophy is not about movement or breath or stretching, these are simply vehicles that allow us to connect more deeply to our truth, our soul, our highest self. Something that we can all be missing in our lives in the modern world, it is a privilege to have simple tools that I can implement in my life (and teach to others) to foster this greater connection.
As yogi Bhajan says;
“Body is not all. Mind is not all. Spirit is not all. All three make the sense.”
Yoga is a perfect way to blend these three together and to simply journey to becoming the best version of ourselves.
Did you love this post? I have a free journalling guide – including tips on how to incorporate a regular yoga practice, click here to grab yours and join the community so you’ll always be in the loop.