You love Yoga and Hot Yoga, and you’ve been practicing consistently for a while. You love the way it makes you feel, and you really notice when you can’t go for any reason. Life just seems simpler and more manageable when you practice regularly, even though nothing’s really changed. Sure, there are times when you feel like just staying at home and vegging out. But you get up and get to class anyway, because you know that you’ll be glad you did.
Does any of this ring true for you? Yep, you’ve got the Hot Yoga bug alright!
If this is you, then you’ve already come a long way. If you could see the person you were, if you could see your posture shapes the first time you went to class, then you’d be amazed at how much you’ve changed since then. It might feel like that’s all thanks to the magic of Yoga and Hot Yoga. And it is, but there’s more: it’s your hard work that’s moved you forward, and the good guidance of the studio and teachers you’ve stuck with.
Ok… so, what’s next? Well, maybe there isn’t a “next”. You can carry on loving your classes and feeling the benefits for many years. Yoga is generous, and will continue to give without asking anything in return – except regular practice.
Some people are called to more. For some, there’s a deep questioning: they know that there is much more to this, but can’t quite describe what that is. For others, there’s a need to share the joy, the calm, and the self-development that Yoga and Hot Yoga have brought. (Any of this is again beginning to sound like you again?)
Teacher training is a natural next-step for the dedicated Yogi. If you pick the right course, then you’ll have the chance to practice at a depth, intensity and tempo that you’ve never experienced before. In the right environment, you really will see what’s under the surface, the meanings behind the movements. Good teachers can help you understand the philosophical backdrop, and how it all joins up to your body and mind, in this moment, through practice.
For instance, think of the word Yoga. We all know that it means union, joining things to make or rediscover a whole, but do we ever ask ourselves: “Just what am I uniting here, and what will that make? How will that feel, how would I know if I’m in union?”. The answers are already inside us, and your course can give you some insight if you choose well. You’ll understand how seemingly separate things can be one – eg, your own body as a set of systems, from which you as a person emerge; your life – with all its twists and turns – as one flow of your participation. You’ll learn practices that reveal the already-present unity, and you’ll have space to observe what that feels like to you.
And when it’s all over and the training is done, you’ll have got something new. A broader knowledge, a deeper understanding, and a felt sense of where to go with these ideas. This is invaluable to the practitioner, and essential for the aspiring teacher.
People will ask you what you’ve been doing, why you practice, and for advice with injuries. Even the practitioner, who has no particular intention to teach, will need some teaching skills. For instance, when someone asks for help, your knowledge of teaching will help you find the level to pitch in at – you’ll be able to understand better where this person is physically and mentally, and give them something accessible. You’ll draw on your body of knowledge to select the movement, meditations, etc that can help them – not too simple, not too hard – the right level to be effective. You’ll have a body of language skills ready to get your ideas and suggestions across succinctly, in an accessible way. You’ll have practiced teaching enough to be confident, but still grounded and very aware of your own limitations as well.
People often talk to me about their hopes and goals in Yoga and Hot Yoga, and it’s very common to hear, “I’d love to do a teacher training, but I don’t think I’m good enough.” I would like to dispel the notion that teacher training is only suitable for the Yoga athlete! You’ll find that your course colleagues are very much regular people, real people. There will be a range of mental and physical abilities, a whole spectrum of personalities, all brought together by their love of Yoga and Hot Yoga. The group quickly bonds, and forms its own identity as a self-supporting practice community. You can be an ordinary person and take the training, and you’ll find that there are lots of people like you ready to share the training journey experience.
To draw a conclusion, I would say that if you really noticed the changes brought on through Yoga and Hot Yoga, then teacher training is the natural next step. This is true whether you plan to teach or not: if you find the right course, you’ll learn and practice in depth, and emerge with the skills to help others in whatever capacity arises. Is it important to find the right course, so check our blog article about evaluating different courses? Check out our teacher training pages too – with Yogafurie Academy, you’ll graduate as qualified to teach both Yoga and Hot Yoga: with more and more studios using heat, it’s really important to know something about its effects on people and practice.
