Weekend 2 of the teacher training . The subject was ''Introduction to Yoga and Styles of Yoga''.
This was my first opportunity to work with the students as their tutor, and it really takes the relationship you develop with your students to another level, once you get them to step out of their comfort zone and have to instruct the group.
This is my fourth year of running training courses and it is incredible how every year is so diverse and requires so much thought ,on my part , to feel that I am able to attune to each individual and have the knowledge and ability to answer their questions.
I do not profess to have every answer, and just as I explain to my students, Yoga is a journey which never ends. I continually learn and develop both through continual reading, attending workshops and courses, and listening to the thoughts of new students eager to become teachers.
I was aware that their first weekend of training may have left them very confused, as the subject of History and Philosophy is so wide and can be confusing.
I try to spend the first couple of hours just condensing what they learnt over that weekend of 3 long days, and put it into bite size understandable pieces.
I am not sure that I really understood the Philosophy for many years and could certainly not see the relevance to holding a class. I now understand how important it is to have an understanding of the philosophies and not just the physical asana practise.
I think, in todays society, where we almost have an epidemic called ''stress'', and life is so fast paced, expectations we place upon ourselves, require more knowledge of how the mind works and what the true purpose of Yoga is.
From the Yoga Sutras ''Cittavrttinirodhah'' meaning ''Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain it that direction without any distractions''.
So many people are gravitating toward practices such as Mindfulness and Yoga, in search of the ability to bring a little stillness into their very busy minds.
Coupled with this many students choose to become Yoga teachers for a change in career due to the way in which Yoga has helped bring about change in their personal life, and then wish to share their life changing practice with others on their own journey.
The role of a Yoga instructor is to offer guided support, and that requires not only knowledge but compassion.
We spent the afternoon with some practice teaching where students were asked to step onto the front mat and take the role of the teacher. Although this is very scary to everyone in the beginning, it really breaks down barriers and begins to set the framework for how to develop into an inspiring teacher.
With more teaching skills covered on Sunday and developing the skills to teach to a complete beginner, I really felt everyone engaging and beginning to grasp the basics of putting the class together with the correct skills and use of verbal guidance.
I can honestly say I had a great weekend and working with such enthusiastic students, makes my job so much easier!
At the end of the day I can only give them tools to teach, at the end of the day the best teacher is the one they already hold within their heart.