1) Personal growth and self-enquiry

2) To deepen explore your Yoga Practice

3) You Want to Teach Yoga

Personal Growth

The fact that more and more people are joining a Yoga Teacher Training for personal growth shows clearly that this practice changes us. What we have heard and experienced on retreat or in a shala has had an impact but it’s not showing up and performing asana once a week that changes us, it’s the willingness to turn inwards, to walk the path and to accept and explore all that arises. Self-awareness is not always pretty. We are used to presenting the best of ourselves to a world that asks for more. Our shadow can be less hard to accept. Through a YTT you get to embrace, allow and observe all aspects of yourself and see that it is the shadow and light that create the threads of a colourful tapestry.

Call it transformation; knowing yourself or finding authenticity, a yoga teacher training will change your life.

Our inner world of thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, goals and fears shape our experience of the outside world. As a society we are way more focused on the outside. Thinking an Instagram worthy body is more important than a compassionate mind. A big bank account and a high flying job is more important then acts of service and kindness.

The way we approach yoga and asana gives us an insight into the way we approach other things in our life. When you have a fake pee break during wheel can this be a reflection of something else? Can this be a reflection of skipping all the things we find uncomfy or hard. Or is this an inner wisdom we are tapping into that says, “not for you today, rest is better.” Do we listen to the drama of the ego when we want to run or the wisdom of the spirit that whispers “it’s ok, I’ve got you, just breathe.”

At Karuna Yoga Teacher Training rather then labeling an experience right or wrong we encourage curiosity and open-heartedness. We encourage you to feel and think for yourself, to become as fascinated by your breath, feelings, thoughts and sensations as you are by the outer world and to use this insight and observation to move from a reactionary life where you are a product of what’s happening to you to a responding life where you shape your experiences and discover deep connection and joy.

To Deepen Your Yoga Practice

It’s likely at some stage whether you have practiced in a gym or studio, community outreach class or shala that you will have got a sense that there is more going on then just movement. The way we feel when we enter the yoga practice and the way we feel when we leave are evidence of the magic that happens on the mat and it’s different from other forms of exercise like Zumba or aerobics.

Deepening your practice definitely includes altering your alignment to make poses come alive, building strength and flexibility it also means wanting to know how yoga works.

There is a lot you can learn by attending workshops, regularly practicing with great teachers and reading texts but a YTT with Karuna Yoga Journeys provides a cohesive experience in a 21 day period. You will get to integrate the ancient wisdom of yoga into a modern-day, creative, accessible practice and discover how it shapes the way we are on and off the mat. You’ll be on a journey of self-love, self-discovery and transformation. You will deepen your knowledge and experience of yoga through breath, meditation, asana and inquiry and emerge with a stronger, truer understanding of who you really are physically, mentally and spiritually.

You Want to Teach

Almost every student on a Karuna Yoga Teacher Training who has joined not intending to teach has gone onto teach. Its definitely not a prerequisite but it’s interesting how with the right education and a love of the practice, in the end, the desire to give someone else the gift brings us to a place of wanting to share.

So how do you choose which YTT to do?

Not all YTTs are equal and they are often a significant investment emotionally, physically and financially.

How do you gauge the value of what you are getting and whether it’s a good fit for you?

Do your research; attend a practice or retreat with the trainers when you can. Follow them on social media and see if their message resonates with you. Don’t be blinded by contortionism and pretty poses its where the mind, the breath and the heart are that’s makes it yoga not just the shape the body is in. Look at how many years they have been teaching for. What trainings they have done? You wouldn’t choose to learn acupuncture by someone with zero experience but a great following on Instagram. Approach your YTT in the same way. Are the lead teachers still engaged in ongoing learning? This is a good thing. Where do they give back? Are they humble? Do they answer your questions personally?

It’s a lot more than learning poses and creatively sequencing safe practices. Teaching involves sharing your authentic voice and that comes from tuning in and knowing who you are. It’s an opportunity to offer space and healing to others, whilst allowing them to do their work, to offer community and friendship, it takes time to grow as a teacher so choose a training where ongoing support exists. Where teachers know your name and WhatsApp you after the training ends.

Look at where the training places its focus.

This will give you a good idea of how you’ll end up teaching if you study there. A good training will give you a solid framework for you to teach from. You’ll be taught how to share in a way that is genuine for you. At KYJ we focus on Yang (dynamic) yoga and Yin (meditative) yoga. Working with this pair enable us to find balance in our life and practice, we teach creative sequencing to build strength, mobility and fluidity so our practice lasts a lifetime, we endeavour to make yoga accessible for everyone by serving the community and offering scholarships and outreach classes and our syllabus is trauma-informed.

Whether you intend to teach or not, the practice of teaching yoga will offer you skills that you can use in every other relationship in life, including the one with yourself.