I’ve now completed three weekends of my yoga teacher training course with the obviously amazing YogaLondon and if I’m 100% honest, right now I’m feeling excited, but a little overwhelmed with it all. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it, but have a read below about my yoga teacher training experience so far…
A Mixed Field
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be able to perform the hardest postures to become a yoga instructor. My course is extremely varied in terms of the stage people are at within their own yoga practice. And on top of that, we all have different interests. Where some are extremely keen to focus on the anatomical side of yoga, others are more into the spiritual side. On the first evening, our course leader Holly made us all feel very welcome and accepted. No matter what stage each of us was at, as long as we were prepared to work hard and put in the time and dedication, then we were in the right place.
If you’re thinking about applying to do your training, give the company a call and have a chat to them about your ability and knowledge, as they’ll be able to advise whether or not you’re ready for the course.
Goodbye Weekends
I know this sounds like a very negative title, but it really isn’t considering you’ll have voluntarily given up your weekend to pursue your dream of becoming a yoga instructor. It’s been so worth missing a few weekend outings! What I will say though is that you will be shattered… an example of a Saturday at YogaLondon is as follows:
9-11am: Asana practice
11:15am-1pm: Pose analysis
2pm-4pm: Lecture (this could be anything from anatomy to philosophy and all in between!)
4:15pm-6pm: Lecture (same as above) or practical teaching work
You may think that a 6pm finish means you’ll have time to see friends and keep your social life, but when you’ve been up studying until 9pm on Friday and have to be back on your mat at 9am on Sunday, like me, you’ll be heading straight home to bed!
I really like the layout of my YogaLondon course so far as it’s very varied. In the first weekend we got a tiny experience of teaching when we were put into partners and were asked to talk each other through Sun Salutations A and B. I’ve always been a very hands-on learner, so getting into this straight away was fun, although pretty nerve-wracking!
See Also: Do You Know What Kind Of Sun Salutations You’ve Been Doing?
The People
Aside from the fact that in February I’ll officially be a yoga instructor, the best thing about the YogaLondon course is the people. It’s an amazing feeling to be in a room with the same 25 people all weekend, but absolutely loving every second of it, thriving off of each others energy and just feeling so happy in the knowledge that we all share this amazing passion for the same thing.
Home Study
I would say to bear in mind that you need to set aside quite a bit of time for home study. With YogaLondon we are asked to develop a six-days-a-week practice, as well as revising the Sanskrit posture names, the lectures, completing homework and writing up three class observations over the period of the course.
Being such a lover of all types of fitness, even though I’ve managed it every week so far, I have found fitting in yoga six days a week rather hard. I have a little printed spreadsheet, so I can plan and tick off the activities I complete each day.
See Also: 5 Top Tips To Fit Yoga Into Your Busy Schedule
What About the Cost?
One thing I’d say is not to think the cost of your course stops at the course fee itself. As you get deeper into your study, you’ll find even more of a hunger to learn and will no doubt want to buy every book mentioned to you. There are so many I’ve been recommended and so many I want, I could spend a small fortune! I’ve just decided not to get too carried away and buy one at a time.
On top of the books, you’ll no doubt be going to more yoga classes. I do a lot of my practice at home and that works really well for me, but if you’re someone who can’t get motivated on a chilly Autumn evening, then you might find yourself splashing the cash on a few classes per week.
General Thoughts and Feelings
Like I said at the start, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, but I know I’ll be fine. I’m so excited for February to roll around, so that I can share all the amazing things I’ve learned. I went into weekend three feeling a little anxious, but I’ve come away from it feeling really great!
After teaching sun salutations and the standing sequence to one of the girls on Sunday, I’m definitely feeling slightly more confident. I’ve still got a LONG way to go, but now I know I have it in me. Oh, and we also had a lesson on chanting this weekend, so if you come to a class of mine in the future, I might sing you a little tune!
You can follow my journey on both my blog, catmeffan.com and my Instagram @CatMeffan
