Starting a Yoga Teacher Training is a big undertaking. Most likely, it’s involved a lot of research and planning to find the right teacher and to organise work and loved ones so that you can dedicate the time to the process. Despite all the planning, nothing can quite prepare us for what is very often a life-changing experience. After completing my own two-year Teacher Training I returned as a mentor for the following intake, meaning I was in the Teacher Training process for four years in total. As I went through the journey a second time round I realised that there were common themes that cropped up in my own experience and within the groups I studied with and taught.
With back-to-school season upon us and many Teacher Trainings starting in Autumn, I’ve reflected on some of the things I wish I’d known before I started my TT. For those of you about to embark on the journey, this is for you. Think of this guide as a trusty friend to help you in moments of doubt and confusion – a heads up, there will be many! – something you can return to any time you need a pep talk.
1. There will be moments you want to quit. And most importantly, this is normal and OK. This isn’t widely talked about and yet it’s a very common experience. I often described my experience of being in Yoga TT as feeling as though I was in a hall of mirrors – I was asked to truly face as aspects of myself and this can be extremely confronting. If you’re juggling work, family and other life commitments, the enormity of the training can at times feel overwhelming. If this is the case for you, reach out to your teachers, ask for help from your peers and know that this is all part of the process. Revisit your “why”, why are you doing the training? I found my “why” so helpful in giving me perspective and keeping me on track.
2. You are going back-to-school. That means homework, studying and exams – all the things we thought we’d escaped! Depending on our organisation and productivity skills this has the potential to send us into a spin. Spend some time calculating how many hours a day or per week you need to dedicate to the training and then carve it out of your diary. The intensity of my workload grew as the training progressed so I had to shift my schedule accordingly as I went. It’s worth investing the time to map out study time AND free time so you can really switch off in between practice and studying.
3. Your fellow TT’s are the only people that will truly understand what you’re going through. Because of this, new relationships can be formed very quickly. A bit like University, you will share a time together, which involves intense growth and a real rollercoaster of emotions. We can share our experience with our loved ones but even with the best of intentions they will never quite have the first hand insight and understanding that our fellow TT’s have. The bonds that you create on the training will also be the bonds that support you when you step out of the classroom and into the real world of teaching and here, they become particularly important. I treasure my friendships and fellow peers greatly and I still my fellow TT’s regularly. We have supported one another’s growth in many ways and continue to do so with each year that passes.
4. Your body and your mind will get tired. You are being stretched in all sense of the word and this can be tiring for the mind, body and soul. Take time out, have a bath, rest, treat yourself to a massage, ask for a hug. You are doing deep work and it takes up a lot of mental capacity and energy. Learning how to look after ourselves is of utmost importance if we want to sustain ourselves teaching over a long period of time. Don’t wait until you’ve hit burnout, learning the art of self-care starts now. One of the greatest gifts we can give to our students is embodying what it means to take care of ourselves and honour our own bodies.
5. Trust that you are doing enough. The amount of learning can at times feel overwhelming and so can the depth of our own teacher’s knowledge. Not feeling “good enough” is often masking an underlying fear (or in my case perfectionism) that if left unchecked has the potential to stop us in our tracks. Within the first 6 months of my training I was going through an extremely difficult time personally. This, coupled with the pressure I felt in the training, made me feel like I was wasn’t a good enough student and teacher. One week in a 1-2-1 with my teacher she said to me, “you are doing enough”. These words were profound for me. I realised that I have never felt like I’ve done “enough”, I had a deep striving to do more or be better. These words felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Trust that you are doing enough and remind yourself of this often.
6. You may need to tell your family, loved ones how best to support you. Coming home on a Sunday evening after a TT weekend to my boyfriend at the time having made dinner was the best feeling. This little act of love meant the world to me and I let him know. It gave me the time to ‘land’ and transition from the training to being back at home. Take the time to ask for the support you need from your nearest and dearest.
7. Find the joy. It is a great privilege to study something you feel passionate about. It’s easy to forget this if we get caught up in the workload. The truth is the study of yoga is a life-long practice and this is just the beginning. We have the rest of our lives to refine our learning and continue our studies but we will never go through this same process again. Enjoy every moment as much as you can and find the joy in the process and your body. Once it’s all over you might wish it wasn’t.
8. You may not feel “ready”. Despite all your hard work, when it is time to complete your training, it can feel a bit like walking to the edge of a diving board and not feeling ready to jump. I love this quote by Hugh Laurie… “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.” I couldn’t agree more. So much of the learning happens in the action of teaching, not the studying.
Before I started my training someone said to me, “doing your TT is the greatest gift you can give to yourself” and for me she was absolutely right. It takes great courage and commitment to invest time, energy and money into your own development. I commend anyone who takes the leap. Know that whether you decide to teach or not, you won’t come out the other side the same person (in the best possible) way and your journey might just inspire more people that you realise. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you the best of luck!
