The first few day's at Yoga teacher training

"On arrival to the sandcastle I was warmly welcomed and shown to my room, It was like coming home. After a nourishing catered dinner we got into a group and introduce ourselves with our name and where we were from and I was surprised at the many areas people had come from, and that a lot of people were from the North Island. On the Sunday we dove straight into Teaching Methodology with learning instruction on how to verbally cue students without touching them which is important for respecting trauma sensitive yoga, and using the correct terminology as well I’ll be teaching beginners that won’t know some words or understand them. We learnt how to instruct each other with clear, precise and relevant cues to get into these yoga poses and it was very strange trying to explain them. It's also been a valuable lesson in observing my speech, which is an important skill in yoga instructing... and life.

We had an activity of being blindfolded And taking turns instructing each other, it was hard to pull back and not go into the poses because I already knew them, and just follow the instructions, practicing listening skills. We looked into common misalignments in yoga asana and body shapes and how different bodies just naturally go into different shapes and how that you can assess and respond, the main issue being safety.

Adjusting and assisting participants in a yoga class is a skill that is necessary to practice and nail, in order to do so safely and effectively. We covered Therapeutic, opening and stabilizing assists.

We went into exploring what goes into holding a safe and efficient space for our yoga class and all the dynamics that go into it, from the class environment and terrain to class content and sequencing skills. We learnt about the importance of the delivery with voice projection, modulation, pitch and wording.

In asana alignment practice there’s been a lot of laughing and giggles as the group have been relaxing into each others company. We’ve been fed yummy nourishing lunch and morning tea as a group, and the food has been amazing, and been catered for all of our different dietary needs.

So far this is been an amazing process of learning not just about yoga but also about myself and each day I grow and learn something new that I can take from yoga and out into my real life... and it's still only day 5 of our 13 day immersion.

This is experience that I would suggest to everyone as it is a great life and learning experience not just for a yoga teacher but for an individual. Also l highly recommended as the trainers here have been holding a beautiful and safe space for us all and we’ve all been thirsty for their knowledge and always hungry for more. Everybody has bonded even though everyone is so different with ages ranging from under 20 into the 50s. The dynamics of the group holding energy for each other has been a warm loving space. Each day we have a Satsang session from the Yamas or Niyamas and a we reflect on what this means to us, and how that is relevant to our personal lives. We then sit with a buddy and share how this has shown up in our life which has brought out a lot of emotions for everybody and also deep connection to self and others. It’s been a valuable and always interesting experience!"

Nat Zaanen, November 2020 YTT