Yoga Teacher Training Part 1

Today I write to you from exotic Iowa City, IA after week 1 of my 200 hr yoga teacher training.  I am having a lot of fun and learning a lot.  Debbie Williamson and Kellie Lin Knott of Wild Abundant Life are leading the training and they are fabulous.  Kellie is also an accomplished and moving singer (you can find her stuff on iTunes).  We are working hard, doing hours and hours of yoga a day, and learning a lot, going through anatomy, the sutras, the poses (or asanas) and gaining yogi family members.
I already have gigs teaching yoga so I was asked - "why spend all this money and time to go do a national level certification when you don't need it to teach [state of Arkansas does not require one]?  And why IOWA?"  Well sure, I'd love to be in some exotic location like Mexico or Bali but I am really glad I picked Iowa.  It fit pretty perfectly into my schedule, it's beautiful here, and I have met some really amazing people.
So why go for the certification?  First, I rarely do things halfway.  When I want something, I go for it and when I love something, I truly enjoy immersing myself in it, even if it means a million chatarangas a day.  Second, I rarely do things halfway.  Yes, I know I am repeating myself.  I don't just want to be a good yoga teacher, I want to be a great yoga teacher.  I truly believe that exercise, nutrition and overall wellness can change people's lives - we've all seen it and yet we all ignore it at some point in our lives.  We (myself included!) abuse food as a nation, we abuse our bodies and we medicate ourselves instead of seeking to be healed from the root cause.  I am not suggesting that everyone go off their meds, there are definitely conditions that need it, but I am suggesting that people stop thinking that it is better to reverse the symptoms than to dig to the roots.  Finally, I am doing this because I love people.  I really do.  Some more than others :)  And I want to impact people on an individual level and be impacted by them, for the better. Bottom line, whatever your race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, we are all sacred beings in God's eyes.  And remember how pissed off Jesus got about the whole sacred temple situation and started trashing the place?  How do you think he feels about the whole sacred body situation?
This week, I led a class through hips during a vinyasa class.  When we do core and hips in a yoga class, most of the time, everyone groans and complains and it's a very short part considering the whole.   But it's the areas that hold our being up.  We'll do a million chatarangas and hold warrior II for 5 minutes, but 30 crunches is just TOO MUCH.  The day before we had been talking about how those closest to us can hurt us the most, usually because they love and support us the most and because they are the closest to our hearts - the most sensitive area of all.  We often treat people on the periphery of our lives so much better than those closest to us, perhaps because they'll hurt us the least.  What would happen if we started treating those close to us with the importance they have - they hold us up - vs all the groaning and moaning if they offend us?  Hips, Core, Love.  It's all the same.  It's all connected.  I had this epiphany in the car one morning and shared it with the class (this is not a part of yoga that comes easily to me - the nuggets of wisdom that seem to spill out of others, genuine or not).  A lady told Kellie Lin the next day when she came to class that it was a life changing moment for her.  I cried.  It was for me too.

As far as personal training goes, I feel the same way about training as I do about yoga, but I'll save that for another blog :)   Next up is TRX training in August.  :))))