Lessons From My Yoga Teacher Training Immersion
Every student I’ve mentored through a yoga teacher training program has expressed their own unique story of the pivotal transformation they experienced through their journey. Not only does a YTT prepare you to share the science and art of yoga with your community, it presents tools to help open your mind, body and spirit to a deeper awakening of your true nature. The decision to embark upwards upon the rungs of the ladder of your spiritual journey is a personal one. If you are open, then you will learn, you will grow and you will experience a transformation that is uniquely your own. Let me share a piece of my yoga teacher training transformation with you...
Learning to live my yoga
A few days into studying for my yoga teacher training program our teacher assigned each of us with the task of giving up something for the duration of the program in order to help us focus. Many of my peers chose to forgo various vices and indulgences to keep their minds clear. I immediately knew what sacrifice would serve me best: letting go of negative thoughts.
This task required me to pay attention to each passing thought as it arose and truly listen to the sentiment and tone it conveyed. If I noticed negative speech bubbling up in my mind from leftover personal struggles, I recognized my thought, chose to rewrite it into an increasingly more positive one, repeat the more positive speech and move on without judgement. This process of self-awareness continued for weeks; eventually I was able to transcend my former thought patterns and elevate my attitude to one filled with unlimited potential and contentment.
This is an example of the power of actively listening to your thoughts and making the choice to reshape the quality of your internal self-speech. It has the power to transform your life. This is what the practice of yoga asks of us; to show up, observe ourselves and put in the effort. Once we learn how to tune in, we are able to shed the layers obstructing the Self and embody our true nature within.