When I enrolled in the teacher training program I hadn't made a clear decision if teaching yoga was something I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to further my own practice, develop my knowledge of yoga and develop my teaching skills which could be applied to my "day job" and life in general.
This past weekend was our 1st real weekend of teaching. WOW! It was AWESOME! At the end of the day I had a huge grin from ear to ear and all I could think of was when can I do more - when can I start teaching.
That evening I had dinner with friends and was sharing my feelings of the day and found myself getting more and more excited about the idea of teaching. I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas day to come so I could open the presents. I started planning in my head how I might be able to offer free classes to friends I practice with to get more experience, to start teaching... to scratch the itch.
I have been contemplating since then the idea of teaching and what about the experience creating that itch. One of the things I have come to is something one of my teachers has said on many occasions. She says that she gets as much from watching us practice while she teaches as she gets from her own practice. At the times that she has said that I thought okay, maybe, but it cant really be that good. I have been observing this teacher's classes and I now know that what she said is true. I feel that amazing energy from observing and watching the students have their experience and I am not even doing the teaching. I can't even imagine how awesome it will be when it is actually my class.
I guess that is it, that question of if I want to teach is answered.
I enrolled in a Yoga Teacher Certification programme last year, but backed out at the last minute. I think what was off-putting the most was the cost of the course and how it ties into the whole Yoga Inc. mentality that is sweeping North America. Though, undoubtedly, taking this programme would have added depth to my practice, I elected to simply sample a diversity of classes in my city, look at stuff on-line, etc. In the end, I do teach Yoga to my students and help friends get started (I began my practice 12 years ago), and that is good for me. It essentially comes down to one's goals and perspective. May your experience deepen your experience and be full of discovery!
ReplyDeleteso glad you feel this!!
ReplyDeleteit really is an amazing experience.
i definitely find that i learn so much from teaching. you get to be very sensitive to the energy that's in the room. you can shift your plans, adjust your expectations and really see how they respond.
it's a great life practice, as well!