Most every time I associate myself as Atlanta Yoga Scene and introduce myself to a new group of yogis, they automatically assume two things about me;
1.) I must be a yoga teacher and
2.) I must be really advanced in my yoga practice.
Funny thing is, I’m neither. I’m just a growing yoga student like most of you who really loves to write about yoga.
I’m steadily becoming more “advanced” as I expose myself to a consistent flow of teachers and styles, but I’m not getting any closer to being a teacher.
And the pressure is on.
People are confused as to why I wouldn’t want to jump into the next available YTT program. They ask me everywhere, all the time when I plan on taking the leap. For good reason, I guess. I clearly love this stuff!
I have always assumed at some point that I’d become a yoga teacher. I envision that in my future, I’ll hold a couple of classes a week at some quaint studio in the city, with a consistent class of 10 or so people who think I’m awesome. I’d have some really stimulating and fun sequencing that would keep my classes energetic and flowing, balanced by a really long, meditative savasana. They’d grow as students with me over the years, and I’d grow as a teacher with them.
Aside from those couple of classes, I’d still be a four-times-a-week yoga class junkie.
I love being a student so much that I’m perhaps a little bit scared?, unsure?, unwilling? to cross that threshold into yoga teacherdom. That threshold, naturally, is Yoga Teacher Training.
Every year in America, thousands of yogis pass through this threshold, sometimes, in the case of Isvari Verre, multiple times (she took teacher training thrice, count em 1-2-3, times!). Newly minted yoga teachers all come out raving about the experience. YTT is charged as one of the most life-changing, life-affirming things a yogi can do, enabling you with the right tools to share the gift of yoga to the world.
I recently read a post up on elephant journal called, “10 Signs You’re Ready for Yoga Teacher Training” and I fit all of their criteria spot on.
So why am I still resistant?
I think it’s because deep down, I think I’m getting everything I need from my life as a student and the owner of Atlanta Yoga Scene.
I tend to think that many (though not all) people who pass through teacher training do it because they feel they’ve reached a certain level of physical ability and emotional/spiritual commitment that drives them to want to dive really deep into the practice, through reading and detailed attention to asana and meditation. They fancy the idea of studio life, drawing a following of people who like their classes and philosophy, and making a little money doing something they love.
But I’m doing that now without being a teacher.
Through writing about yoga, and experiencing so many great teachers and styles offered in our city, (and jumping into some of the sacred texts in my free time) I have done a self-directed “deep dive” characteristic of the YTT program. I’m clearly very committed to sharing the gift of yoga, as evidenced by my 50-odd posts that go out to over 400 facebook fans every week. I love studio life and get to hang out at a lot, where I form relationships with teachers and students all over the city. I make a little money promoting my advertisers and affiliates (You should become an advertiser too! I do a very good job!).
So I’m torn. I get so much fulfillment and joy out of how I’m able to reach yogis through this medium. Blogging for you and hanging out with you before and after yoga classes lights me up. I can’t imagine that teaching would bring me more joy and play as well to my strengths. But who is to know unless I try?
Above all, I don’t want to compromise Atlanta Yoga Scene to go through months of teacher training. The catch-22, obviously, is that at some point doing both will be a reality if I want to accomplish my twice-a-week teaching dream. Why not now?