Taking the leap of faith
It was part of my 2019 resolutions, but it only came into fruition from a random conversation topic among my friends, that we decided to take the plunge for a YTT program together. After all, it’s always better to ‘suffer’ with friends than alone. While my strength and flexibility are decent, I somehow always struggle to attempt those more advanced poses mainly because of the constraints of a typical yoga class whereby I found myself lacking awareness of the poses technicalities, lacking opportunities to explore deeper, lacking proper instructions on how to achieve them, lacking proper guidance and therefore amassing a huge amount of fear to attempt them safely. Seemingly stuck in my yoga rut, with no proper trainers to train my alignment nor having found anyone in whom I dare to put my faith in to further my practice, I thought a YTT will equip me with the relevant knowledge and skill sets to achieve a deeper yoga practice that will be safe. While this thought has been deeply rooted in me for the longest time, it only started sprouting when random conversations with like minded friends gave me the courage to finally take the plunge, go forth and take charge of my yoga evolution. After all, as the wise proverb goes, if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. So, here’s to my yoga evolution. Sophia July’19 Weekend YTT
Val – Alignment and Adjustments 5/6
As part of YTT, we had to learn how to approach people, adjust them, to help them grow their practice. When teaching pole fitness, those were objectives I similarly had and have been doing BUT having Jess discuss it, the repercussions, the to-dos and don’t dos were so useful; I’ve added them to my databank of skills acquired and am applying them in my pole classes too. I now look at people (whilst they are practicing yoga) very differently and in a structured manner as Jessica’s cues run through my mind. From feet to ankles, shin and calves, knees, thighs, hip sockets, back (lower, middle, upper), tailbone, abs and ribs, collarbone, shoulder blades, shoulders, arms, neck and right up to the head – there’s now like a mini sensor that I see running through the person’s body as I seek the areas where I can cue and help the practitioner improve. I love the deepening of this skill with my newfound knowledge, I like how I’m able to be more effective at helping people and I love using it to remind myself of my own alignments and to be more efficient and stronger when I’m practicing or executing moves and combos on the pole. Another major takeaway from YTT! Val July’19 Weekend YTT
Val – The Community Classes 4/6
I did it! Survived the 2 community classes I was meant to teach as part of the YTT program. It was mentally such a tough ‘fight’ within myself, I’ve always nursed a fear of public speaking – the coward in me really wanted to get out of it, grappled with the temptation to send Jess and Alexis an email to bow out; with the panic setting in, I felt I would’ve been satisfied with a certificate of participation. But mothering is interesting, as we mother and teach, we learn so much too. As I shared my fears with my children, with roles flipped they encouraged me to see it through and not to give up mid-way. They ran runs with me and patiently listened to me talk more about Yoga in the last month than they have in their lives. Slowly, under Jess’ guidance, my fellow YTT mates and my friends’ optimism, alongside the structure of TYM’s lessons, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope that I could make myself stand in front of the room to conduct 2 classes. So I tossed the temptation to back out of it away but gosh, the panic, fear and nervousness stayed and are real. And finally it happened, 2 classes, one Sunday after another and I’m reeling from the ok-ness of it all! It went well (in my mind) – no blanking out on the sequence and everyone flowing really nicely during the session, and the feedback that they liked it! I’m feeling the massive satisfaction for forcing myself out of my comfort zone to do it. Other than the privilege to learn from Jess, this is the next biggest gift from TYM’s YTT! Val July’19 Weekend YTT
Val – Conscious Practice 3/6
My yoga practice re-awakened! Have had my yoga practice plateau for a while already, having fallen into bad habits and occasionally even losing the focus in my practice – but over the last 2 months, being at YTT has woken the practice and re-ignited the focus. It’s good fun, realizing the potential the body has, what I could see myself practicing hard on and hopefully achieving more. I have a new set of milestones to look forward to and in parallel finding satisfaction in just being on the mat, now. It is interesting how decisions made can hugely affect life’s steer. At this moment, there’s no desire to look back, just happy surging forward, learning and enjoying my practice. Val July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #6: Last Few Week of YTT
I can’t believe the weeks have flown by. I am writing this blog post with just a few weeks of YTT left and I am so grateful for everything that I have learned from my experience: Getting up at 8am on the weekends is possible and can be enjoyable. When I started YTT, I was most nervous about getting up at 8am on Saturday and Sunday. I was afraid of what I would have to sacrifice from my personal life. However, I was surprised to find out that I ended up enjoying the structure and the consistency that it has brought me. Even though I still go out over the weekends, I don’t let it stop me from having a good workout and lesson the next day. Be Observant and Empathetic: Observant and empathetic teachers make better teachers. Being observant helps me to understand others’ bodies, stay mindful of their strengths/weaknesses, and tailor poses to best suit their needs. Communicate the “why”: It’s not enough just to be observant. It’s also important as teachers for us to communicate to the students why we’re doing certain poses. It’s our role to guide the students and show them the importance of key poses to help them deepen their practice. The teachers here keep it real: Jess and Alexis, the two teachers that we interacted with the most during our YTT are very open with feedback. This is so good as you’re learning because you know immediately what you need to work on and what you’re good at. Don’t Eat Too Much Before You Practice Your Poses : Eating too much makes you sick. I learned the hard way. Overall, I’m so glad I took the course with Jessica at Yoga Mandala. The studio gave me the flexibility to pursue this interest of mine over the weekends. I am also very satisfied with the quality of teaching and the care that Jessica demonstrates towards her students. Her instructions are super detailed and she was always so much fun and made us laugh. Would highly recommend this course for anyone considering to pursue 200YTT. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #5: Observing and Adjusting Students’ Postures
One of my favourite YTT classes so far at Yoga Mandala has been observing our bodies and helping each other adjust our postures. It has been a highlight because: 1) It has taught me to be super observant of others’ bodies. To be teachers, we have to put the students’ needs first. This means that we have to observe our students’ bodies, understand their strengths and weakness, and help them adjust their poses accordingly. Jess, our teacher, was very helpful in pointing out the various parts of the body to observe. I was surprised to learn there are so many nuances of the body to look out for. Ex. Are the students’ shoulders even? Is there a hunch? Is there a flat back? Understanding these signals allows me to come up with poses that are best suited for their bodies. 2) It has taught me the importance of tailoring communication to the audience. After you identify parts of the student’s body that needs adjusting, the next part is actually communicating to the student on how to adjust. The students need to understand why they’re doing these specific poses, and it’s the role of the teacher to provide that context. I found this part to be the most challenging because the instructions that make sense to me don’t necessarily resonate in the same way to someone else. I found that at times when I provide instructions, the student actually did the opposite of what I had originally intended for them to do. This was super frustrating! The two lessons above have been the most valuable: build empathy for the student and communicate the why. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #4: The Mind and the Present Moment
One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned from YTT is that your mental strength is just as important as your physical strengthen when it comes to improving the quality of your practice. Mental strength is about the ability for your mind to stay present and to silence the external noise. According to a Harvard study, almost half of our waking hours is spent thinking about something other than what we’re doing. “Unlike other animals, humans spend a lot of time thinking about what isn’t going on around them: contemplating events that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or may never happen at all. Indeed, mind-wandering appears to be the human brain’s default mode of operation.” What’s concerning is that the study suggests a correlation between a wandering mind and an unhappy mind. How often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.” Yoga teaches the mind to be present and to resist wandering. In particular, focusing on the breath allows me to stay present and aware of my body. This is was a surprising benefit for me joining YTT. I had originally intended to get more in shape physically. However, I was surprised at how much training the mind to be present impacted my overall satisfaction. I am excited to learn more about the breathing exercises and to also teach these techniques to my future students. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #3: Teaching for the First Time
The first time teaching sun salutation to the entire class was one of the most nerve wrecking experiences so far during my YTT course. I was nervous because 1) Doing something new is scary. I was so used to being the student and I didn’t know what to expect as a teacher, 2) Big groups can be intimidating. There were so many girls in the room that I felt like I didn’t want to mess up their poses, 3) I was afraid I would forget the different posts. We each went up to the front of the room and instructed the students on sun salutation poses. I was grateful that Jess, our teacher, was there to correct me immediately when I forgot a pose or accidentally confused the different names. The girls in the class were super supportive and had great attitudes. They were particularly cool when I took a bit longer to remember the next pose. The only way to grow is to consistently push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I’m glad that Jess, our teacher, constantly does this and I’m even more grateful for this opportunity to practice teaching. Practicing to teach has taught me to be more confident and more comfortable with making mistakes. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #2: Learning to Teach
I am now four weeks into YTT at Yoga Mandala. The focus of the program is to allow participants to not only deepen their own practice and also potentially become yoga teachers if they choose to. I really enjoy Yoga Mandala’s Jessica Sinclair and her way of teaching. She’s super detailed in her explanations and patient with her students. She’s also not afraid to push her students to get out of their comfort zones which is a great quality in a teacher. Over the last few weeks I’m learning about the key differences between practicing and teaching yoga. 1) What comes naturally to me may not necessarily come naturally to others. Our bodies and our minds can vary from person to person. Just because something comes naturally to me doesn’t necessarily mean that it will automatically resonate with someone else. For example, because I’ve been practicing yoga for 7 years, I feel quite comfortable with the sun salutation sequence. However, as I was instructing this sequence, my teacher reminded me to mention variations for certain poses for students with limited flexibility. It was then I realized that I had unconsciously assumed variations was universal knowledge. It was a good reminder to plan your classes and instructions with your students (of varying levels) in mind. 2) You may not initially like the way you teach. When I recorded myself teaching a sequence, it didn’t turn out the way I had imagined. I spent most of the time cringing at my yoga or frustrated at the pace. I was a lot cooler in my mind than in real life. Recording myself was super helpful to observe and refine my teaching. 3) There are a lot of different teaching styles. One of our homework assignments this week was to teach the sun salutation to our YTT class. As we went around the room of 10+ people, it was interesting to see that even though the sequence was the same, everyone’s approach was unique with different intonation, pace, and details. This was reassuring because it made me realize there isn’t one “correct” way to teach yoga and in fact, I can have fun adding in my own style. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
Yin Yin Post #1: Introduction: Why I started YTT
I had been an avid runner growing up. I didn’t get into yoga until after college. I was initially drawn to it because it was so different from my normal routine. What kept me practicing for almost 7 years now is how it continues to challenge me in new ways both physically and mentally. My favourite part about yoga is how it’s taught me to understand how my words and actions impact those around me. This heightened sense of self-awareness has positively impacted not only my practice, but also my work and personal relationships. What drew me to Yoga Teacher Training was the desire to learn. Yoga Mandala particularly stood out because I had taken classes there before and loved the ambiance of the studio and the awesome teachers there. I felt that there was no way 5,000 years of yoga history and philosophy could be understood in just a simple 1-hour class, regardless of how many classes I’ve taken over the last 7 years. I’m super excited for what’s in store and hope to share my journey at Yoga Mandala with others who are also contemplating taking YTT. Ou Yin Yin July’19 Weekend YTT
