Day: May 12, 2011

Last week I went to an information session at ISHTA for yoga teacher training. About a year ago I completed by 200 hour level teacher training at Sonic and since then have been tossing around the idea of doing a 500 level training. I almost took that up at Sonic, though I had some reservations about the style, scheduling, and cost of the program at Sonic. I have also increasingly become interested in a more integrated holistic approach with yoga as a piece of the pie combined with Ayurveda and therapeutics. This interest in a holistic approach led me to ISHTA (which stands for Integrated System of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda.)

The info session included a mini class which felt very familiar to me and in line with the way I approach my own teaching. Alan Finger, the founder of ISHTA, offered a meditation that felt good to my heart. His approach, and the approach of all of his teachers, focuses on helping each teacher find his or her own voice, their own best version of the practice. I like the personalization and the feeling of openness and acceptance I found nestled into their safe space on East 11th Street. I was able to relax and smile in the warmth and glow of that community. It felt comfortable, like home.

I have decided to explore the possibility of further teacher training for three main reasons:

1.) The 200 hour training certainly improves an individual’s practice and further understanding of yoga. What it doesn’t teach you is now to teach. While sequencing and practice teaching were certainly a part of my 200 hour training, there simply are not enough hours to delve deeply into the art and craft of teaching. I have a natural gift for teaching, though I want to have the opportunity to hone that skill under the guidance of a master teacher.

2.) Because of my interest in therapeutic yoga, and specifically in the area of trauma, I need further training in anatomy and neurophysiology. While I have been reading books and materials on the subject, the cases I’m most interested in working on are with populations like veterans, disaster survivors, civic workers like those in the police and fire departments, and rehabilitation patients. This is very specialized work and in order to help these people to the very best of my abilities I want to feel confident that I am fully prepared to help them through these challenges.

3.) My favorite part of my teacher training at Sonic was the group of beautiful souls that I traveled through the training with. They have become a precious part of my life and if there is an opportunity to have that experience again while gaining all of these skills that I’m so passionate about then I’m glad to snap up the opportunity!

Timing
Now the question remains about timing. ISHTA has a program coming up in the Fall that will be happening right around the time that I plan to move to a new apartment and possibly begin my next career adventure. This could be challenging so it will be a few months before I know how everything is shaking out. I promise to share the details here and soon as I have all my yogic ducks in a row! Thanks for sharing in this journey with me.