Despite all I’ve created with YogaByCandace®, I never want to get to a place in my life where I feel like I have nothing more to learn. I’ve always been a curious person by nature, and am always looking to grow and improve. And in the spirit of that, I wanted to share five things that’ve helped me become a stronger yoga teacher.
Take classes on subjects that you normally wouldn’t gravitate towards: I’m nearing the end of my 300hr yoga teacher training and most of my modules have been more of the therapeutic side of yoga - meditation, restorative, mindfulness, neuroscience, etc. Normally, these aren’t things I would gravitate towards. Instead, I like to nerd out on anatomy, the physical practice, and complementary studies like massage. But all my modules have been on the more subtle aspects of yoga and they have honestly helped my teaching so much because I’m able to incorporate more subtle practices into my teachings which I feel make my classes that much more vibrant.
Get out of your comfort zone. It just dawned on me the other day, after I was talking with Danielle at Namaslay® Yoga Teacher Training that I realized she’d inspired me to get out of my comfort zone. Danielle is a poet, and her poems are just so beautiful. She incorporates them into her yoga classes, and it’s just a gorgeous experience. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, and incorporate a special element of myself into my classes, so I decided the sing Amazing Grace at the end of class one day while in Santorini for our 200hr intensive yoga teacher training. I was incredibly nervous, but I just went for it, and it felt so good. I had a number of people come up to me afterwards and say it really touched them, so I felt like it was worth it. And it wouldn’t have happened without
Incorporate something new. Once of the things I love about leading Namaslay® Yoga Teacher Trainings is that we bring in other teachers with different backgrounds. Dan Tavino is a staple at our trainings to help with strength building and learning how to use six functional strength building movements to complement and support the yoga practice. Just taking his strength class at YTT was a great reminder that I can incorporate other physical aspects that you might not normally see in a general yoga class to create something really unique. For example, you could build an entire yoga class around various push ups for strength building that could be educational, challenging, and fun.
Get those continuing education hours. I’ve been a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance since 2012, and hitting my continuing education hours is always something I look forward to because every time I go do a course or training, I learn something that enriches my offerings. I’m psyched because I just realized I’m now an E-YRT which means I can now offer workshops, retreats and trainings that will grant others continuing education hours. Coming up we have so many opportunities including our Italy Personal Growth Yoga Retreat this October, and our Meditation Intensive.
I’d love to hear how you stay inspired, motivated and excited as your continue along your yoga teaching journey. Sound off in the comments below!