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Making Great Teachers

One of the first days in class, Craig said to our group, “You are going to be amazed at what great yoga teachers you will be when you leave here.” This comment while met with a bit of speculation from the group, I have to say, he was absolutely correct. 

It is now July, only four months later and I am teaching more classes than I have time for. I am teaching at five different locations, two studios, two non-profits, and a mixed martial arts gym. In spite of the fact that I still go into each class hoping that I will not let anyone down, I find that I truly have become a great yoga teacher. People are amazed to learn that I am so new to the profession and I hear compliments on my teaching style all the time. Yandara truly has taught me to be a great teacher. I have found my place in life, what I was meant to do, and I am so very grateful.

With sincerity and gratitude,
Heather Lane Borggard Baja Training

HOW DOES ONE BECOME A GREAT YOGA TEACHER?

For many of us, the reason for pursing becoming a yoga teacher, is an experience of taking a class with a truly inspiring teacher.  What is it that makes that yoga teacher different from all the rest?

That universal quality is presence. When we are truly present, we radiate our gift. Perhaps what your favorite yoga teacher radiates is wisdom, or perhaps it is strength, peace, joy or pure love. It doesn’t matter how we qualify this radiance. It simply permeates our experience on the mat and leaves us feeling wiser, stronger, more peaceful, more joyful, more loved. Often, we may feel that we don’t know how to find our gift, or how to share it with others. But, at Yandara, we believe that you already have the knowledge and intuition to do just that. One of the pillars of the Yandara Yoga Teacher Training, is to guide you to unveil your true gift as a teacher.

Yandara’s system and workshops will offer simple, yet profound, steps to realize that you are an amazing yoga practitioner, and a great yoga teacher! Yandara Yoga Institute states the meaning of a truly inspiring, heartfelt, and intuitive teacher training that will take you deeper into yourself, as well as further into the world.

Yandara Teacher Training System:

  • 1. Teaching Confidence: You will start to practice teaching on the 2nd day, and teach daily throughout the training. We have found that, while it is of importance, gathering information about yoga is not enough to learn how to impart the wisdom of this ancient practice. Through teaching, and receiving immediate personal feedback, you will become more confident; confidence allows you to relax and let your gifts come through.
  • 2. Inner Alignment and hands-on-assists: At Yandara, we value proper alignment as an important tool to a sustainable practice. That being said, what is the “proper alignment” for each individual? So many of the different yoga styles sometimes teach conflicting opinions, even about the very basic poses, and how to practice them. So, now what? We have some options, we can become fanatical about our “style” being the only way, or we can go on a quest for the latest in corrections and cues. A third option is offered here at Yandara, as well as basic alignment and cueing principles, you will be taught how to cultivate and decipher the language of the body. You will learn to guide your students to be aware of what their sensations are telling them, and how to move safely in the pose. Your inner ears will be trained to hear the quiet voice of the inner guru, the one who is present in your every breath, and always ready to align you to you. To practice with the support of inner alignment allows you to stay in your safety, even while challenging yourself with more advanced asanas. On the same basis you will learn how to guide your students to find their inner alignment, both with the use of cues, and with hands-on-assists.
  • 3. Cueing from your heart: At Yandara you will learn to access cueing words from the heart instead of from brain memory. Cueing from the heart happens naturally through presence. To set the constantly thinking mind aside, and let your heart shine through in your classes will give them a unique and personal touch.
  • 4. An open style and a set sequence: At Yandara, you will learn an open style of Yoga, which allows you to choose what, and how, you want to teach in the future. You will get all the tools you need to create a fun and challenging yoga class. To help you build your confidence, as a beginner teacher, one part of the teacher training also consists of learning a couple of set sequences. Those sequences are tools you can choose to use in your future classes, for as long as you like.
  • 5. Compassion: An important part of the Yandara training is understanding and developing our caring, compassionate nature, this a big part of unveiling the radiant teacher inside.

These five principles are part of the “Yandara Teacher Training System” that will assist you to become the yoga teacher you want to be.

Yandara Teacher Training Curriculum:

  • Yogic Technology: This part of the curriculum consists of experiencing and breaking down Asana, Pranayama, and Meditation techniques.
  • The Human Body: Learn about muscles, bones, and our physiology, as well as about safe movement and how the body works, biomechanically, in different postures. This part of the training includes subtle yogic anatomy; how energy moves and functions in the different layers of our human experience.
  • Yoga Philosophy and Lifestyle: What is yoga? Where did it start? What does it mean to be a yoga practitioner? We discuss key yogic philosophical concepts, and bring awareness to the ethics taught in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
  • Being a Yoga Teacher: Learn how to become a great teacher! Study the sequence wave of a yoga class and discuss how to use the most effective cueing. Become a master space holder and find your identity as a teacher. Students will practice teach daily, and receive loving feedback from teachers and peers.
  • Communication Skills: Develop your caring, compassionate nature by learning to meet and express your truth in our signature Satya (truth) circles. Often, our fear of vulnerability veils the most inspiring, radiant part of us. Our YTT program is designed to bring forth the gift that is YOU, and let is shine! Simply by being the most authentic version of yourself, you will become an elevated and inspiring yoga teacher.