Day 4, by Kristy Alpert
For so long, yoga was a personal practice for me. I went to group classes, sure, but even during those I rarely made any deep connections with my teachers or my peers.
That’s so not been the case with Yandara. Although it is still very much a personal journey (in fact, it’s more personal now than I ever dreamed it would be), there is literally not much I could do without the support and help from my fellow teacher trainees. Aside from helping each other practice teaching and deepen our understanding of the poses and yoga as a whole, we’ve already begun to lean on each other for personal issues and have become like a support net that’s ready to catch anyone that may trip or fall, be it emotionally or physically.
I imagined there might be a bit of drama when you pull in 20 strangers with an agenda for the retreat (i.e., become a teacher, become the best teacher, have the most impressive dancer pose, etc.), but there hasn’t been an ounce of competition or drama. In fact, I feel like I’ve been encouraged more in the past four days than I have in the past four years. It’s amazing to see the atmosphere that mutual understanding and respect can create when likeminded people come together, regardless of backgrounds.
Although I still fully believe that yoga is a personal journey, it has transformed into a community for me where love, open-mindedness, and genuine inspiration and affirmation reign over every conversation … both verbal and not.
Packing tip of the day: Small bag or backpack. When you arrive you’ll receive two manuals that you’ll be bringing to and from the sessions. That—plus having a place to keep your journal, pens, layers, and anything else you may need—makes it handy to have a bag to tote everything to and from.
