How to Choose the Right Yoga Teacher Training

Find a yoga teacher training that is going to teach you to deeply understand yourself and how to create a personal practice that will empower you to live to your fullest potential. Knowing yourself is the first step to being able to teach others.

I have been leading yoga teacher trainings and immersions for advanced yoga study for over 10 years and there are always questions that come up from dedicated students and potential teachers when they are ready to take the plunge into a yoga teacher training.  A training program is a large investment in time, money and energy and it can truly be one of the most transformative experiences of your life.  Choosing the right yoga teacher training for you is a decision that should be weighed carefully. 

Here my top ten tips on how to choose a yoga teacher training. 

1. Find a teacher training program that is led by a senior teacher who is steeped in daily practice and study. A teacher must first truly embody the teachings to be able to transmit them to you.  Don’t be shy about asking your potential teacher trainer about their personal practice. If you are interested in teaching and living yoga as opposed to instructing a class this is an important distinction to make in choosing the person who will be guiding you through your yoga journey. 
2. Beware of being dazzled by arm balances and fancy poses as your marker of whom you should study with. Attend a few classes or workshops with the potential teachers on your list. Notice how they interact with students. Ask them if they have a teacher and who they have studied with. Do some research on the lineage of teachers that they come from.  
3. Try  not  to use convenience of location as the main factor in choosing your training program. I have seen many students choose a yoga teacher training program because it was right down the street from their house without knowing anything about the studio or the teachers teaching the program. If your favorite band was playing 20 miles away you would probably drive to see them.  Make an effort to get to the best.
4. Consider the type of student you are. Trainings have many different schedules: from weekend modules for 14 weeks or so, to once a month for a year, to 15 days in a row or even month-long trainings in beautiful retreat settings. What is the best type of learning environment for you? Will you get overwhelmed with learning too much information over a short period of time? Do you like to have more time to digest and practice what you have learned before moving on to something new? Do you want to incorporate your training with a vacation to Costa Rica, Bali or Nicaragua? There are many options to choose from, research them all and listen to your intuition about what would best serve you. 
5. Find a training that is going to teach you to deeply understand yourself and how to create a personal practice that will empower you to live to your fullest potential. Knowing yourself is the first step to being able to teach others. Make sure you know what topics are going to be covered in the training. Most studios have an information session, make sure you attend!
6. If you have a special interest find the training that specializes in that type of study instead of generic yoga training. If you are interested in teaching prisoners go study with James Fox in his Prison Yoga Project. If you are interested in Yoga Therapy study with Gary Kraftsow or Larry Payne. If you are interested in Tantra study with Rod Stryker. Yin Yoga? You should find Paul Grilley ASAP. And if master teachers are not accessible to you find their senior teachers who live close to you and study with them. 
7. Make sure you know what topics are going to be covered in the training. Most studios have an information session, make sure you attend! If you really want to learn about the Chakra system make sure they are covering more than just the basics. Many studio’s will be bring in guest teachers to teach the portions of the training that they are masterful at like Ayurveda, Anatomy, Yin or Restorative. Look for trainings that bring in experts. It will give you a more well rounded experience. 
8. Don’t let money be a factor. Many studios will allow you to work as a karma yogi doing work around the studio or on social media to work off part or all of your training. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can set up a payment plan or do some karma hours in exchange for a discount.  
9. Start now! Get yourself started before your training even starts by reading a few books or watching a few online courses in your spare time. Reading books like The Heart of Yoga by T. K. V. Desikachar, The Secret of the Yoga Sutra’s by Pandit Rajmani Tiguanit, Yoga for Transformation by Gary Kraftsow or Yoga and Ayurveda by David Frawley . Watch Anatomy for Yoga with Paul Grilley or find online videos from the teachers you want to study with most. 
10. Use the same type of discernment that you would in choosing a doctor or nutritionist. Get referrals, do research, go to classes and mostly trust your gut. 

Tracee leads workshops, retreats and teacher trainings internationally and is a senior student of Yogarupa Rod Stryker. She has been studying in his ParaYoga style since 2001. Tracee teaches the Yoga of Willpower and IntentionTM with the desire to help students enrich their lives through sharing practices that lead to self mastery and self-empowerment. Find more about Tracee at www.traceeyoga.com

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What I Learned by Looking at My Shadow

I arrived early for my yoga class and found a sunny spot to place my mat and do a short meditation and invocation to prepare the space for my students. When I opened my eyes I saw my own shadow, it was a nice silhouette of of me sitting in meditation. Kind of a cool picture, I thought. But then I looked closer and noticed that my shoulders were creeping up towards my ears. When I actively released my shoulders downwards I felt a wave of relaxation and realized that I must have been sitting like that during my meditation. When I see this posture on others I assume they are stressed, defensive or fearful. I thought... just what am I holding on to?
In the book Yoga and Psychotherapy muscle tension is described as a "primitive way of separating oneself. By keeping the muscles tense and partly contracted, it serves as a boundary between oneself and others", thus giving the illusion of security. What secret invader could I be unconsciously trying to ward off ? Come to think of it I have had a sore neck over the last few weeks. I tried a few stretches, Epsom salt baths, even sleeping without a pillow for the last week. I replayed my various activities over the last week that could have possibly strained my neck. I finally settled on the unfortunate pounding I took in the impact zone while Stand Up surfing, but that was over a month ago and I really didn't remember hurting my neck. A posture can reflect the way a person is feeling inside, but holding the body a certain way can also accentuate those feelings and cause the feelings to be sustained, inhibiting our growth. Was this shoulder tensing preventing me from growing? At the very least my neck was hurting and that was effecting my practice. As I went through my day I realized I was tensing my shoulders more often than not. Something else was going on.
 I thought about the exercise that I had just completed in my teacher Rod Stryker's new book, The Four Desires. This particular exercise was designed to uncover your vikalpa. As Rod describes it "Your vikalpa are the kinds of mental constructs or beliefs that split or separate you from your highest self and from the destiny that your highest self would have you fulfill. In the end, it is your vikalpa that make up the inner obstacles - your false ideas, deep seated patterns and perceptions- that lead you away from your highest destiny."
A person can set many goals, intentions or sankalpas (resolves) but unless you have uncovered your vikalpa, it will be nearly impossible to fulfill your true destiny.  Once I completed the exercise and uncovered my vikapla, the set of beliefs that have been standing in my way of achieving great success became abundantly clear...like a ton of bricks... falling on my head. I flashed back on many opportunities come and gone that I let slip through my fingers-  relationships that I stayed in for too long- because really... I didn't feel I deserved to be successful and why I didn't feel I deserved it was even more surprising. But with that realization came a lightness. Just like it felt when I released the tension in my shoulders- a wave of relaxation.
So now I am using the habit of holding tension in my shoulders as my Departure Point, another technique outlined in The Four Desires. Rod describes this as a "juncture where you break the momentum of your old trajectory by interrupting a habit pattern and thus trigger a new trajectory twoard your goal. By giving something up you create an opportunity for the universe to fill the resulting gap with something new, and specifically something you desire- your sankalpa." It may not sound like much to give up, but I am already feeling the freedom its created in both my body and my mind. I sense a fire lighting the way towards achieving my goals that comes from a deep place and a new awareness that will help me to avoid the pitfalls that I have made it in the past due to my limiting beliefs.

You can order The Four Desires- Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom by Rod Styker at www.parayoga.com along with the accompanying guided meditations.
Please feel free to share your vikapla stores here.