Going back to school!

So, it's official!  I've been accepted into a 240 hour yoga teacher training program that I've been drooling over for the better part of this year.

While my correspondence course with Aura Wellness Center gave me the foundation, this course will springboard me forward into the future I envision for myself as a Fat Yoga Teacher.

When I first realized that what I wanted was to share with others what I have experienced from yoga, I was terrified. I was (relatively) new to the concept of Body Positivity and had experienced this major transformation through my Yoga practice. I realized that to share my passion for yoga with others would bring me so much joy. But, I wasn't sure I would feel comfortable teaching. I wasn't sure. 

The correspondence course gave me an affordable way and realistic way to start down the path. I earned my certification and my yoga knowledge grew significantly, but I also found that I was lacking the benefits of in-person instruction. I began attending Yoga Teacher development workshops and found rapid growth there. The real-life interactions with other teachers and fellow yogis and yoginis helped me much more than the material from the correspondence course had.

Through the workshops, I began to experience different teacher's teacher-training "style" and found myself drawn to a particular program. Since it offers part time hours, I can keep my office job while I attend the course, which is a major benefit. It's accredited and tax-deductible (yay!), but most importantly - it is not branded.

I'd found myself really reluctant to take a teacher training program for a branded yoga methodology, such as Bikram's, Anusara, and other varieties. What I wanted was a solid foundation in Yoga instruction that was customizable. So much of what I do with Yoga is outside the box. There are not many fat yoga teachers and my 'style' of Yoga is, by necessity, very different. I needed a teacher training program that wasn't going to try to shove me in a mold. The program I'd found described the approach as "Open Source". Which is, essentially, what I need in a teacher training program.

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As you can see, it's exactly the sort of program that someone like me needs! So, I applied for the program and was recently accepted.

It's going to be an interesting winter for me. I work my day job Monday through Friday 7:30-4:30. School will be Friday's 5-9pm and then all day Saturday & Sunday. I managed to work out an arrangment with the day job to take half-day Friday's during the program, but even still - it's going to be pretty darn busy! :)

Yoga Bears starts back up in September as well. I'm so excited to get back into the studio and teach the Bears. They're such a fantastic group. It's also going to be really great being able to work with them throughout my training program, where I can practically apply the things that I learn, as I learn them. Talk about win-win!

Once I complete this training program, I'll be working full-speed to get a Body Positivity Yoga class series going, hopefully at a local studio or community centre!

I can't wait!!