Foundation Course - become a yoga teacher...
Will I, won't I? Making the decision to put yourself forward for teacher training is a tough one. 'Yes, I feel I'm doing well in my class, am really feeling the benefits of my yoga and would like to take it a step further - but am I good enough? Do I have what it takes? Actually, what does it take to become a yoga teacher?'
Never mind the answers, the very questions can feel daunting when considering your yoga future. So the advent of a new Foundation course at the start of the year, seemed to offer the ideal 'taster' for those of us who were grappling with the issue. The commitment to it also seemed manageable - one saturday a month for six months. Here was a solution that was not only 'do-able' but also promised to be fun.
A course that leaves you hungry for more
Foundation course graduate and current teacher trainee, Ena Coleman, took the plunge and found it very beneficial: " it helped me to develop and explore a wide range of asanas in more depth than a weekly class would allow. The philosophy of yoga and the discussions around the yamas and niyamas were extremely interesting and thought provoking and certainly makes the philosophy element of the teacher training course much less daunting - in fact the foundation course left me hungry for more!
"I loved the Inside Out approach to yoga practice and the use of bandas and I try to remember these in my regular practice. The exploration of the mudras was something I hadn't done to any great extent so I found this useful as well. I also liked the way the practice was based around the chakras."
Confidence building
According to Jean O'Mara, another participant who went on to the teacher training, "having practiced yoga for many years, I had never pushed myself to do more. Being part of a mixed-ability class, I had become lazy and tended to do the minimum when practicing any poses. I didn't know if I could go further. The Foundation course was an opportunity to see if I could. Once on the course, I really enjoyed the various aspects of it: I liked the way the chakras were highlighted and worked with. The introduction to yoga philosophy which it afforded me, has really encouraged me to widen my reading to find out more.
Breathwork was something I was familiar with but I had never explored the 'why' of it. Doing breathwork in a more in-depth way gave me a reason to want to practice more. Our introduction to meditation on the course was gentle and encouraging. I had a few mis-conceptions about it , in fact, and did struggle with it. But talking it over with the tutors I didn't feel downhearted about my stuggle. I decided not to beat myself up about it and just worked away at it. With one month to go on the course I was feeling great and knew I'd be sad to see the end of it - that I'd miss it. I had learnt so much about myself and by the end of it knew that I could do so much more than I thought - I was capable! "
As Ena puts it, " devoting one saturday per month to yoga in a supportive and friendly group environment was a personal treat and encouraged me to make the leap to devoting one weekend per month to the teacher training course. The teachers were interesting, gentle and encouraging and helped build confidence during the course. As an end in itself it is an excellent course and provides great motivation for developing the yoga journey - as a taster for the teacher training course it is invaluable. I would highly recommend it."
Sally Dunne, trainee teacher, acupuncturist, chinese herbalist, shiatsu practitioner.
Find out more about The Yoga Therapy Ireland Foundation Yoga Course to become a yoga teacher.
To register for this course, please complete the following form: