My journey on the yoga teacher training course began when I contacted my own fabulous yoga teacher Sonya. I told her I was thinking of applying to Yti, I knew she had done this course so I wondered would she recommend or steer me in the right direction. I loved her style of yoga, her style of teaching and its from Sonya that my love of yoga sprang. Sonya rang me back and straight away I picked up on her excitement! Every time I talk to Sonya I leave the conversation buzzing, I knew she would be completely honest with me. She said it was the most amazing experience and such a journey; a life journey and that yes I should absolutely do this course, which I did.
Myself and a few other perspective trainees met with Maureen before the course began. She answered all our questions about the course, she ran through what we would be doing and then mentioned we would be teaching by the end of the year. When I heard this part my heart slightly skipped a beat. I was very nervous, I wasn’t great at putting myself out there; talking or standing in front of crowds is something I actively avoided my whole life. When Maureen mentioned that we would in fact be teaching that soon, I really started to doubt myself and questioned whether I would ever be able to do this. Yes I loved yoga but would I actually be able to get up in front of a class and teach. My love of yoga spurred me on so I put my absolute faith in Maureen and Yti and of course all the amazing tutors that I was yet to meet.
The course began in September 2019. We met our amazing tutors Marie, Elaine and Helena. Everyone was so welcoming, there was no tiers, we were all equal.
I spent the next 2 years with the most amazing group of women that I have ever met. We all came from different walks of life, but all connected through our love of yoga. Some knew that they definitely wanted to teach while others just want to deepen their own understanding and knowledge of this beautiful practice.
From day 1 our tutors Marie, Elaine and Helena were nothing but amazing. They were all so welcoming and we got stuck straight in to the course. Their level of knowledge was unbelievable. We dove into asana practice as well as philosophy. I wasn’t mad about philosophy at first but as the 2 years went on something just changed and I found the philosophy one of the absolute best parts of the course, which I wasn’t expecting. We studied anatomy and physiology which was linked in with our asana practice every month, so everything we learnt in theory was put into practice straight away. We studied the Yamas, Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana, the Yoga Kriyas, Mudras and Bandhas, Dharana and relaxation techniques. We also had a great first aid course as well as a child protection course.
We had the opportunity to do several workshops during the 2 years. In year 2 we had workshops dedicated to the 7 chakras which were an absolute highlight for me. Again every tutors level of knowledge was just incredible and I think we left each chakra workshop in awe of what we had experienced.
I found the teaching methods used by our tutors Marie, Elaine and Helena(for a short while) so affective. Every month we delved deeper and deeper into our practice which led to us eventually teaching each other. We started off in small groups which led to bigger groups, then all of a sudden we found ourselves in front of the whole class teaching an asana or doing a meditation, centering or relaxation. As I said at the beginning this is what I was most nervous about but the way in which the tutors weaved their magic and got us all to this point was incredible. Unfortunately covid hit with a bang half way through the course. We continued online; learning & teaching but we as a group never lost our most amazing bond. I have never been around such an amazing group of like minded people, I would absolutely do this course again in a heart beat.
Following our graduation I am now teaching a weekly yoga class in Celbridge. To be able to go into a room and offer my amazing students techniques to help them relax, to find their breath and just to have an hour of presence is the absolute cherry on top of what has been the most amazing and life changing experience of my life.
Róisín Meagher