Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities in Online Yoga Teacher Training

Since the beginning of the global pandemic in early 2020, we have all been finding creative solutions to pursuing our goals and dreams, and maintaining connections despite physical distancing. Zoom has become a household word and a ubiquitous tool that supports us in personal and professional settings. Many of us have experienced “Zoom fatigue”, or a sense of weariness related to spending many of our waking ours pegged to a screen. However, there have been many benefits as we have grown more accustomed to, and adept at communicating with people across vast geographical distances. The possibilities for connection, including taking online yoga teacher trainings, have expanded on a global scale.

Originally the relationship between a student and a teacher of yoga was highly individualized and often one to one. Over the last 50 years, yoga instruction has predominantly shifted to more of a group endeavor with one teacher for multiple students, and over the last two years yoga instruction has shifted again, by necessity, to an online format. While this has certain drawbacks, there have been so many positives.

Finding the Positives in the Pivot

In concert with many other schools, Balanced Rock + WildYoga Teacher Training embarked on the big pivot, taking our 10th annual 200-hour yoga teacher training online. We created and ran a unique program and successfully supported 13 incredible new graduates in profound learning and community connection in the face of global pandemic and physical distance.

We had no idea how this online learning journey would unfold, and we were thrilled that it was better than we could have ever imagined. We were inspired by how connected students were to the practices and to one another, and by the extent of the learning that this flexible format provided.  The professionalism of the instruction and the easy-to-use learning platform made for a top-notch educational experience.

“The virtual space feels sacred, much like if we were practicing in a studio together. I had a deeply connected experience to the yoga philosophy and wonderful people that joined me on this online journey. I was amazed how much I was learning and connecting in this online format. This is truly one of the best gifts you could give yourself.” ~Netty DeGarlais, 2021 YTT graduate

The Gifts of the Online Yoga Teacher Training Program

Specifically, we noticed that the new format offered consistency. Weekly meetings ensured regularity and routine both in community and in structuring students’ individual practice. All students loved the consistency of the group commitment over the eight-month program.

The new format provided some certainty in a world full of changing regulations. Rain or shine, quarantine or not, we would gather in our sacred virtual classroom. Regardless of what was happening in our unpredictable world, our study of the ancient wisdom of yoga carried on, through offering tools to support us in navigating the known and unknown.

We were successful at building community during a time when many people felt truly isolated. While we’ve all experienced how awkward and alienating Zoom can be, we found that our virtual classroom quickly became a deeply nourishing group learning space that our students found to be a refuge – both during live Zoom classes and offline through group communication.

Moving Out of Comfort Zones

2020 was a year that pushed most people outside their “comfort zone” and interrupted the pursuit of many well-made plans. The WildYoga Teacher Training offered students the opportunity to pursue their goal of immersing in the teachings of yoga from the comfort of wherever they were! Because it was not a destination program in an exotic location or studio, the elimination of travel made our program gentler on the planet. Furthermore, we received feedback from students that building a practice in your personal environment creates a routine you are more likely to continue once the course is completed!

Before the advent of virtual tools, one often had to make great sacrifices to train as a yoga teacher. With the virtual format, this goal became far more convenient to achieve; you could complete this program without giving up your job, your family responsibilities or drastically changing your schedule. The course provided a perfect blend of self-paced learning and live Zoom sessions, which accounted for approximately 15 hours per month.

Finally, because all instructors were teaching remotely and diminishing travel, we were able to offer the course at a lower cost. Our virtual program is more affordable than most in-person yoga teacher trainings that can cost upwards of twice as much as our offering. At a time when many people were unemployed, we continued our commitment to offering various financial assistance solutions for students to feel confident in joining this program without breaking the bank.

Because we continue to face uncertainty around in-person gatherings, we’ve decided to offer it in an online format again, this time with the possibility of adding on in-person modules. The WildYoga Teacher Training is an incredible opportunity to certify as a yoga instructor via a rich interdependent, grounding journey of connection, while staying local and embedded in the fabric of your life, and being in community with learners across the country and around the world.

Paula Wild

Paula Wild is the Program Manager and Lead Trainer for Balanced Rock Foundation’s WildYoga Teacher Training. Paula’s teaching blends alignment based, heart-centered, therapeutic yoga with her love and knowledge of ecology and natural history. Since 1999 Paula has been exploring the overlap between yoga and sustainable living, and her greatest intention is to support people in connecting to the wild world within, and around us. Please check out more wonderful programs to inspire health and wellbeing through deep connection to nature and spirit at Balanced Rock!

balancedrock.org%20

The post Online Can Be Divine: Lessons Learned in Online Yoga Teacher Training appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Riding the Waves of the New Year & Decade with Awareness

We are certainly living in very interesting times. Now, as never before, our socio-political landscape is shifting rapidly. Almost daily we are faced with news headlines that shake the foundation of what we assumed would or could happen. The level of perceived uncertainty experienced by humanity has been, and continues to be, unprecedented in this new decade. Where past generations could create and then carry out a five-year plan, millions of people today find the direction of their lives greatly altered within the course of a few weeks or months. Riding these rollercoasters of emotion can feel like our new, perhaps uncomfortable reality.

With wave upon wave of change, we may find ourselves riding rollercoasters of emotion which impacts how we show up; in our work, our relationships, and for ourselves. With each additional piece of news we digest online, we may feel pushed into despair, or lifted to joyful heights. This is occurring at an accelerated rate and we may be struggling to keep up with the cascade of thoughts, feelings, and accompanying hormones.

Reflecting on our Emotional Landscape

On January 20, 2021 the United States inaugurated a new President, and the first female, Black, South Asian Vice President. Throughout this day, I witnessed my emotions and tracked my internal responses to news and online commentary. Some of these were very intense indeed! Upon reflection, I recognized that I am sharing a moment with millions of people who may be surfing waves of strong emotions. Some of these emotions may be labeled as positive; ecstatic, relieved, hopeful. Some of these emotions may be labeled as negative; angry, betrayed, resigned. Regardless of how one may have voted in November, or whether one’s personal life has been directly affected by COVID-19, everyone has likely experienced strong emotions over the past few weeks and months.

On Inauguration Day, I was also struck by how my emotional spectrum four years ago was more or less the opposite of what I was currently experiencing on a visceral level. Recognizing this solidified my ability to see how external conditions can have a strong effect on me, and how often these days I am like a small ship tossed around on a massive stormy sea. I know I am not alone in this, and want to bring awareness to the collective experience of being inundated by change and uncertainty.

Pause and Practice for Balance

Yet there is hope for all of us, across the political spectrum! In this rapidly and ever-shifting climate, we have the life-rafts of yoga, meditation, and contemplative time in nature. We each have the power and capacity to pause, notice emotions as they arise, and create a bit of space between ourselves and this wild rollercoaster ride.

The essence of yoga and meditation is to remind ourselves of our true nature as embodied energy. We have a short and precious time on this planet to experience life, to connect with our experience, and to ease the suffering of others. It is challenging to fully embrace this truth of fluidity when we are constantly being shipwrecked by tidal waves of strong emotion.

The next time you begin to feel the rollercoasters of emotion arising within you, whether you label it as positive or negative, I encourage you to try this simple practice. It doesn’t require anything external, and will take less than five minutes to experience.

Meditation to use when riding rollercoasters of emotion

• Take a full breath in, and as you exhale let your awareness travel down to whatever parts of your body are in contact with the earth or the surface beneath you (i.e. your feet or your seat).
• Pause here and allow yourself to become fully absorbed in the sensation of your physical body contacting the surface beneath it.
• Next, commit to taking three breaths. This should be relatively easy since you are breathing anyway! Follow the course of the inhale, beginning at the nostrils, all the way down to the abdomen, then allow the exhale to freely leave the body, perhaps washing all the way down to those points of connection between you and the earth.
• After the completion of your third breath, take a moment to honestly assess whether your level of emotionality or activation has changed. If you find this to be the case, perhaps give yourself three more deep breaths.

Practice becoming comfortable with change

This short practice is accessible, free and can be done by most people in any location. My hope with this practice is to encourage us to come back to the very simple truth of who we are; embodied energy that is constantly in a state of change. When we are able to see how rapidly we can shift our own internal compass, we may find a greater sense of ease as we swim through the turbulent waters of our time.

You may choose to follow this up by taking some time to walk outside without any hurry, to sit somewhere outdoors, or find a place where you can rest your whole body on the earth. Feel the air in contact with your skin; allow your senses to connect you to your environment. When we spend quiet time in any natural setting, we can’t help but be reminded of how we are part of a greater whole. Give yourself this opportunity regularly, and over time notice whether it is supporting you in a world that will inevitably continue to change.

Paula Wild

Paula Wild is the Program Manager and Lead Trainer for Balanced Rock Foundation’s WildYoga Teacher Training. Paula’s teaching blends alignment based, heart-centered, therapeutic yoga with her love and knowledge of ecology and natural history. Since 1999 Paula has been exploring the overlap between yoga and sustainable living, and her greatest intention is to support people in connecting to the wild world within, and around us. Please check out more wonderful programs to inspire health and wellbeing through deep connection to nature and spirit at Balanced Rock!

balancedrock.org%20

The post Mindfulness and the Rollercoasters of Emotion appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.