Yoga Teacher Training: DAY 1

Day 1: 

I was so excited for my first day of Yoga Teacher Training at Prana Yoga College in Vancouver, BC. I arrived, on time surprisingly, to the Centre of Peace in the heart of funky Kitsilano. The training takes place in the Great Hall of the building -- a beautiful room with huge bay windows and 30ft ceilings. As I crept into the room, feeling a little intimidated and unsure of what to expect, I was greeted by several women, milling around the outskirts of the room, not really sure what to do or what to say. I stuffed my overweight backpack in the corner of the room and joined in on the uncomfortable and shy feeling that hung throughout the Hall. After grabbing my course-pack, I took a seat in the half-circle of chairs, careful to leave a chair empty between me and the person beside me. I don’t know why I do this; I think it might be because I like my space and hate it when random people sit so close to me. Anyway, as the students took their seats in the half-moon stage, a gentle murmuring of greetings arose from the women and the single man taking the course. Suddenly, a woman entered from the outside of the circle. Dark hair cascaded down her back, spilling onto a blue velvet cape and a turquoise velvet gown underneath. She walked with such confidence that everyone stopped talking and stared wide-eyed at this goddess. The woman flew past the chairs and into the centre of the group.

“I am Shakti,” she announced, “and I will be teaching you yoga.”

         Her strong Israeli accent thundered around our ears; rings glittering and eyes flashing, she was a celestial being. At once, I felt amazed and wished to be exactly like her. Velvet, bangs in her face, strong voice, confident, she glows in your presence. 

After that moment, the day was much of a blur. An hour and a half yoga class followed, full of downward dog, child’s pose, breathing, and posturing our bodies in unimaginable positions to a humble beginner. Shakti taught us about asanas or the postures of yoga. Asana means ‘to sit’ or ‘to be present’ in Sanskrit. There are very few moments when we actually acknowledge our existence and live in the present. Shakti said that we are all addicted to pain. I thought of tattoos, piercings; then in relationships, when you don’t fight with your partner you think, “what’s wrong with them?”. No pain, no gain -- this is what we are all taught since we were very young. However, the goal of yoga is to enjoy enlightenment in the moment, to drain the mind and hold yourself in the moment. I understand it as, stop dwelling on all the pain in your life and reflect on the present and listen to your body and mind at this moment. 

The Difference between Hatha Yoga and Bikram Yoga (regular yoga and hot yoga)

I know my uncle will hate me for saying this, but I hate hot yoga. Hahaha. Sorry Uncle Mark but this is why!

        True yoga is a breathing meditation; the postures are not meant solely for physical exercise. Every asana or posture is controlled, it is a focused meditation. 

I have taken a lot of hot yoga classes, surprisingly, doing a 30 day challenge and a few classes here and there. Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, is all about Go-Go-Go -- the teacher actually speeds you through the postures by clapping (very bootcamp-ish if I can use that as an adjective)! In the classes, the teacher wears a headset, pushing her voice through mechanical speakers. Then the whole set is revolved around 26 postures (the same ones every time) that you do in an hour and a half in a room heated to around 40 degrees Farenheit. The room is closed, so there is no new air circulating through it, creating an environment where everyone is breathing carbon dioxide into their lungs. When you have 30 people in an enclosed room, there is only so much oxygen in that space, then it turns into you breathing in everyone else’s gaseous waste. Fun. While it gives you an insane workout, it totally takes out the spirituality from yoga. Yoga is not supposed to be about Go-Go-Go, it is about controlled meditation! The whole world is about GO and true yoga offers a slower version out of life. Shakti shared with us that she thinks Bikram Yoga was created by taking the spiritual aspect out of yoga so that people didn’t not need to change when they took part in the exercise. It’s a lot easier to work out for an hour and a half and focus on only changing your body. It’s a lot more difficult to work for that amount of time focussing only on yourself, your mind, and changing your thoughts, intentions, and beliefs. 

In other words, if you don’t want to challenge your spirituality or encourage growth in that aspect of your life, do hot yoga; it is definitely a challenge. However, I will stay in a nicely aired room with generous amounts of fresh air, free from being spattered with other people’s sweat, and I will focus on internal change (isn’t that more important anyway?). 

The goal of yoga is to focus on expanding internal self-awareness and to move away from performance in the practice. There is no need for mirrors or competitions; yoga should not be a contest. Practice yoga like you pray; quiet, alone, without flaunting in front of others, because it is a private internal self-realization practice. Shakti said, “Make love with the asanas -- treat them as though you are in love with them and strive to go deeper and further with the postures at all times. Make your practice internal, make it yours, and do it privately without flaunting.” 

So, here I am, at the end of the first day, incredibly excited to continue my training and anxious at the amounts of learning and work that I will need to complete. I am motivated though. I have always wanted to learn these things and yoga is so amazing. Day 1, completed, 4 weeks and 4 days to go!