By: Mandy Burstein
The opportunity to become a student again is such a wonderful gift in
life. In the first few years following my 200 hour yoga certification, I
jumped right into the world of teaching yoga. I taught and talked about
yoga A LOT. I taught in a studio, at the beach, on the ocean, to kids,
to people stuck in cubicles all day, to groups of girlfriends
celebrating their bride-to-be and to just the average studio-go-er
looking for a release after a long day.
Look, there's me back in 2010! Teaching my lil heart out.
For many years, the focus was my
students and helping to deepen their yogic experience. My studentship of
yoga took a back seat to my desire to share the yoga love far and wide.
Thankfully, the opportunity to pause and re-calibrate my intention on
being, first and foremost, a student of yoga arose in the late summer of 2012. A 300 hour-long Professional Teacher Training by YogaWorks and hosted at one of my most beloved local studios, Prana Yoga Center
in La Jolla came into my life and I had a choice to make. Continue on
the path of enthusiastically sharing yoga in all shapes and sizes
without a clear direction as to where I wanted my long-term career to
go.... OR ....commit to an almost 7 month long program
designed to shape the future of the yoga industry with professional,
articulate teachers who instruct safe, intelligent classes and have a
clear direction of their long-term career path molded by a concerned and
attentive mentor. My answer became quite clear. Despite having to "give
up" a few classes and my weekends for the next 7 months, I knew that
this was the right next step for me.
I love this photo. The wide-eyed
expression on my face as the talented Rachel Krentzman instructs the
anatomical accuracy of Utkatasana perfectly depicts my feeling towards
the entire training. Captivated, mesmerized, enthralled - 300 hours of
pure yoga bliss.
In reflection of my time spent in
the YogaWorks 300 hour Professional Teacher Training, I compiled a list
of my most profound lessons learned. The following are my biggest
take-aways and what will stay with me as I travel forward on my journey:
1) Meditation is not meant to be boring! We spent three wonderful days with Lorin Roche, an esteemed meditation teacher with over 40 years of study and teaching behind him. He single-handedly reworked the definition I had in my head about what the word, OM means. He explained that OM
is truly a celebration of Life. Instead of drawing from outside sources
of inspiration, learn to sit still, breathe a little slower and start
the process of getting to know yourself from the inside out. When we
travel within, there is so much beauty and joy to be discovered.
Mediation is not meant to be this solemn experience. It can be a celebration of life from the inside out!
*Side note: Lorin also translated the ancient text, Vijnana Bhairava Tantra into what he so eloquently named the Radiance Sutras, which is now my favorite ancient text. A must read for yoga teachers!
Lorin doing his thing, so eloquently schooling us on the beauty to be
found in meditation. Once again, I'm mesmerized. We all are.
2) Stop Stressing Out! Master Iyengar yoga teacher Lisa Walford spoke
to us at length about the mind-body connection and what a profound
impact it has on one's overall well being. The most profound point she
made, to me, was that our bodies do not know the difference between real
versus perceived stress. So, if you think the world is caving in on
you, your body will respond accordingly. To me, this means I need to
stop sweating the small stuff. It's not worth it in the long run.
3) Your voice is beautiful and necessary - Express Yourself! This lesson came out of a long and very memorable weekend with the radiant Suzanne Sterling. According to her bio, Suzanne is "an ecstatic vocalist, innovative composer, teacher and invoker of the sacred."
And invoke the sacred she most certainly did! Over the course of many
hours of being serenaded by her enchanting voice and her majestic
harmonium, she slowly but surely coaxed all 20 of us into chanting at
the top of our lungs. It was a powerful experience,
especially for those like myself who don't sing. Suzanne made an
important point that will stick with me forever: Most cultures encourage
singing and dancing, which is our natural state. Our culture tends to
discourage this by judging and belittling those that do. (Exhibit A: She asked us to raise our hands if we had ever been told that we had a bad voice. Most everyone did.) Flash forward to today, 8 months since this experience:
I have confidently led my students in chanting in almost every class
I've taught since then. A big Namaste to you, Ms. Sterling!
4) How to be a Business Savvy Yogi - The
ability to streamline and specialize will determine your level of
success as a yoga teacher. Put simply, there are a TON of yoga teachers
out there, with that number probably tripling in the next few years.
Everyone needs something to make themselves stand out from the pack.
This is not a new concept. Pattabhi Jois did it when he branched out
from his guru, Krishnamacharya to create the powerful style known as
Ashtanga Yoga. BKS Iyengar did the same when he got into a terrible
accident realized that a new style of yoga was needed to heal his body
and that others would benefit from it as well. The modern adaptation of
this is that maybe in your first few years of teaching you dabble in
lots of different things. But then, eventually, you learn to streamline
and focus on one or two areas and become really knowledgeable in them.
The ability to specialize is not only necessary in today's saturated
yoga market, but will also provide you with a true focus and dedication
to your specialty. It's a win/win for every body!
One of my favorite parts of the
training is creating a Final Project to present at the end, which
represents where you want your yoga career to go. Here I am presenting
my concept for a yoga event planning company. Utilizing my background in
marketing and logistics, I will provide travel and coordinating
services for retreats, teacher trainings and more!
Here are two of my dear yogini friends, Shawnee and Jessica
presenting their Final Projects. Shawnee works in schools with special
needs children and is developing a full curriculum for working with autistic children through yoga. So inspiring!
5) The Importance of Mentorship -
In our modern Western world, the concept of mentorship does not exist
in a very meaningful way. Possibly my favorite aspect of the YogaWorks
300hour training is that you are paired with a local master teacher who
mentors you through the process and you are expected to complete a
formal Apprenticeship with them. The guidance that I was provided by my
mentor, Stacy McCarthy
will stick with my for the rest of my life. Not only was she able to
help me streamline my many projects into one tangible career path, but
she was also a great personal role model for me as well. Stacy
represents a hard-working, ambitious woman who is committed to spreading
the importance of yoga and healthy living, while maintaining a
beautiful family life with her husband and two kids.
Our mentor group. We love you, NamaStacy!
It's all about teamwork. The more we collaborate,
support and uplift each other, the easier life will be.
6) We gotta take care of the Mamas! The training included an immersion in teaching Prenatal Yoga and I'm so grateful I was able to experience that. Vicki Abrams
is a pregnancy and childbirth expert who co-authored a book called
"Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives" with Deepak Chopra. She impressed
upon us the importance of working with pregnant women in a delicate yet
empowering way, as the emotional state of the baby is reflected by the
emotional state of the mother.
Having fun learning how to teach to pregnant women using balloons :)
7) Sthira Sukham Asanam - This line appears in Chapter 2.46 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and will stay with me forever. It loosely translates as, "The yoga posture is firm yet happy." On
the surface, it sounds like such an obvious goal, but this one line
proved to have such a deeper meaning in my practice on my mat and also
in my life as a whole. The idea of Sthira/Sukha can also be thought of
as the balance between effort and surrender, or strength and softness.
In our yoga postures, but also in our lives, we must strive to find the
balance between those equally-important forces. If we are too strong, we
overpower others and lack compassion. If we are too soft, we get walked
all over don't stand up for ourselves. Herein lies one of life's
greatest challenges. And the journey towards finding the balance
continues....
The beautiful Erika Burkhalter demonstrating advanced asanas and,
to me, perfectly embodying the concept of Sthira Sukha Asanam. Firm yet happy :)
To my fellow Teacher Trainees, thank you for your support,
love, compassion and presence throughout our time together. Namaste!
*Out-Takes*
While it was a serious journey for all of us in taking our yoga teaching
careers to the next level, there were also lots of great laughs over
the course of the 7 months.....
Lesson learned: Never take anything too seriously. Even yoga!
Right: Erika adjusting Abby. "Your leg WILL get behind your head! It will be firm AND happy."
Left: Paul embracing his inner preggo yoga mama.
Lazy Sundays in training while everyone else is at the beach.....
Loving on our mentor, NamaStacy!
Jesse demo-ing ancient breath retention technique, Bhyantara Kumbhaka and trying not to laugh :)
Mandy
Burstein is a yoga instructor and writer based in La Jolla, California.
She began her journey into yoga on the beaches of Costa Rica and has
been captivated ever since. Through yoga and writing, she passionately
empowers people to become the best versions of themselves, both on and
off the mat.
Mandy
teaches at Prana on Monday's at 7:15pm for a Vinyasa 1-2 classs
Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching yoga to a
spirited group of seniors in La Jolla, CA. It was our first class
together so I started with the foundation, our feet.
