Goals for Yoga Teacher Training & How I am Preparing
Goals for Yoga Teacher Training & How I am Preparing
Goals are Building Blocks
Do you remember when you applied for your first job? I do. I was sixteen and my car wasn’t going very far without gas. I didn’t know at the time that my first job would lead to my second and then my third. What started as a goal to make gas money; built into a goal to increase connections, which built into a way to pay for college and support myself. Goals aren’t always about dreams; they are also the decisions we make to take a new job, moving to a new city, or taking a risk. The important thing about goals is to treat them as building blocks and not finish lines. What I mean by this is when we reach a goal, set a new one that is either directly or indirectly connected to that first goal, and use it to grow. A good example of this is my decision to attend yoga teacher training. This training became a new goal, I set for myself after becoming a Doula. I selected it because I believe it will help me to expand the knowledge and services I am able to offer to my clients. There is also a personal side to my choice.
Becoming a Better Me
Two things have shaped me most as a person within the last year; coffee and yoga. I like to say that coffee made me a kinder person, while yoga made me a better one.
My personal goals for yoga teacher training might not be physically tangible or concrete, like being more flexible. Rather they have more to do with my internal mindset and communication skills and abilities. The military taught me many things, but it never helped me to de-stress and look inwards for my peace the way yoga has. Yoga has given me an ability to step out of my circumstances, reset my mind, and create an intention for myself. Breath work has helped reduce life's stress.
Communication with a wide variety of individuals at all different levels is important and essential as I wish to give back to my community and to veterans. I think that one of the best traits a yoga instructor can possess is the ability to communicate with everyone in their studio. I am hoping to further hone these skills.
Making Room & Preparing for YTT
Sometimes, the goals we set for ourselves are outside our daily lives. This training is that. My schedule will have to change to accommodate attending it. Moving my work schedule to weekdays and having a side job that is strictly at my own pace and schedule is one way I have altered my daily life to make room for yoga training.
While Vinyasa has always been my preferred type of yoga class. I have been preparing for yoga school by attending many different types of yoga training with different instructors. This has helped me adjust my knowledge and my expectation that every instructor will teach the same way has definitely changed.
Surrounded by Support
I’m blessed that my husband is a very supportive person. When I wanted to become a doula in nursing school, his only response was, “Make it happen.” He responded the same way when I told him I wanted to attend yoga teacher training. The ability to have these conversations with my significant other is one of the biggest motivators for pursuing things on my bucket list.
Once, a nursing supervisor told me to do what I love and turn it into a service for others. At the time, I didn't understand exactly what she meant but as I started to pursue careers that brought me joy, it clicked.
I can be a yoga instructor.
I can steam milk and make a cup of coffee.
I can watch someone's home while they are out of town.
I can give back to my community and the people around me doing all these things and be happy doing them!
Looking Forward
I have always been someone with a full plate. Sticking my hands into all the pots, I try to gain every ounce of knowledge and experience possible from each situation. As a goal-setter, go-getter, ‘type A’ personality ‘straying’ from the ‘usual’ path is uncomfortable. While it isn’t something that feels ‘good’ and may even feel unnecessary it is in fact the exact opposite! Going outside my comfort and intentionally challenging myself is absolutely necessary.
It wasn’t until I stepped away from the medical field that I realized the burnout I had been feeling for years. I was burnt out on life. Seemingly, no amount of relaxation could cure the deep well of sadness that had built up in me during my time in the military. The tension that radiates down my neck into my shoulders and through my hips is the daily reminder of how long I let my needs sit on the back burner. Not anymore. I will not ignore my needs or forgo self-care any longer. I will daily get on the mat.
I believe this training will be worth it. It is something I will alter my daily life for, and I don't take that lightly. I know that I will come out of this training as a better person than when I entered, and I look forward to what I can give others with that knowledge. The decision to pursue Yoga Teacher Training was one I made with no hesitation; because I am choosing to do it for myself.
Enhancing practice through education that elevates.
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