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Yoga Teacher Training: Preparing for the Course

Yoga teacher training doesn’t start on your first day of class. You need to prepare for your yoga teacher training course. If you already taking yoga classes consistently, then you will find you do very well in a yoga teacher training. The longer you consistently take yoga, the more comfortable you will be with asking questions that may have come up in your practice over the years, and the terms and references introduced to you will not seem completely foreign.

There are a few other things you can do to prepare yourself well for a teacher training:

  • Ask for a list of reference materials prior to the start date of the course. Let your teachers know that you desire a book list so that you can start reading the material ahead of time to become more familiar with it. Most reputable yoga teacher trainings will have a list of books that they consistently rely upon, but it is updated constantly. Highlight or mark the reading material to remember to address questions when you are in your training, and you will get a much deeper and richer understanding of yoga than if you just went in cold, that is, without having predisposed your brain to the material being presented.
     
  • Don’t try to learn everything from a book. Some of the best teachings come from a great teacher presenting new information in a special way that gets through to you one on one. Although reading is a great way to prepare, it is even a branch of yoga, called Jnana yoga or the ‘path of wisdom,’ it doesn’t replace a qualified, experienced teacher’s personal offering of wisdom.
     
  • Understand that different traditions of yoga will teach you seemingly disparaging facts about the practice, but they are all valid teachings gathered from hundreds, if not thousands of years of wisdom. Some teachings seem outdated at first, but upon delving deeper, it makes more sense, and the true meaning of the teaching reveals its timeless nature. Other teachings may need to be modified to your time or culture. Eating lots of ghee (clarified butter) is taught in many Indian yoga ashrams, but it isn’t a product that is easy to come by in the US and Europe. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables as part of your practice is another teaching, and this is more easily followed. Some traditions will tell you to practice pranayama after a vigorous asana, and other traditions start with pranayama at the beginning of the session. Trust your gut and you will find your own practice that honors the teachings of a diverse history of yoga.
     
  • Be patient with yourself and with your practice. You will NEVER stop learning more about yoga. Learn all you can prior to your teacher training, all you can within it, and then expect to learn for the rest of your life. This will make you the best teacher.