Whether you intend on teaching yoga or not, yoga teacher training is an excellent way to deepen your practice and develop skills that can be applied in other areas of life. This includes learning body awareness, a subject that is essential to yoga practice.
During yoga teacher training, you will learn about alignment, sequencing, hands-on assisting, embodied anatomy for yoga, and accessibility yoga. You will also explore yogic techniques like Ayurveda and ancient texts.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the ability to actively notice and accept the thoughts and sensations that come and go in your life. It requires regulating your attention toward current-moment experiences and noticing them with an attitude of openness, acceptance, and curiosity. Mindfulness practice can help reduce the impact of rumination and promote a greater sense of well-being.
While it can be difficult for many people to cultivate mindfulness, regular practice can help. It is important to be patient and allow yourself to fall out of the practice from time to time, especially if it brings up negative emotions such as anger or sadness. Be sure to find ways to recharge your energy by practicing other mindfulness exercises, like breath work or focusing on positive emotions.
Studies have found that mindfulness meditation may improve body awareness by subtly adjusting both the accuracy and sensibility of self-reported body sensations.15,16 However, this relationship was only observed in research involving long-term mindfulness meditation training programs (RCTs).17
Another way to increase body awareness is by performing a “body scan” while you are sitting or lying down. To do this, start at the top of your head and move your awareness slowly down to your feet. Then notice how each part of your body feels—are they relaxed or tense? Comfortable or painful? And so on.
Strengthening the Connection Between Mind and Body
One of the key goals of yoga is to strengthen the connection between mind and body. This is accomplished through learning to appreciate and understand your own body. Throughout the course of yoga teacher training, you will learn to be mindful and aware of your own body and its sensations. This is a crucial step in developing a strong and connected yoga practice, as it allows you to take ownership of your body and its capabilities.
You will also learn how to use props – like mats, blocks, yoga ties, blankets, tennis balls, cushions and chairs – to help support you during your yoga session. This will help you to build your strength and flexibility, so that you can progress in the poses that are best suited for your unique body. By using these props, you will be able to take full responsibility for your own body and its abilities, instead of having to rely on others for assistance.
The more you become aware of your own body, the better equipped you will be to be in a position to recognize any discrepancies between how your mind and body experience the same pose. For example, you may notice that your knees are pointing in different directions or that one side of your body feels denser than the other. By noticing these differences, you can work to correct the misalignment between your body and mind.
Stress Reduction
In the fast-paced world of today, kids are exposed to a lot of stress. Yoga offers students a way to calm their minds and bodies through mindful practices, such as breathing exercises and meditation. This can help them feel better in class, which will improve their overall learning experience.
Yoga can also teach students to recognize and accept their emotions, which can help them manage their stress more effectively. In fact, a study found that children who participated in yoga and mindfulness programs had improved self-regulation skills, making them more capable of calming themselves down when needed.
During their yoga teacher training, students are taught about various aspects of the human body, including proprioception and kinesthesia. They learn about how these senses help the body function properly and how to identify any discrepancies between their physical perception and the actual reality of their bodies.
For instance, if a student has trouble telling which knee is pointing to the ground or feels that one side of their body is heavier than the other, these are indicators that the brain has lost its connection with this particular part of the body. This is because of past experiences, such as bullying or sexual abuse.
A yoga teacher trained in the Embodied Posture Method can help her students recognize their physical limitations and alignment during poses, which will reduce their risk of injuries. This allows them to modify the poses according to their capabilities, which can improve their posture and overall body mechanics.
Connecting with Your Inner Self
Whether you started yoga to give your body a good stretch or to find a way to calm your mind and soul, chances are that it has already changed how you see yourself. Yoga teacher training is a unique way to nurture this transformational process, which will help you connect with your inner self in a way that can be applied to other aspects of your life.
One of the ways that this is done is by focusing on your senses during class. The instructors will regularly ask students to pay attention to how different parts of their bodies feel, and they will encourage them to notice what their minds are thinking as well. This can be a great tool for improving concentration and developing mindfulness, and it is something that students can carry with them outside of the classroom.
Another way that teachers foster this connection is by promoting a therapeutic approach to yoga. This methodology allows for a more detailed exploration of the poses and their effects on the body, addressing imbalances and fostering overall health.
The skills that are taught in YTT can be used by teachers in a variety of ways to positively impact their students’ lives. For example, a yoga teacher may use the techniques in her preschool classes to help children focus, or she might bring mindfulness techniques into her boardroom at work to improve productivity and team morale. Regardless of how a yoga teacher chooses to apply her newfound knowledge, she will likely find that it has improved the quality of her life, and that of the people around her.