Cultivating Growth in our Community

July 11th marked the date that I began to mentor and train a new group of teachers through my studio, Yoga Journey. It is a special time for me and in some ways I feel like it is what I am meant to do “to teach”. It is a humbling experience to stand before a group so anxious to learn and to find ways to share all that I have cultivated over the past 25 years. All my mistakes, my lessons and all that I have learned from my own teachers. After taking a break for the past year and a half I feel ready to step into the role of teaching teachers once again. It was a necessary break for me to assess the needs of the school and the needs of this community. I was hesitant to continue at the pace I was. First for my own burn out but also I wanted to consider the overabundance of new teachers. I take this matter seriously. I am responsible for teaching, mentoring and training almost 200 teachers since beginning my training programs in 2010. So this is my ninth year running my school. I have witnessed so much over the years in terms of growth in the industry. It is incredible that there is such a huge demand for training but with that there are issues that concern me. In 2017, I cancelled my 200 Hour program and in 2018 I cancelled my +300 Hour program so I could take a serious look at my role before moving forward.

I know that I am only responsible for the integrity of my own school and my trainees but I feel there is a bigger subject matter at hand. So I reached out to Yoga Alliance. I have had a great relationship with them while running my Teacher Training School. There have been many conversations, surveys and shared concerns over the years. Recently they announced that they are conducting a Standards Review Project. The standards set by them have created some controversy in the past and rather than being part of the problem I want to be part of the solution! I am so proud to announce that I have been chosen as an “Advisor to the Yoga Alliance Standards Review Project on Teacher Qualifications”. There are many committees working together to update the standards for schools, for applicants, requirements to graduate and so much more… What an honor it is to be able to contribute to the changes that are coming.

As part of a solution, I decided to spend more time creating Continuing Education for the teachers that have already been trained either by me or by other schools. My feeling is that the 200 Hour Training is a great place to start but it is just that….a beginning. There is so much more to learn and experience to really be able to embody and teach this ancient tradition. We cover so much in training in such a short period of time, making it so important to continue to study after your certification. Each graduate will find that they are drawn to different subject matter and I encourage them to continue to study and move in that direction to find out, who they really are as teachers. If I am encouraging them to continue to dive deeper, I feel responsible to offer these deep dives into the subjects that resonate most with them. Writing the curriculum and creating the workshops has challenged me to grow in incredible ways. I am also committed to hosting other teachers that will inspire and share new content with the teachers who are seeking more. All of this elevates the level of education we have in our community. The students in South Florida as well as students all over the country deserve more when they come to practice and learn.

I am working hard to create a balance now with limited Teacher Training and more Continuing Education and Mentoring. I feel proud of what we are doing at Yoga Journey and hope to continue to offer quality education for those who are yearning to be on this path and continue to support those that are already out there teaching. “I am grateful for it all, I have the best freaking job in the world”.