Life at TheHotTT was hectic. 8 in the morning until 10 at night, 6 or 7 days a week. Now things are relaxed. Every day was full of lectures, posture mechanics, teaching clinics and multiple classes. Now my house is quiet.

Friends of mine who never wanted to teach are trying to open studios. People who used to practice seldom, now practice multiple times a day. Teachers who only wanted to teach hot yoga are excited to teach their first kids class.

The contagious excitement affected me too. I had a studio to work in, a life, a plan. Now I’m off to live in Central America.

I signed up for TheHotTT for the knowledge I knew I would gain. I was already certified through evolation as a 200 hour hot yoga teacher. I already had a job I enjoyed, working online most of the time and gearing up to be a teacher when the studio opened in Santa Barbara. But seeing the line up that was coming to TheHotTT, I knew I would regret passing up such an amazing experience. With all the senior and experienced teachers coming in from all over the US to share what they had learned, mixed with the meditation, synergy and kids yoga workshops, I jumped on board as quickly as I could.

I ended up learning a lot about yoga, the primary hot yoga series, and about teaching. I feel I am a more confident and a more able teacher than I was before TheHotTT started. And I am proud that I accomplished the goals that I set forth on day 1.

Day 60, however, what I desire for myself has changed. Now the studio looks small. Comfortable. Easy. In no way negative, just not as grand as it was two months ago. No part of my life here feels unsatisfactory, I just feel as if I’ve conquered this chapter of my life. I’m searching for new things now. Craving a big adventure; a new story to tell.

TheHotTT changed me, as it did every trainee that went through the training. It forced me to be so much more and now I’m addicted. We were busy, we were tired, and it was fulfilling.

Mark says “we believe everyone should attend a teacher training. This is a life training, not just a place to learn how to teach yoga.” He’s right, they may not seem it from the outside, but teacher trainings are strenuous. They are tough and they push you mentally and physically. But after going through one, its impossible to not want to strive for more in life.

I understand more about myself now. I know what I can do in this scenario and therefore it feels complete. I want a new kind of challenge to keep me alert and on my toes. In doing so, I will learn more about myself. That’s the path to discovering who I am.

Ryan McCourt

Ryan took his first hot yoga class in Berlin and just a little over 6 months later he made the plunge to become a qualified yoga teacher. Less than a year later, with valuable teaching experience under his belt, he took TheHotTT 500 hour course to become a 500 hour yoga alliance registered yoga teacher. He's originally from Austin Texas, but moved out to live, work and study with Mark & Zefea in Santa Barbara in 2013. Since joining the evolation collective, he has traveled around the US, Central America and Europe to teach and help at various teacher trainings. To see a few things that he has done, head to YogaDuo.com.