Yoga Teacher Training: My Yoga Story
Testimonial during my Yoga Teacher Training in Palm Desert, California
I was craving a change in my life. An adventure. Something new and different. I had always been interested in yoga teacher training but was at a loss where to begin. I was surfing the web one night and Evolation Yoga popped up on my screen. Hmm… I thought, may as well just reach out and get some more information.
The next morning I received a call from Mark. “Hey I saw you were interested in teacher training, what’s your yoga background?” I started my hot yoga practice about 6 years ago. For me it was just a workout. A physical practice to keep me in shape and nothing more. After moving to Long Island I started doing Bikram style practice a a local studio. I loved it so much I started going almost every day.
After over a hundred hot Bikram yoga classes I finally branched out and tried Vinyasa. I started to become addicted to the heat. My practice was becoming less physical and more mental. I started to have the realization that it was so much more than just a physical practice. It was challenging my focus and self control. I told Mark to sign me up for the Rockville Center training in New York. Easy for me since it’s close to home. But, it didn’t start for another 5 months… I was way too eager and didn’t want to wait that long.
Luckily with Evolation you don’t have to do the 250hr training all at once. Evolation gives you the flexibility to work around your own schedule. I saw that there was a training in Palm Desert CA starting in one week. I thought to myself, I can make that happen. I’ll do the first three days of training online and continue the rest of the first module (6 days) in Palm Desert! I called Mark back and informed him of my new plan. He is very communicative and answered all of my questions about how the training worked. I couldn’t wait. I had never been to Palm Desert before. When I got there I couldn’t believe the mountains.
It was a little intimidating at first. I really felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Hot and dry air, palm trees surrounded by open space, sand, dirt and tremendous rocks. As time went on I grew a connection to those mountains. I miss those mountains. I felt a sense of security and protection from them. Like they were watching over me throughout my journey. I immediately made friends with another girl in 1 training. She’s my age and we hit if off right away. I thought to myself how great it was to be able to have a friend who I’ve felt like I’ve known forever to be by my side in this new strange place. The first 6 days of training flew by. The days were busy and filled with lectures, yoga, group study, and more yoga.
The yoga was my favorite part. I didn’t want to leave. I felt like it was going by so fast and I wanted to continue. I asked Mark and Zefea if I could stay and finish my training in Palm Desert. Without any hesitation they obliged and I was thrilled to be fully immersed with no time to think or do anything else but yoga. I came into training with confidence in my own personal practice. Little did I know I’d be re-learning the entire 26&2 sequence in great detail. The practice that once felt so close started to feel distant and unfamiliar. I’d been doing a handful of these postures with the wrong intention for quite some time now. Another big reason why I wanted to join this training was to deepen my own practice and that certainly happened. As time went on the practice started to make more sense.
The intention of energy and movement started to become more clear to me. I wasn’t afraid to backbend anymore. Learning the dialogue was difficult. Especially since I felt a bit disconnected from what I once felt so confident about. I knew that only time and practice would change that. I struggled some days trying to spit the words out. I got frustrated and felt exhausted in some moments. One day I wanted to quit. To fly home and reunite with my lover who I hadn’t seen in weeks at this point. But I stuck it out and am SO glad that I did. I would’ve felt much worse had I allowed myself to give up. Which was NOT an option. But I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind. My teaching started improving along with everyone else’s. We were finally getting it.
Although I signed up for this journey individually I was not alone. My feelings were mutual with my trainees. The improvement we were making was extremely rewarding. We felt liberated. Like nothing can stop us now. The finish line was near. My practice no longer became just physical or mental. It became spiritual. I was not expecting to come out of this training feeling so enlightened. I knew yoga was spiritual for some but I had a different idea about spirituality. A one way street of thinking. I kept my mind very open to these new ideas and respect the way they were executed to the group. Mark wasn’t telling us how to think or what to think, he was simply asking us to have an open mind about new ideas and sharing his insights.
Teaching my first class was nerve-racking but left me feeling like I had accomplished my first milestone on this journey that certainly didn’t end once training was over. Since training ended I’ve taught 3 public classes and have 2 more 2 coming up soon! I’ve kept in touch with friends that I’ve made during training and can’t wait to continue my lifelong journey practicing and teaching yoga. Namaste.
Alissa Lynn Evolation Yoga
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