Category Archives: Teacher Training

A Personal Journey with Yoga

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Matthew Peterson. Matt is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program . He  can be contacted at pe***************@***oo.com.

I remember very clearly one particular hot summer day when change crept into my life. I would say in retrospect, that is the day that Yoga found its way into my world.  I had just gone through a trying day at a job that my heart was really not in, and grid locked traffic seemed to add a particular spice to my emotions! Upon arriving at home I had this over-whelming and heavy feeling that something was missing. There was just no possible way this was the entirety of the purpose in my life. After some time of being frustrated and short tempered, my wonderful fiancé, naturally concerned, started dialoging with me about these emotions that I just could not seem to shake

She suggested that perhaps it would be beneficial for me to pursue some of my spiritual pursuits, rather than letting them stay cerebral. I have always had a fascination with other people’s faiths and philosophies, and I would always seem to have any number of half finished books on this subject. While reflecting on this I realized that I had read some about Yoga but for some reason the concepts seemed just out of reach, but more real and obtainable than other paths I had researched. Then the thought came to me; I need someone to show me these things, as it was becoming apparent that I was quickly becoming a victim of my own mind.

To edit a bit, I did some research and found Whole Life Yoga, after setting the meeting and having the opportunity to voice my questions and worries about committing to the upcoming teacher training. I left the meeting feeling like I could most likely accomplish the training and made the decision to go ahead and at least give it a shot. Today as I write this a year plus has passed by since I started this walk, and I am simply humbled and astounded at the subtle power Yoga has had in my life! I feel blessed with a truly awakening journey and labor of love. I believe deeply that Yoga has something to offer anyone who seeks that “something else” in this life.

Looking back now I can say that I have learned to trust myself more often, even if I am scared. I have developed a deeper compassion in life, for not only others but myself as well. I have shed tears over past pains, and witnessed gratitude take the place of anger. I saw those around me leap their own hurdles and come out stronger people. Just sharing in the happiness of others breakthroughs that were facilitated by these ancient teachings has made it all seem more real, and given rise to a certain strength inside of me. The magic in all of this is in the pure simplicity and gentle nurturing that is Yoga. It is has allowed me to be able to move forward with a new found confidence, one that is not rooted in pretending that I know this or that, but one that has its foundation built on being able to say, “I don’t know, but I am willing to learn!”  And I am starting to learn that some of the greatest of all journeys begin in this way.

Matt

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Developing a Yoga Therapy practice on a Small Island

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author, Marcia Olmsted. Marcia is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program (200 hour) and has since completed her 500 hour certification with the School of Integrative Yoga Therapy with Joseph and Lillian Lepage and is currently working on her 1000 hour certification with IYT.  Marcia has spent the last three years developing an integrated yoga therapy and personal training practice on Pender Island, near Victoria, British Columbia.  You can reach Marcia at yo******@***il.com

My original career intentions were to work therapeutically with people but I ended up working on team effectiveness in the corporate world for 25 years.  As I became ready to transition to a different way of living, I became certified as a personal trainer to start moving back to my goal of helping people.

While I enjoyed working with individuals on their fitness, the mind-body connection was missing.  I searched for yoga teacher training in Seattle (where I lived at the time) and found what I was looking for – Whole Life Yoga.

Under Tracy Weber’s mentorship, I found the perfect combination of functional yoga training that supported my fitness certification, packaged with yogic options to increase wellness at all levels.

Tracy opened my eyes and my heart to exploring yoga therapy tools for myself as well. A week before I started studying with Tracy, I had a major disc herniation (C6-C7) and was sure I had to cancel my training.  Tracy convinced me instead that I would learn through my own experience how to protect my injury while keeping the rest of me in balance as I healed.  A year later, I was 90% healed with no surgery.

It’s been just over three years since I moved to Pender Island, a thirty minute ferry ride to Victoria, B.C.  I set out deliberately to not set up a business but to do things differently – to contribute to the island ensuring that I would feel a fair exchange of energy.   My therapeutic yoga focus, especially private yoga therapy combined with personal fitness tools distinguished my services on the Island. I set up guiding principles for myself that would support my objective of complementing and partnering with others in the wellness business, where possible. I would charge the going rate ($10 drop in and $60/session for privates – very low in comparison to city rates, I know).  I would do my best not to schedule my classes against other yoga classes on the Island.

Marcia’s yoga studio in the basement of her renovated home on Pender Island, BC

Before our house renovations, I offered small Viniyoga classes in my basement.  There two cement poles around which I carefully positioned mats for visibility.  I began to work privately with people on the island who had various issues – my neighbor who was sadly dying of terminal colon cancer with complications from pulmonary fibrosis.  I did gentle postures with him 3-4 times a week focusing on gentle breath work to relieve the anxiety he increasingly felt as he needed to use his oxygen tank more and more.  A 72 year old woman who was overweight, deconditioned and depressed felt that her active days were over.  We worked together to shape a  combined personal training program (cardio and strength) as well as a series of 15 minute private yoga home practices to increase her fitness but also her sense of self-confidence and control over how she felt.  She continues to come to my ongoing drop in classes and workshops today.

Today I offer 6 yoga classes a week – some drop in, some therapeutic series such as Yoga and Aryuveda and work with people privately on a regular basis.

Yoga for Men 55+ Class at the Anglican Parrish Hall on Pender Island, BC (registrations have remained from 20-25 for every 8-week series for the last 3 years)

I am so grateful for the solid foundation that Tracy and Whole Life Yoga gave me in yoga therapy.  I can still hear Tracy saying that I will go to “yoga jail” when I sometimes put too many backbends together or pay more attention to how I’m feeling instead of to those that I serve.

Where will yoga on the Island go from her for me?  My answer today is simply, I will do the next indicated thing, providing value where I can and continuing on this lifelong path of yoga.

Marcia

Should All Yoga Teachers be Certified? Response to a Student Question

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I look forward to answering your questions in this blog.  Please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail your questions to tr***@***********ga.com.

Kristen asks:  Should all yoga teachers be licensed or certified?

This is a loaded question, and one that I feel strongly about.  Currently there is no WA state or US wide regulation of yoga teachers.  Most days I think that’s a very good thing.  Government is good at many things, but understanding yoga isn’t among them.  In New York, they recently tried to pass legislation that would have required licensing and certification of yoga teachers.  That legislation, however, proposed that yoga teachers be certified by the exercise industry, not the yoga industry.   And the exercise industry knows so very little about the true meaning and purpose of yoga.  I honestly believe that, had this law passed, the quality of yoga programs in that state would have suffered.

That said, having no certification or regulation requirements can lead to misuse of the term “yoga teacher.”  There are people all over the country who teach yoga with little or no formal training.  Often times they have a strong personal practice and can do all the poses.  So, they figure, why not teach?  That not only demeans the profession of teaching yoga; it can be dangerous.  Untrained yoga teachers can ask students to do things that are unsafe, may not know how to modify poses for bodies different than their own, or may not fully understand the impact of their teaching all together.  So, if I don’t want licensing, but I DO think proper training is essential, where does that leave us?

The yoga community tackled this question a little over a decade ago.  In 1999 they came together to form an organization called Yoga Alliance.  Yoga Alliance is a voluntary certification body.  It certifies yoga schools that meet certain minimum requirements to train teachers at the 200 hour and 500 hour levels.  Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program meets these requirements and is a registered Yoga Alliance school.  Therefore every teacher that is certified through our program has been given a minimum of 200 hours of training in 5 key areas:

  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Teaching methodology
  • Yoga techniques
  • Yoga philosophy
  • Teaching practice

As a yoga studio owner, I do require that all of my instructors be certified; not for the certification paper per se, but because the certification demonstrates a level of dedication and training.  In fact, at this time I only hire people who have been certified through my program.  I know their capabilities; I know their ethics; I know their hearts.   I know I can trust them with my business and with the students that make it great.

As a consumer, I would personally only take yoga from someone who is certified or who has taken an equivalent level of training from a reputable school.  Many schools in India don’t certify per se, but they do offer excellent training.  So, as the saying goes, “Let the buyer beware.”  Wherever you take yoga, be sure to ask the instructor where they received their training, how long the training was, and if they are certified.  If they can’t answer or their training was less than 200 hours, then just be aware that they may not have a significant level of education in how to safely and effectively teach yoga.  Whether or not you want to continue taking yoga from them is a completely personal choice.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Practicing for Yourself

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Tiffany Blackburn. Tiffany is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program.     She  can be contacted at tiffanyblackburn.com.

It took me so long to practice yoga for myself. I went to countless classes over the years, dutifully doing everything the instructor called out. I did every “if you want to work harder…” option that was offered and I never accepted the invitation to “rest if you need to.” I reached higher, sank deeper, stretched further whenever the teacher walked by or glanced my way. I compared myself relentlessly to the stronger, more flexible people on the mats around me, and struggled to keep up. I was practicing to please the instructors and to gain the admiration of my fellow students. I was practicing with the exact opposite of mindfulness — I was practicing mindlessly.

The result was pretty predictable: injury after injury. But I kept at it because I believed the the fault was with my body, with myself for not working hard enough. That was part of the reason I looked into a teacher training. I wanted to learn more about yoga because simply taking classes wasn’t providing me with the answers I wanted, specifically “why wasn’t I doing it right?”

It wasn’t until I researched training programs that I really came to understand the differences in yoga styles. In my quest, I took an introductory series in Viniyoga at Whole Life Yoga. I went in feeling like I already knew a lot about yoga, but Viniyoga was such a different experience that I was blown away. The movements were so careful, and the use of breath brought my practice so much more internal than it had ever been before. The nurturing attitude, the non-competitive atmosphere, the thoughtful instructions all combined to finally allow me to relax on my mat and actually notice what was going on in my body and my mind. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with other styles of yoga, but I do think that my experience with Viniyoga was what it took for me to finally “get it.”

Over time, practicing and attending the 200-hour Viniyoga teacher training, I came to better understand both yoga and myself. I’ve come closer to accepting the fact that we all have limitations, and some things just don’t work for my body. I found that easing up a little has actually allowed me to progress further, and that it doesn’t matter what anyone around me is doing. Now I frequently take the opportunity to rest during practice — even if the teacher is looking.

Tiffany

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

The Origins and History of Viniyoga

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Tracy and her teacher, Gary Kraftsow

People often think that all yoga is the same.  In other words, if they take a yoga class, it is representative of all yoga classes at other venues and with other teachers.   I’m always a little saddened and surprised when people say “I tried yoga once.  It’s not for me.”

You may not realize it, but there are a myriad of yoga styles popular in the United States, and they can be dramatically different from one another.  So your experience in one class is likely to be completely different than if you try yoga in another studio or style.  So if at first you don’t find what you love, keep trying!

Although not 100% true, most yoga styles in the United States fall under the umbrella of “Hatha” yoga.  In the West, this term basically refers to the physical practice of yoga.  There are a wide variety of yoga types that fall under that umbrella.  From stronger, more athletic styles like Bikram, Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga, to form-focused styles like Iyengar, to more therapeutic and individualized styles like Viniyoga.

Some of these styles have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.  Others are more contemporary and have been “invented” or “reinvented” by Westerners.   Teachers also often combine lineages to create something uniquely their own.

Whole Life Yoga is a studio dedicated completely to the Viniyoga lineage, therefore every class you take with us will follow the Viniyoga principles.  I have great confidence in Viniyoga, and not just because of the transformations I’ve seen in myself and my students.   I also have faith because it is a lineage has been passed down through the centuries.  In other words, Viniyoga’s principles have withstood the test of time.

In our lifetimes, this lineage has been passed down through a man by the name of  Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who passed away in 1989 at over 100 years of age.  He himself studied yoga with several teachers and in many venues, including seven and a half years in the caves of Tibet with a teacher named Brahmachari.   Krishnamacharya trained several famous students, including BKS Iyengar (who later developed Iyengar Yoga) and Pattabhi Jois (who later developed Ashtanga yoga).

Krishnamacharya passed the full breadth of his teachings, however, to his son TKV Desikachar.  Desikachar passed them on to many, including Margaret Pierce of The Pierce Yoga Program and Gary Kraftsow of the American Viniyoga Institute.  Gary and Margaret have both been my teachers.    I’m continuing the tradition by passing this lineage on to my students and the teachers in my yoga teacher training program.

My hope is to continue to honor the principles of this lineage by transmitting them as clearly and purely as possible, thus helping ensure that it continues to serve future generations.

If you’d like to learn more about Krishnamacharya and the history of Viniyoga, I recommend the book Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings by A.G. Mohan.

But regardless of whether or not you’re interested in the history, rest assured that when you take a Viniyoga class you have the knowledge of many generations of teachers supporting you and your practice!

Namaste,

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Congratulations, and New Beginnings

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Last night I said goodbye to 20 yoga students and hello to 20 new yoga teachers. This is always so very bitter sweet for me. Our teacher training graduation ceremony had lots of laughter and a few tears. When we started this journey together 10 months ago, each person had different hopes, dreams and aspirations. Over the course of those 10 months, we shared both times of joy and times of heartbreak: one marriage, some illnesses, several new jobs, lots of personal revelations. One student even moved out of state and is completing the training remotely. Two students decided along the way that this wasn’t the right path for them. But we all came together as a community, and the support and kindness I have seen in each of these individuals is a gift I won’t soon forget.

People often ask me what my favorite part of teaching yoga is, and I always say without hesitation that it’s leading this program. I teach yoga because I want to make a positive difference in the world, and nowhere is that difference more evident than in the growth and learning I see in my teacher training students.

Because we’re together so long, we see each other through career changes, births, deaths, marriages and divorces. And we learn to navigate these life changes with greater grace by using the yoga tools we will then share out in the world with others. I often think I learn at least as much from my students as they do from me.

This year I’ve seen students achieve many goals. Most learned more about asana and other tools of yoga, of course. But in a way, that’s the least of it. Some have learned to find their own voice. Others have gained confidence, and some have deepened their connection to their own spiritual path. Most have learned an incredible amount about themselves. I wish I could say these transformations happened because I’m such a great teacher. But in reality, the learning happens simply because these ancient tools are so very powerful.

The highlight for me is seeing these new teachers out in the world instructing others and spreading the message of yoga in their own communities. Each of these graduates has been out in the world teaching already. And they say it is both more challenging and more enjoyable than they ever imagined.

I asked a student recently if he was looking forward to finally be done. He said “Yes, but in reality, I’m really just about to begin!”

So true, my friend. So true.

Namaste. The teacher in me honors the teacher in you.

Tracy Weber

More information about Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program can be found at our web site:  Yoga Teacher Training at Whole Life Yoga.

How in the world did I get here? My journey to teaching yoga

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Melanie Reed.  Melanie is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s advanced 500 hour teacher training program and a teacher at Whole Life Yoga.    She can be contacted at sa*********@***oo.com.

I never imagined myself as a teacher of anything.  Most of my life, I have struggled with issues of anxiety and confidence, especially in groups, most especially in front of a group.  The thought of directing a practice as my yoga teachers did never once crossed my mind.

I had been taking private instruction with Tracy and dropping into classes at  Whole Life Yoga for about 6 months and felt a bit of confidence growing in my body and a deepening awareness and sensitivity physically and energetically (and the low back and hip pain I had experienced for years was gone – the first of many yoga miracles!).  One Wednesday night during Tracy’s 6:00 pm All-Levels class I experienced what I can only describe as ground rising up underneath me.  I remember the whole experience had a soft golden hue and I felt a kind of loving support that seemed endless.  I somehow ‘knew’ that this ground was connected with the yoga practice.

After the practice, Tracy happened to ask me how I was doing and I burst out sobbing.  When I told her what I had experienced during the practice and that I felt so strongly a desire to know more, she suggested that I take the 200 hour yoga teacher training that the studio offers.

I was completely astounded!  And, I said,’ but I can’t do any of the poses right’.

Tracy said, ‘That doesn’t matter at all.  The correct form of the postures is the least important element in yoga.’  It took a number of weeks to become accustomed to the idea of taking the training.  Meanwhile, I started reading Desikachar’s The Heart of Yoga and began to see a small bit of the beauty and wisdom of this path.

Throughout the 9 months of the training, I steadfastly held to my belief that I did not want to teach, but was only interested in deepening my personal practice – which of course happened in spades.  I learned many details and options which allowed me to modify poses and sequences not only to keep myself safe while practicing, but also this made the practice of yoga far more interesting.  I learned that each posture offers so many adaptations that I could match exactly what I needed no matter what my physical, energetic, or emotional state.  I loved being in a drop-in yoga class and understanding the hidden meaning of the posture sequence being taught.  It was like learning a new language; I had been given the secret yoga decoder ring.

In the last months of the training, it did finally come down to teaching – I taught my own 4 series class; which was at once the most challenging thing I’ve ever done and one of the most rewarding – because I learned so much about myself.  I learned that I can feel terrified and still speak, still move, still function and more personal to me, function as a teacher.  Albeit – a teacher in the very beginning stage.

In other words, I could move though the terror of being in front of a group, being the one speaking, the one directing others; and on the other side of the fear, I survived, in a purer form for having gone through the experience.  I had to give up the belief that I never know enough – and to trust and even relax while teaching others of the beauty and harmony in each posture, in each sequence taught in this Viniyoga tradition.

I found the Whole Life Yoga 200 hour teacher training program an intensely transformative experience and this process continues each time I am privileged to teach a yoga class – and no one is more surprised than I to find that the words, ‘on inhale, sweep your arms up, on exhale…’ are coming out of my mouth.

More information about Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program can be found at our web site:  Yoga Teacher Training at Whole Life Yoga.