“Yoga
is the path of purification of character and conduct (the cleansing of one’s
physical and mental nature) wherein the highest state of reality and truth may
shine undiminished in the hearts and minds of all beings." –Sri Dharma Mittra
©Jeffrey Vock
My Life of A Yogi Teacher Training Training wasn’t all rainbows
and kittens! Well, it was mostly
rainbows and kittens, but also a whole lot of tapas. Tapas is perhaps the most
transformative of the niyamas, or personal disciplines, set forth by Patanjali in
The Yoga Sutras as well as the basis for the “path to purification” that Sri Dharma Mittra refers to in his definition of yoga.
According to the LOAY manual, tapas is
defined as heat, austerity, or burning away impurities through self-discipline.
Tapas was at the beginning of my transformative journey and it fueled my
passion to learn and grow and to push through self doubt. Tapas caused the
deepening of my physical practice throughout the intensive ten days, fueled by
my own fire and sweat. It was tapas that drove me to the training, got me
through it, and forced a change in my body, mind and spirit.
Sri Dharma Mittra is referred to as the
teacher’s teacher and for good reason! Sri Dharma is the perfect shepherd to the trainees because he didn’t only show us how to teach yoga classes, he shared
his limitless experience, knowledge and wisdom.
The morning pranayama and spiritual discourse sessions were the
highlight of my day and I cannot stress how challenging but rewarding the
breath work was. I soaked up all the information on the kriyas, mantra,
chakras, bandhas and mudras.
©Jeffrey Vock
Yet there was still the element of
tapas and the floor seemed to harden with each passing day and by day six easy
poses were no longer easy. The pain of sitting with a tall spine (out of respect for Sri Dharma) was distracting at times but looking back I’m happy that I did it.
It broke a mental barrier in my mind and got rid of “I can’t do this any
longer” and replaced it with “I’m still doing this.” I read a quote somewhere
that says “your mind will always give up before your body, just keep going” and
I did.
The hard part was putting myself out
there as a teacher and I cannot adequately express my horror as I taught my
first Dharma I class to my group during the training. In contrast to my
inexperience, my group was so advanced! Two of my group-mates had mothers that
taught yoga and two others were already certified teachers. This was my first teaching experience ever and I was mortified. I remember my
disappointment as I taught and how frustrated I was over the shakiness in my
voice and the inaccuracy of my cues. But why was I so nervous? I had been
falling on my sweaty face and loudly farting in front of these people for days!
But suddenly their opinion mattered more than anything and I thought I was
bombing it.
©Liz Schindler
After finishing my first practice teach
(which felt like hours) my mentor Hannah Allerdice gave me an honest review of my
teaching. She stressed her opinion that I would be a wonderful teacher because
she could sense how much I cared about my students. At the time I thought she
was just being kind, but looking back through my handy 20/20 hindsight goggles,
I see she was on point. Because I care so much I was nervous and horrified
while practice teaching. My drive to teach yoga stems from my gratefulness to
all of my teachers for helping deepen
my yoga practice and to open my heart. All I wanted then and now is
to be able to share that same gift of yoga with my students.
By the end of the training I had more
confidence in my teaching and a greater sense of sympathy for my own feelings.
I made strong friendships and have new role models to look up to. I surpassed
my own expectations and in turn have raised my self-expectations. The LOAY
teacher training experience was truly life altering for me and I am forever
grateful to Sri Dharma and all of his teaching staff.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Liz Schindler found yoga during a
stressful period of her life and has returned to it again and again for over
ten years to calm both body and mind. After moving to New York and beginning to
study with Sri Dharma Mittra, she soon came to realize her need to share her love
of yoga with others. Liz is a 200-Hour Certified Dharma Yoga Teacher. She currently lives and teaches in Brooklyn,
NY.
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