Yoga Teacher Certification Program

So, I realized today that I haven’t shared something on the blog that will be a big part of my life over the next 5 months… On Friday I start a yoga teacher certification program through Prague Yoga. It meets all the requirements of the international Yoga Alliance and enables graduates to teach anywhere in the world. It’s a 5 month program and classes are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for about 9 hours each day, one weekend a month. I will also be required to take 30 other yoga classes on top of the weekend classes and read 7 books on yoga. The class will cover a variety of different yoga styles, aspects of anatomy and physiology that relate to yoga, as well such things as ethics, nutrition and yogic history.

I am so excited about this program. I feel like it is such a perfect fit for me. I really feel like it could potentially combine a bunch of different interests I’ve had throughout the last few years (teaching, yoga, dance, nutrition, health, etc). I don’t know where exactly it will take me and if I will end up teaching yoga after this, but this program will at least give me that option and the more I think about it the more appealing that option seems.

Of course, I am also really nervous about this program. I always get nervous about new things and situations and this will definitely be a very new situation for me. I have no idea what to expect from it at all. I think it’s been more than two years since I’ve taken a formal yoga class and even though I have been practicing on my own very regularly over the past year I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to keep up in a class setting like this. But, I feel like I am ready for the challenge and ready to step out of my comfort zone and stretch myself (literally and figuratively).

I feel like taking this class has really been a step of faith for me in many ways. Honestly, I feel like taking this class is actually sort of irresponsible of me right now. I mean it’s not cheap and we don’t exactly have extra funds right now – in fact I really am not sure exactly how I’m going to pay for it all. And I feel like I’m probably not really good enough or advanced enough to jump into a full teacher training like this. But, as I weighed the decision I heard a gentle voice saying, “Come, Bethany, trust me. I want to give you good things; I want to fulfill your wildest dreams and passions. I want you to do this.” And I felt my heart stir and long and get excited in a way that doesn’t often happen. And as I talked to a few other people about it I heard a resounding “Yes, you should do this, this would be good for you. Do it.” So, I took a deep breath and signed up, paid my reservation deposit and ordered my books. Now I start Friday and I still don’t know what I’m doing, I’m still scarred and nervous, and unsure how this is all going to work out, but I do believe that sometimes the paths God leads us down are uncertain and dark and require lots of trust and faith and hope and often a good bit of help to make it down them.

So, please pray for me and this program over the next 5 months. Pray that I have the stamina and ability to keep up with all the poses and physical exercise. Pray that I can soak up and learn as much as I can, sift through all the information and instruction I get and wisely keep and take hold of all that is worth keeping and taking hold of. Pray that I can build good friendships and relationships with the teachers and the other students and that I wouldn’t shut down and pull myself away from people, but would instead be open and available and really create lasting friendships during this time. And pray that God, through His infinite provision, would provide for the financial costs of this program as well as any other needs that may arise through it.

Thank you, friends! I look forward to letting you know how this goes and what God ends up doing in me and through me during it.

Rejoicing in the journey - Bethany