On the 25th of June 2017 I spent a nerve-wracking 6 hours taking my Introductory
Assessment. Three days later I found out that all the hard work, stress and focus had been worth it, as I had passed and was officially an Iyengar yoga teacher.
You get by with a help from your friends
I’ve had loads of support. My husband has had to step into the bedtime breach two evenings a week, as I head out the door to teach my evening classes. He never complains, in fact, he makes a point of asking how the lesson went when
I come home and root about for a snack.
The little group of ‘guinea pigs’ that I taught during my training have stuck with me through thick and thin. They
committed wholeheartedly to being my loyal test students, and then, when I passed, insisted that the class carry on, with the difference being that they now paid me. They’ve been my students for nearly three years now, and I truly feel that we evolve together.
Grateful for the Good Bits
It’s easy to focus on the negative. But, as Mr Iyengar says: “Cultivate the positive, abjure the negative.” I’ve also had teaching successes and some really excellent good bits.
I’ve arrived on time to every lesson I’ve had to teach this year, bar one. I’ve successfully started a new class, which now has a steady core of students.
I’ve taken a student up into headstand for the first time. I’ve seen my students progress and improve, both physically and mentally. I’ve got to the end of the class and felt the peace and stillness in the room during savasana, and been deeply grateful.
Any yoga teacher will tell you that you know when you’ve taught a good class. There’s a sense of intense satisfaction and fulfilment, shared between you and your students. You’ve worked them hard, and they’ve worked hard themselves into the bargain.
