You've taken yoga classes for a few years. You grok yoga. You've developed a home practice, can name some yoga folks among your crop of friends, and maybe you've read a few of the essential tomes on the subject (more about that in a future column).
So what's your next step? Well, you could take a flight to India and place yourself at the feet of a yoga master and hope s/he accepts you as his/her student, or you could enroll in one of the many teacher training programs available in the Philadelphia area. There are a slew of them.
Teacher training is a marvelous way to get acquainted with the vastness, richness and whackiness of the yoga world. It's huge and often confusing. It still confuses me and I expect it always will. Yoga is older than dirt and, like a thousand year old tree, has spawned thousands of branches and saplings. All one can do is climb the tree, look for a branch that looks stable and hang out for a while, then if you've a mind, wind your way to another. Teacher training provides you with a boost up the tree.
For me, the teacher training experience opened up a new world in my life. In addition to exposure to the vast literature and history of yoga, a teacher training program might introduce you to ayurveda, the yogic system of health; kirtan, the yoga ensemble chanting/singing of yoga Sanskrit sounds/vibrations; meditation, teaching methodology, cool yoga tricks, and, of course, a deeper understanding of the essential poses(asanas).
You might also experience, as I did, a bond with your fellow students. Training can be intense and time consuming. Students are often seeking some understanding of their world and have chosen yoga as the window to that understanding. The teachers training group of which I was a part maintain communication via a message board, have frequent gatherings and have a mutual concern and love for one another that I myself have never before experienced. We are indeed a tribe with our own identifying symbol of our mutual bond. The image in the photo box is a stylized line drawing of Ganesh, a Hindu/yoga symbol revered by the founders of many who know yoga, and a fave of the founders of Yoga On Main, where I did my teacher training. Yes, that's a muffin on Ganesha's trunk, my unique addition to the design.
All of the following Philadelphia area schools are certified by the Yoga Alliance, http://www.yogaallianceinternational.org/index1.php, an organization that was developed in part to bring some structure and credibility to teachers of yoga. The schools in this list represent an array of styles and approaches to yoga. If I have missed any, or have left out some essential information, please do not hesitate to add it to the list via a comment. I am always open for correction.
http://www.yogaonmain.com/teacher.html
http://www.joanwhiteyoga.com/training.htm
http://www.yogafit.com/articles/yoga-teacher[training[philadelphia.html
http://www.dhyana[yoga.com/special.html#200
http://www.poweryogaworks.com/teacherTraining.asp
http://www.wakeupyoga.com/training.html
By Jonathan Bartlett
THE LATEST YOGA TEACHING NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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