Yin Meets Yang: Cultivating Strength, Mobility and Ease

Within a few months of practicing yoga, I knew I wanted to do a teacher training course.  I decided to give myself a year of practice and discovered YogaWorks’ destination teacher training in Hawaii. I immediately knew that was the course I was suppose to take. Hawaii has always been a favorite place of mine and it is so sacred to me. The month I spent completing that teacher training in Hawaii was one of the best experiences of my life. Going away to a remote place while undergoing this transformative process is ideal. Being away from my normal day-to-day distractions and routine helped me dive deep into my training. You are flushed with so much new information and it can be a bit overwhelming but allowing yourself to open up to the experience not only helps you learn a tremendous amount, it allows you to be transformed. Hawaii has such an amazing and vibrant energy, it was so complementary to what we were doing there. With the nature surrounding us, the people there with us, the ocean and its powerful waves just a short walk away – it is paradise. Alicia and Oliver offer an amazing course. They are filled with immense knowledge and experience that is delivered with their own personal twist. They were extremely helpful and always there if we needed extra guidance. Our student group along with Alicia and Oliver felt like one big family. We would play games after dinner or hang out in the jacuzzi under the star light listening to the Coqui frogs. There was a strong sense of community throughout the training and that really helped with the process. The YogaWorks teacher training covers so many amazing points about the practice. From detailed asana lectures to hour long philosophy discussions. From Sanskrit and yoga’s history to meditation and quieting down to reach deeper. I feel I received a very well-rounded training and came out ready to teach confidently. I learned so much about myself that month.  I learned to love impermanence and find comfort in uncertainty. I learned to love myself and let go of things I was still holding on to. I learned more about my true self while I was there, being amongst the trees and earth and felt closer to nature than I had in awhile. I learned that following my gut instincts are what lead me to where I am truly meant to be. It feels pretty surreal to be teaching now. I’m from Laguna Beach, California and have found myself on the other side of the world in Melbourne, Australia teaching yoga at a beautiful studio with a woman I completed my teacher training with. I even shed a tear at the end of my first class there while the students were in savasana, the energy was beautiful and I felt like I was exactly where I was suppose to be. Yoga – the most amazing journey.