I can remember the moment when I knew it was time to go deeper.  I was teaching an asana class about expanding beyond your boundaries.  It was a fast, hot, vinyasa class and the windows of the studio were dripping with steam. The soundtrack was killing it, and the instructions, adjustments and inspiration were flowing. I was hitting on all cylinders, what many would consider to be on the top of my game, but as I was standing there in the middle of that class, I realized that I had hit a plateau.  I had stopped expanding and was instead sitting in the eddie of comfort with my practice and my teaching.  I knew, right there in that moment, that it was time to take the next step.  The next day, I began researching 300 hour Teacher Training Certification Programs.

That was 2007.  My studies and practices have taken me on amazing journeys. My teachers have expanded my mind and challenged me greatly.  And I am still growing.  I am still being challenged to stretch the limits of my experience beyond what feels comfortable each day.  I am finding that my practice is in constant evolution and as I age, it rarely resembles anything I was doing in 2007.  But I feel rich.  I have a wealth of trust and faith within myself, I have a toolbox of practices that support and sustain me, I am constantly inspired by the opportunity to teach and share.  

So when do you know that it’s time to expand your studies?  How do you know if it is time for you to advance your skills as a practitioner and a teacher?  Let me begin by explaining that I have always believed in having a teacher as a guide.  Yes, I can study and explore on my own (and I do), but I have never been able to fully access on my own what I can with the support of a well-qualified teacher.  So if you are feeling a bit stuck in your life or your practice (or both), stepping into a higher level training will catalyze movement. The next level of training will expose you to new and unfamiliar aspects of the practice that may inspire and challenge you, but it will most definitely shift you. 

If you feel that your practice or teachings have become routine, then it might be time to explore the next level of training.  One of my teachers has a dependable saying, “You should always know a little more than your students.”  If your offerings have become automatic and your students are always one step ahead of you, it is evidence that you are no longer exploring your practice in a way that is providing new insight.  The beauty of Yoga is that there is never an end to what you can learn and discover, and as teachers there shouldn’t be an end to what we can offer.  Our job as teachers is to inspire our students toward growth.  If it doesn’t feel like you are supporting that yourself or your students, then it’s time to reach out for more. 

Like me, maybe you’ve reached a place of longing.  You know there is more to Yoga than choreographing a kick-ass asana class, and you are ready to peek behind the curtain.  An advanced studies teacher training certification program will show you more.  The key to expanding is your willingness. Will it show youmore of what you already know or will it take you to new and uncharted territory in your practice? 

Learning new things and exploring doing things differently cab be quite frightening.  Often it will make you feel uncomfortable as you enhance your understanding and awareness.  You may discover parts of your life or your inner world that you don’t like… it is in our Advanced Program that we take a compassion eye to ourselves and learn practice to deepen our awareness and compassion. If this feels right for you there is only one questions to ask yourself…. “Am I ready to look within and do the work?”.  

Vira Bhava Yoga 300 Hour Advanced Teacher Trainings will support you to look deeply, our training will provide the tools for discovery and will offer you the space and container to challenge your assumptions about teaching yoga in the world.  If you are ready to light a fire to your practice and teaching, then now is the time. Join us in June 2016.