“Yin and yang, one is not better than
the other. They complement each other”, my yin yoga teacher Bernie
Clark said. In the past 7 days I was taking a yin yoga teacher
training intensive course at sempeviva yoga studio on Granville
island. I've learned so much in the seven days. We started out early
and practice yin yoga from 7am for two hours everyday, then followed
by lectures of eastern philosophy and anatomy in the afternoon. Now
things I learned in four years of university education in science and
kinesiology started to come back and make sense to me. (I used to
wonder do I ever have a chance to use the knowledge I learned at
school) I was amazed by our individual differences anatomically and
how that affect our asana practice. Bernie is such an old wise man,
with his great sense of humour and vast knowledge in science and
philosophy, while leading us through yin asanas, whispering to us
words of wisdom. Only in his class, I find myself often laugh (with
many others) and once dropped tears during asana practice.
I quit my well-paid job last month and
start out fresh new as a yoga teacher. “It takes at least 3-4 years
to become a full-time yoga teacher”, many experienced teachers
say. I can foresee in the next two or three years I will be so poor.
But I feel so blessed that I've found the profession I love.
Many people are surprised that we, yoga
teachers continue to take one training after another. “Didn't you
finish the 200 hour training already?” Only the yogis know that
consistent practice and study is so essential, as yoga is not merely
a physical exercise. Its depth extends to eastern philosophy,
western science, Indian ayurvedic medicine, etc. My classmate of the
course, Maki said, “I wish in the future I could teach yoga for
half of a year and go study for half of a year.” As yoga teachers
we know that we are always a student first, a teacher second.
