Big News: Officially a CYT500 Yoga Teacher (Advanced Yoga Teacher Training)

Well, I officially graduated from my 300-hour yoga teacher training recently! I started this program in the summer of 2022 and have spent countless days learning, practicing and teaching.

The 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training program included a wide range of topics, including ethics, mythology, pranayama, asana, drishti, mantra, mudra, meditation, trauma informed, cueing and the business of yoga. If some of those words don't make any sense to you, that's okay! I wasn't familiar with them either when I started my program. Aside from just learning about these things, we put our learning to practice by teaching yoga classes that incorporated the different topics we were learning or reading about.

My Final Seva Project

My final project was to host a two-hour workshop that I planned and designed. My workshop was called Yoga for Cancer: A Workshop for Cancer Survivors and Their Loved Ones.

When I was in my 200-hour training, my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. I helped care for her during treatment and saw firsthand the impact chemo has on the body. I started looking into ways to help, and yoga is a great, gentle exercise that people can use after cancer treatment to begin to regain mobility, flexibility and strength.

When you teach yoga to people with special needs or with certain medical conditions (cancer/post cancer, chronic illness, etc.), you need to make sure you offer a lot of modifications to make it accessible and allow people to go at their own pace (I encourage breaks and resting whenever needed).

What the Workshop Entailed

Yoga: A 45 minute yoga sequence designed for beginners and those in post-cancer care. There were 7 primary poses that we used as the foundation for this sequence.

Pranayama: I discussed several different types of pranayama, and taught the workshop equal breathing and alternate nostril breathing. These two are both good for helping to manage stress or anxiety.

Discussion: I shared the benefits of yoga and pranayama for people after their cancer treatment is over, and for their loved ones who are dealing with the stress and uncertainty of a diagnosis.

Community: I also built in time for conversation and a break. Over tea and snacks, workshop attendees talked with each other about their lives, their families and their experiences with yoga.