5 common fears of doing a yoga teacher training

5 Common Fears of Doing a Yoga Teacher Training

Doing a yoga teacher training is so often a powerfully transformative experience, but so many people talk themselves out of it, or at least they try to. Here are the top five common fears of doing a yoga teacher training that I come across and a few reasons why they aren’t true! Do of them any sound familiar to you?

I’m not strong/fit/flexible enough - you don’t need to be any of these things to teach yoga! Yoga is a vast practice that includes meditation, pranayama, philosophy, personal growth and self realisation, none of which require physical strength or flexibility. There are also plenty of asanas that are simple and accessible and most of your students will be doing these too, so you won’t necessarily even need to teach anything more challenging.

I’m not young enough - you’re never too old to do anything, including teach yoga. Some of the most amazing teachers are older, and for many students this is more appealing. I’ve trained people from 18 - 68 years old, and age has never been a barrier or issue.

I don’t know enough about yoga - that’s why you do a training; to learn! Any decent yoga teacher training will teach you everything you need to start teaching, and offer you the support to do this well. A lot of the learning also comes from doing/teaching, but if you never get started it’s makes this hard!. As a yoga teacher you’re always learning, and following a YTT you will naturally want to continue your studies. There is always more to learn.

I’ll never earn enough/anything from teaching yoga - lots of yoga teachers do it just for love and don’t want or need to earn an income from it. However there are also plenty who are making a living and roughly 95% of my graduates go on to run their own yoga classes within a few months of qualifying. The global yoga industry is valued at approximately $138.66 billion. I think there’s enough money in the industry to go around!

Who am I to teach yoga? You are you! 🙌 If you love yoga enough to want to teach it, then you have something to share. We're all unique and the way we teach reflects our individual perspective, so we all have something different to offer. A good training will also delve into the history and philosophy behind yoga so that you can teach it in a way that is respectful. This is so important as it helps us to acknowledge where yoga has come from and share it more authentically. There's no reason why you wouldn't be able to teach yoga! So what are you waiting for?

If you’re currently toying with the idea of YTT, you can join my next courses; hybrid online (starts June 21st), self paced online (starts any time) & in person in East Sussex (starts this winter)

And if you’re a yoga teacher wanting to evolve, my 300hour YTT and CPD courses are here for you too. With 1:1 mentoring and support, I help you get over these doubts and fears that hold us all back!

Letting go of the old and letting in the new!

I've run my 200hour yoga teacher training at Salt Water Studios in Worthing for the past 9 years, and it's been my bread and butter. I've loved every moment, met amazing people (hello if you’re one of them!) and shared special memories. But as my responsibilities have shifted over the last few years, what once worked perfectly for my life no longer did - something needed to change.

This has been my last yoga teacher training in Worthing, and it wraps up next weekend. It's a pivotal point for my students but it's also a big one for me this year, and I’m sure I will be just a little emotional!

I’ll be back running a new 200hr YTT at the end of the year, closer to home in Bexhill, with a slightly different format. I'm also continuing to teach my online YTT, with another hybrid course starting in June. And I'm loving sharing the 300 hour teacher training at the moment, with a self paced option launching in the next few months, and  a new live cohort next Spring.

I've worked pretty hard over the last few years to create all of this, so that my business could continue to fit my changing life as a single mum.

Nothing ever stays the same. Sometimes change hits us like a car crash. Sometimes we see it on the horizon and can plan for it. Sometimes a bit of both! But we can rarely escape it, and isn't that the whole point of life?

If this resonates, the only wisdom I can offer from my experience over the last few years is to take action, go with the change but don’t try to rush it. Everything has it’s own pace ✨

(and if change for you involves learning about teaching yoga, get in touch for a chat!)

Teaching yoga is a way of living

Teaching yoga isn't just a way of earning a living, it's a way OF living. This is something I was reminded of a couple of weeks ago as I was teaching a class. As people settled into savasana I felt the energy simmer down. I was reminded of the hundreds of classes I've taught over the past 17 years, and how much this feeling has been a part of my own experience too.

Yes it can be a challenge to create a lasting yoga business or teaching practice that sustains you practically. But this is secondary (for me anyway) to the feeling that comes from sharing yoga. The calm that resonates at the end of a class is something people search all day for, and they find it within themselves. What a gift!

This doesn't end when you step out of the yoga class either. For a lot of people, teaching yoga is a calling, perhaps a personal dharma (svadharma). And it naturally seeps into how you show up in your life, how you interact with other people, how you manage tricky situations. What you learn through practicing yoga informs what you teach, and this informs your life.

I'm no guru, I'm certainly not perfect and I really don't have all the answers. But I can see how teaching yoga can really shape how we live and who we become. I know I'm a lot calmer these days than I ever used to be, and I've managed to navigate some pretty tricky situations with a lot more ease.

If you're curious about embracing yoga as a way of life more, get in touch to find out about upcoming yoga teacher trainings.

The next hybrid yoga teacher training starts in June, self paced starts any time and in person starts this Winter.

The power of growth

My favourite time of year is definitely summer - I love nothing more than baking in the warmth, being bare foot, light till 10am.

But I still have a massive love for Spring. It’s full of growth and every time I see another bud or shoot poking through the earth it makes me feel happy, hopeful, reminded that the cycle continues.

"Growth" is an important value and part of my life. What's the point if we aren't growing - which is why I love learning, and teaching. The opposite (in my mind anyway) is stagnation and I can't handle that!

I love growing seeds for my allotment in the Spring and my windowsills are full of seed trays. But I also have a mild obsession with propagating, and these tradescantia are my favourite. Propogating can be done any time of the year really, and it always amazes me how from one small plant, 10 can be created. Just like that...

Nature offers us so many lessons, which I’m reminded of as I look at these cuttings. We can always keep growing, and we can always share what we have without it needing to diminish what we are.

How I learned to be present (for a moment)

Whenever I talk about parenting I’m acutely aware that some people reading this may have mixed feelings towards the subject for so many reasons. So I try to share my experience with sensitivity to this, whilst being honest about my own journey and how it relates to my yoga practice, because for me the two are inextricably linked!

Each school holiday I’m reminded of so many lessons, but the one that’s stood out this Easter has been presence, something inherent to yoga. I have my daughter for most of the school holidays, and so work naturally goes out the window. But more and more, my mind stays focused on her rather than stressing about deadlines and the work I ‘should’ be doing.

I’m not sure if yoga has taught me this presence or if motherhood has. I don’t know if it would be the same if I had more than one child (probably not!!). But I do know that when I manage to just be here, fully immersed in what we are doing together, fully engaged, everything is easier!

Our state of mind can have such an impact on the people around us, and vice versa. As a single parent, I am acutely aware of this because there’s rarely anywhere to hide if I’m having a challenging day, no one to pass the baton to whilst I hide in a bath! And I don’t want my stresses or concerns to somehow spill over into my daughter’s world. Sometimes it’s inevitable, but the situation has made me so much more conscious of how I manage these stresses so that they don’t become bigger than they need to be.

I’ve worked hard to create a business that gives me a degree of security whilst also giving me all the freedom I need, so that I can step away in the school holidays without feeling too worried. But I’ve also worked hard on my mindset. It’s a work in progress, for sure, but this Easter I feel like I’ve nailed it (for now, anyway!).

I know so many of my students need the flexibility that I do, which is why I’m so committed to offering yoga teacher trainings courses that are adaptable.

My flexible self paced yoga teacher training is here whenever you’re ready. The hybrid version starts in June, which includes some live training, a start and end date and some accountability as you work through the content in your own time. And the in person training starts in Sussex this Winter, still with my usual supportive and understanding ethos.

And if you’re a qualified yoga teacher, my self paced 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training is launching this Summer, with self paced and hybrid online modules that you can take whenever you’re ready.

For me anyway, a key part of feeling calm is knowing I have options, some kind of structure and a lot of flexibility. If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you!