Yoga Teacher Training – Week One

Useful, first hand information on Yoga Teacher Training 200 hours (YTT200) at Rishikul Yogshala, Varkala.

Sarah Keep

Yoga

So week one of my Yoga Teacher Training is over! I couldn’t find many helpful blogs (or real information) about what the course entailed before I started, so I thought I’d write a post which might hopefully help others who are also thinking of doing the course. I also thought it’d help my family and friends understand what the hell I’m doing from 5am-7pm each day, and why I’ve suddenly become useless at replying to WhatsApps!

Yoga Teacher Training is abbreviated to YTT, and most students do the 200 hour course first and then later do another 300 hour course after gaining some experience as a teacher, or significantly advancing their own practise. Some students choose to do the full 500 hours all in one go, but I think you’d need to be quite confident and advanced for that! I’m doing the YTT200 with Rishikul Yogshala, after less than a year’s practice and the least flexibility of anyone I know. More on that later!

A puja with the participants.

"The ashtanga class was the hardest, most intense, crazy yoga class I’ve ever done in my life. "

I arrived on Sunday 6th January around 4pm, after 4 hour journey and some emotional goodbyes.
I’d been feeling super anxious about the course for a few weeks before, but it really started ramping up in the days leading up to the big event. I was excited and apprehensive; I knew I was going to be put in a challenging, tiring situation with lots of strangers and I was sure I’d be the “worst” at yoga.

It was nice to meet our group at dinner time, and I remember thinking how funny it was that we were all so shy and quiet now, and betting that in a few days’ time we wouldn’t be able to shut up. I was so right!
The following day was our first official day of the course, and we celebrated with a sacred fire ceremony to open the occasion. It was beautiful. We lit a fire and set our intentions for the upcoming month, chanting Hindu and Yogic mantras and receiving blessings.

The first day of the proper schedule started on Tuesday, with a 5.15am cup of tea. Ashtanga Yoga started at 5.30am and lasted until 7.30am, followed by pranayama (a breathing exercise class) from 8-9am. We were only then allowed breakfast! The ashtanga class was the hardest, most intense, crazy yoga class I’ve ever done in my life. In all the other lessons we had to sit on the floor with straight backs all day, which is almost just as exhausting by the time it reaches 7pm!

After breakfast, it was time for Yoga Philosophy from 10.30-11.45am, Alignment and Adjustment 12-1pm and then lunch until 3pm. After that, we learnt about Yoga Anatomy until 4pm and then did Hatha Yoga until 5.45pm, followed by meditation until 7pm and then finally dinner.

Clockwise from L to R: Your's truly at the Gurukul, the sunrise view, me after the puja & the beach view from the Gurukul.

All the days in the first week followed this same routine, and they were absolutely exhausting. Hatha Yoga is also nothing like the fairly gentle, relaxing Hatha I’ve done back home and was also quite intense, with several rounds of sun salutations and endless backbends. If you don’t know the difference between Ashtanga and Hatha, click here – they’re especially different in the UK but here they actually both seem to be really fast paced and energetic!

The yoga has actually been quite far from what I expected and very far outside my comfort zone. I have been used to a fairly gentle, meditative form of yoga with beautiful relaxing music, incense and candles in the lovely Nottingham Buddhist Centre‘s Shrine Room.

Here it is incredibly energetic, very difficult and requires a lot more flexibility than I have! Our ashtanga teacher in particular is pretty crazy – I don’t think he has any bones and is instead made of jelly. The postures he can get into are insane.

The early mornings have also been difficult for me – I’ve never been a morning person and getting up in time for tea at 5.15am has been a challenge for the whole week. I’ve also found myself feeling quite emotional and a bit sick – part of the ‘purification process’ that yoga teacher training blesses you with as ‘blocked energy’ gets released from your mind, body and spirit.

It’s certainly been a lot harder than I ever imagined, with full 14 hour days (excluding breaks) and 4+ hours of intense stretching and exercise. It’s definitely not to be confused with a retreat!

The YTT batchmates posing for a group snap.

I feel lucky to have fallen into a group of such wonderful people, and after a week together we now have a close bond and have lots of laughs with each other.

The best thing about the day is 100% bedtime, which for me is sometime between 9 and 10pm, and the worst is at around 5am when it’s time to get up for some crazy ashtanga.

The food has been delicious although slightly repetitive, and I had a bad day on Saturday where I had to miss a few classes after being sick. I’m trying to believe in this ‘purification process’ I mentioned and put my illness/emotions down to that!

I’m not sure whether I can really say I’ve enjoyed my first week, but it’s certainly been a challenge and I’ve noticed progression in my yoga already, even in such a short space of time. I’m looking forward to watching my practise and posture improve as the course goes on, and I hope I will gain more confidence too.

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!
(We chant this at the beginning and end of each class, and it means; peace to the world, peace to those around me & peace to myself)

Sarah
x

Sarah Keep
0 Comment
2019-02-09
2112 days ago

About the Author

After a lifelong battle with depression & anxiety, Sarah Keep decided to leave behind her life of luxury (German whips) for a simple life of travel, adventure & exploration (bus trips) on a journey to find true happiness. Through her blogs, German whips to bus trips, she have chosen to share her backpacking diaries, stories about her journey towards mental health recovery & (vegan) travel guides to various destinations around the world. She inspires us to travel more, believe in ourselves and gives us hope for the future, regardless of the struggles we may be facing right now. You can reach her through her Instagram handle – germanwhipstobustrips or email id - germanwhipstobustrips@gmail.com. For a wholesome read, here’s the link to her travel blogs – www.lnk.bio/rnif

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