10 REASONS TO GO FOR IT
1. Become a better version of you. Its good to be a lifelong student. Never stop asking why and how; new ideas can challenge and enhance the way we see the world. We all need a little inspiration and help along the way. Yogic techniques enhance your physical, emotional, and mental states to ultimately benefit the world.
2. Know your Bones. Understanding what’s underneath the skin, your bones, joints, and muscles and how they move us can put a new lens on your Yoga practice. The more detailed your understanding, the more detailed your adjustments and awareness of a posture can be. You can make those fine distinctions in movements, postures, and overall intentions of a yoga practice. At You Do Yoga postures are directed by a functional approach. This means our instructors have a detailed understanding of anatomy and movement in order to accommodate different bodies into a pose that feels effective, and is safe.
“An aesthetic approach to your yoga practice may help you look good in a posture, but if your intention is to optimize your health and well-being, how you look in a pose is irrelevant. What is important is what you feel. To regain and maintain optimal health, a functional approach to your yoga practice is more skillful and much safer than an aesthetic approach. A functional approach focuses on what works for you, given your body’s unique biology and biography. ”
– Bernie Clark
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3. Commit to a consistent practice. You may already notice a clear difference in the way your body feels and even your mental and emotional perspective on those days when you practice yoga compared to those when you don’t. Yoga makes you feel better, the hardest part is getting to your mat.
“As you practice yoga and meditation regularly, this subtle sense of feeling good gradually becomes so pervasive, so natural and genuine, so much a part of you that it carries over into the whole of your life. And in doing so it helps clarify your deepest longings, motivations, and aspirations, thereby restoring optimism, hope, meaning, and purpose to life.” -Erich Schiffmann
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4. Teacher Training classes offer a deeper level of study than a regular class for the general public. Some teacher trainees don’t intend to teach, but want to experience more. According to the ancient mystics, Yoga goes beyond just poses. Study the underlying philosophy, the energy body, and breathing practices that may just change your outlook.
5. Create better habits a little bit at a time through consistent practice. As you make the commitment to take care of your body, mind and spirit you undergo the process of personal growth. As habits change to positively effect your body and emotions, you naturally have a stronger resolve to make other beneficial changes in your everyday life. Behaviorists discuss the power of behavior replacement. Bad habits hold less power as you gradually prefer to do more beneficial things with your time.
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“The beauty of being more sensitive lies in the discovery that beneficial things naturally start feeling good, better than before, and therefore become attractive to you. Things that are bad for you no longer hold the attraction they once may have had. Your diet, for example, may undergo an effortless change. Certain foods you previously enjoyed may no longer be so appealing, and previously uninteresting foods may now entice you. Lifestyle habits may also change without conscious determination.” -Erich Schiffmann
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6. Learn to Breathe. It is so crazy that children in our advanced society study so many subjects in great depth, but our bodies and the ways we can breathe is not often a topic of study. Did you know that the way you breathe can effect your mental and emotional states, make you feel calm, or even induce a panic attack? You are that powerful. Practicing breathing techniques can make a huge difference in the way we experience the world.
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7. Make new friends. As habits change, it is important to have a support network. A Spiritual community is there to uplift one another. The study of yogic philosophy often cultivates the understanding and space to respect and love people for who they are, despite differences in belief systems. You do you, and I’ll do me, but we can still support and love one another.
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8. Yin Yoga is becoming increasingly popular due to excellent teachers sharing the Yin experience. The power of the Yin practice is the art of letting go, it can be a fundamentally different approach to asana practice. Yin yoga is taught from a functional perspective: it’s about how a pose feels, relaxing the idea of how we may think a pose needs to look. You Do Yoga’s Taoist Yoga Teacher Training is the only Yin yoga program in the area, with a lineage to the Yin Warriors Paul Grilley and Paulie Zink.
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9. Commit to sit. Want to take your practice deeper? Its really not about perfecting a pose, or doing more challenging postures. Taking yoga deeper means to sit still, and to move increasingly towards internal awareness. If you’ve ever tried meditation, even once, then you’re familiar with the challenges it presents. Teacher training is a commitment to sit with the support of others, and it’s great to dialogue about experiences to see what our meditation practices have in common. You may be just as weird as everyone else.
10. Share what you love. Experiencing the physical, emotional and mental benefits of yoga can be life changing. This yoga thing has been around for thousands of years because of its power. When you find something that works, that makes you happier, and connects you to something greater than yourself, you share it! Many teacher trainees continue their study with the intention of sharing their practice with others.
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