Personal Development Through Yoga Teacher Training – Why It Matters
When I started my first 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT) many years ago, my goal was clear – to become a yoga teacher.
But as we sat in the opening circle and the course leader asked who was there because they wanted to teach yoga, I was surprised to see only a few hands go up.
Most of my course buddies had other reasons for doing yoga training, they wanted to deepen their yoga practice, advance their spiritual journey, and grow as a person.
Only after I’d finished the course did I realise that I had done all those things too, albeit unintentionally.
Sure, the YTT taught me how to lead yoga classes effectively. But even more importantly, I learned how to show up courageously in my own life. I now have the tools to take personal responsibility for my life, and ultimately lead a life I’m really proud of!
I truly believe that the personal development that comes from yoga teacher training could be the most important benefit you’ll gain from the whole experience.
Keep reading to hear how it helped me grow spiritually and professionally, and how it can help you, too!
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What is personal development?
Personal development refers to expanding our skills, knowledge and self-awareness as well as cultivating healthy habits and behaviours.
We expand our knowledge and skills anytime we do something that involves learning. And on a yoga teacher training course, we learn A LOT!
For example, by understanding how to teach yoga to others, we learn transferable skills that we can use in many areas of our life, like:
- Effective communication
- Public speaking
- Leadership
- Coaching others through a journey
- Teaching ideas and concepts to others
How personal development helps you professionally and spiritually
Yoga promotes self-awareness and introspection. So, immersive yoga experiences like teacher training courses help us become more aware of ourselves and others.
For example, through yoga teacher training, we learn how to:
- Identify and manage our emotions in a healthy way
- Better understand the needs of others
When we go away for a month-long YTT, we temporarily free ourselves from the distractions of technology and work demands. This gives us the time and space to identify and work through emotional, mental, and physical blocks.
Moreover, these programs delve deep into the philosophy, anatomy, and spirituality of yoga. Adding even more valuable knowledge for you to refer from.
These timeless teachings can help us to see life through a new lens and change our perspective. This broadens our minds and allows us to bring more presence, awareness, and gratitude to our daily lives.
This blend of personal and spiritual development means we gain deeper insights about ourselves AND the world around us.
However, true transformation requires not just new thinking but new actions. And to take the right actions, you need two things:
- A supportive community and environment
- A can-do attitude fueled by inner strength and perseverance
Yoga teacher training and personal development
From my experience, yoga teacher training was life changing – it’s one of the best places to seek support and encouragement from others AND develop the inner strength and courage needed to take control of your life.
Here’s how…
Inner strength and perseverance
While we grow every time we learn something new, an intense and immersive learning experience amplifies our personal development potential.
Month-long immersive YTTs are nothing less than INTENSE!
It’s not just that the days are long (usually around 12 hours). The asana sessions push your body to the limit, and learning such a vast amount of new knowledge can be mentally challenging, too.
The physical and mental struggles you will deal with during your YTT will help you develop inner strength and perseverance.
These are vital skills you’ll be able to call upon during many different situations in life, allowing you to:
- Keep working away at your dreams despite the setbacks and challenges you face
- Overcome failures and adversity and try again
Support and encouragement
A yoga teacher training program is a healthy, positive environment that fosters a sense of connection and community. This can highlight your bad habits and show you how to replace them with better ones.
For example, one bad habit that my YTT brought to light was how dependent (addicted) to my phone I was! But, once I was aware of it, I was able to overcome it and I now have a much easier time leaving it alone.
YTTs allow you to explore your inner workings free from judgement because everyone there has chosen to come together to embark on a transformative journey alongside others..
While your journey will be very personal, you will never feel like you’re going through the experience alone.
Instead, the supportive environment of a yoga teacher training program creates a space for personal growth to flourish by fostering:
- Open communication
- Empathy
- Collaboration
The best yoga teacher training courses for personal development
While all yoga teacher training programs promote personal and spiritual development, some schools focus on this aspect more than others.
One of the best is The Sacred Fig, which runs 200-hour yoga teacher training courses in Portugal and Bali.
The Sacred Fig weaves personal development into the heart of their curriculum, which is crafted by Matt Corker, a world-renowned leadership and performance coach.
Rather than simply training people to be yoga teachers, they look at and work on the whole person, utilising potent coaching and leadership development techniques.
They believe that “how you do one thing informs how you do everything” so even if you decide not to teach yoga, the skills you gain from training with The Sacred Fig will benefit you in whichever career or life path you choose.
This is probably why many of their course graduates have gone on to do so much more than teaching yoga classes. Past graduates of The Sacred Fig have:
- Opened up yoga studios and yoga retreat centres
- Written books
- Been featured in magazines
- Created yoga curriculums in hospitals
Whilst there is a real drive at The Sacred Fig to become the best version of yourself, they don’t take things too seriously and manage to maintain a light and joyful atmosphere at all times.
In fact, they are all about having fun and grabbing life by the horns. So, if you choose to do your 200-hour yoga training with The Sacred Fig, you can expect impromptu afternoon dance parties, sunrise skinny dips, and plenty of deep belly laughs!
Final thoughts
Yoga teacher training programs are for more than just aspiring yoga teachers. They offer anyone the chance to improve themselves through focussed personal development, while also learning a skill that can benefit others.
Even if you’re still unsure whether you want to become a yoga teacher, the many things you will gain from a yoga teacher training course are worth it, regardless!
Check out The Sacred Fig’s website for more details on their amazing 200 hour and 300 hour yoga teacher training programs.
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