Little did I know, then, that what I was experiencing had been described many centuries ago in what became the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, a fundamental reading for those who are looking for a more comprehensive approach to yoga - apart from asana practice.
During the pandemic, I started practicing yoga at home and I discovered and fell in love with Vinyasa. I came to long for those movements, connected with and guided by the breath. And while my practice became deeper, I felt I wanted to know more.
What was it behind phrases and expressions used by my teachers? How could you explain yoga to others? How did my teachers know how to weave their beautiful enriching sequences? I had so many questions It was time to find the answer.
That's how I started researching the web for yoga teacher trainings. I had several things on my mind on how my training should look like:
1. be completely available online;
2. be easy to follow and at my own pace;
3. be economically accessible.
I scanned the web for months, looking everywhere. I stopped looking for a while, filled with discomfort. Some offers were too expensive. Some requested some physical presence. Some had time limits I could not cope with. Until I bumped casually into this article, which led me to MyVinyasaPractice.
That's how I came to choose a yoga teacher training based in Austin, Texas while I am Italian and actually living in Beijing, China! MVP advertised their online teacher training as 100% online; promised a lot of tools to work with; referred to their community a lot; offered different types of payment and competitive prices.
It all pointed towards making that choice. After dropping an email to the founder of MVP, Michelle Young, I decided to dive into the experience. And see what it looked like under the promising facade.
Let's cut the suspense: I got all that I had been promised. And more. I discovered concepts that were new to my own background, like mindfulness, (self-) compassion, accessibility. And even if they never brag about it, I realized that MVP was an enterprise made by women - not only for women, though. In a world where it is usually "all men", leaving out all the other genders, it felt good to be led by them all, with their different voices, backgrounds, shapes, approaches - but always inclusive. Anybody can practice yoga, they keep saying - or, better, any body can. And they teach you how different bodies and different needs can actually approach yoga.
I found myself taking more and more from those lessons, on the mat and off the mat. I discovered I had different voices to talk through. My yoga voice, for example. I learned how to use words to express concepts that come from the Yoga Sutras, actually understanding them in a different way. I learned that there is not such a thing as a perfect shape for an asana - as there is no perfect body for yoga. I, too with my tight hamstrings and lower back pain can still pass my newly found knowledge about yoga onto others. And at MVP I have always someone available to talk to about my doubts, be it asana concerns, journaling (yes, I did take up journaling, after all!) or my dosha imbalance😉
So, decide what you want for yourself and pick one of the many offers out there. What is the style that most resonate with you? How much time per day or week can you dedicate to the training? Can you attend physically or online? What language do you want your training to be in? Drop an email to the yoga studio before making your purchase or call them and see how it feels. Or take one of their classes and observe if you like what you are taught and the way it is offered. In the end, it is always your choice, like in yoga.
I don't know when and if I will get my 200-hour certicate. But one thing is true: it's not about the end of the journey, but it's all about the journey itself. Ready to start your travel?
Namaste!
