When the Student is Ready…
They say when the student is ready the teacher appears. For me, it always seems that when the student is ready the program appears. When I started at the Halifax Yoga studio the teacher training program had just began for the year. I knew it was a special program and month after month when the weekend training would go on, I watched a group of people transform before my eyes. Seeing this transformation and having friends take this program, I knew that this is what I wanted to do when the next opportunity presented itself.
Finally the opportunity came for me to register, so I sat down and had a long talk with my fiancé about the YTT program. He asked me what I wanted to get out of this program, and if I thought it was something that would serve me past the time that the program ended. Instantly I thought about one of the students in the current YTT program and I started to tell him the story of their transformation.
One year ago I watched a friend enter into the YTT program, seeming to have their “shit” together, I thought to myself “this person would make a great yoga teacher, I am glad they are doing the program”. At this point in my yoga journey, I failed realize the truth behind what the ytt program really was about. The YTT program is not just about yoga and transforming into a yoga teacher, it is about transforming into the best you possible. What I also failed to realize is after a few dramatic turns in her life, I was about to witness my friend transform into the best her possible, as well as an outstanding yoga teacher.
When really big events go on in your life you become one of two people, the person who keeps everything inside and acts like everything is okay, or the person who wears their heart on their sleeve. My friend was the first option. For a few months I watched her keep everything that was going on inside of her, I watched her try to cope with things on her own, and ultimately I watched that not work for her. After the YTT program had started I noticed a shift in her coping skills. She started to share more, be honest, and allow others to be there for her. She started to transform into an even more amazing person, a person I learn from everyday.
Recently I had a skype date with my friend and we talked about the difference between holding things inside and being open. She explained to me that this program provided her with an environment that she felt safe sharing in as well as connecting with her feelings. She also said, she felt, she was able to share things that normally were held inside of her. This program gave her the strength and tools she needed to change her life, to follow her dreams, and to swallow her pride and allow her self to admit she wasn’t perfect. She found peace in a group of people who didn’t judge her but held space for her.
I am proud of my friend for the work she did, I am so amazed by her transformation, and I honestly feel that this program is exactly what she needed at the time she needed it the most. I feel truly honoured to have this person as a friend in my life, and now as a teacher to draw wisdom and knowledge from. They are one of my inspirations and one of the reasons I signed up for this program. It changes you for the better, it transforms you, and in the end you come out with so much more then you had when you went in. I feel that because of the transformation I watched, I am now a student who has had a teacher and program appear when I need it most.
I am proud to be a student in the Halifax Yoga Teacher Training program, are you ready to transform?
Jennifer Toole
www.thebankofjennifer.com
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