Category: Teacher Training

Yoga Teacher Training – Weekend #3

by Jheni, posted in Self-Discovery, Teacher Training, Yoga

Because of my not-so-pleasant experience with the Forward Bend practices from weekend #2, I was not as excited to start weekend #3 of In-Depth Yoga Studies & Teacher Training program with Shanon Buffington. 

As we started the topic of the weekend (Back Bends and Laterals), we discussed how we felt after the Forward Bend practice from weekend #2.  It turned out that there were several of us that felt low in energy and a bit somber in our mood.  Shanon explained that although we did some counter-poses, Forward Bends tend to be more grounding and therefore, can bring one’s energy down (which is great if you need to have your energy brought down from being too high).  She went on to inform us that if we liked Forward Bends, then Back Bends may not be our favorite practice (since it brings your energy up) and vice versa.

I always enjoy the Friday night lectures because the human anatomy fascinates me.  It blows me away how intricately the human body is designed.  The spine, for example, has three primary curves: Thoracic, Sacral and Coccyx.  This is what we’re born with.  As we grow and develop, we get our secondary spinal curves: Cervical and Lumbar.  This amazing spine of ours protects the spinal chord and nerves, and it supports about half of our body weight!  (Okay, back to weekend #3…)

Although I’ve always been hesitant about doing too many back bends because of my sciatic nerve pain, I was excited to explore how my body and my energy responds to a back bend practice.  Saturday’s practice was amazing.  We worked on several back bends such as Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), Dwipada Pitham (Two-Legged Table), and Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon Pose).  We then worked on our apex asana, Urdhva Dhanurasana (Full Wheel Pose).  I don’t do this asana often, but when I was in this asana, I felt a sudden sense of… LIBERATION!  I felt so liberated and strong!  This (and the other back bends) elevated my mood and energy to a point that after class on Saturday, I went home and did an intense workout for an hour and a half!

On Sunday, we discussed our own experiences with the previous day’s asana practice.  There were some who were up past 2 AM (one girl was up until 4 AM!) because they had such a surge of energy from the practice!  Our Lateral asana practice was pretty uplifting as well (but not equal to back bends).

Weekend #3 ended on such positive spirits on my end, I want to bottle this energy up!

Yoga Teacher Training – Weekend #2

by Jheni, posted in Health, Self-Discovery, Teacher Training, Yoga

I felt good going into the second weekend of my In-Depth Yoga Studies & Teacher Training program with Shanon Buffington because I felt like I knew what to expect and because I had met a lot of the students during the first weekend and through Facebook (good ol’ Facebook!).

Friday night was a review of our homework and lecture on forward bends and related anatomy.  I was feeling confident about my homework because I was sure that I got all of the answers correct…  Well, I was wrong.  I had most of the answers right, but on a few, I was way off.  I found myself feeling “below average” for my inability to get all of the answers correct.  I was able to brush off that feeling, so I just dismissed it as a non-issue.

Saturday was a very hands-on lecture:  As we learned the anatomical aspect of each forward bend asanas, we got up and tried these poses.  One of the first asanas that Shanon used “models” for, was Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog).  She asked one of the students to demonstrate it, and the rest of the class observed her proper alignment (basically, the proper way to do the asana).  Shanon then asked me to demonstrate my Adho Mukha Svanasana.  I was more than happy to demonstrate it, since I have been practicing yoga for 16 years.  To my surprise (and a blow to my ego) however, she pointed out to the class how my “shoulders were crunching into my neck”.  She then provided me with verbal instructions on how to make adjustments to make the pose correct.  I was shocked at how much more challenging this “simple” pose was once I was doing it properly!  Although I was glad to know the proper way of doing this pose, I started questioning my yoga practice and abilities.  Again, I decided to push this out of my mind.

Saturday ended with an asana practice focusing on forward bends.  Being that Shanon and informed us of the effects of forward bends (it brings the energy down, which means if you’re super hyper/energetic/busy mind/etc, this will be a good practice for you; however, if you have a tendency to be down or struggle with depression, this is NOT a favorable practice), I made sure I listened to her cues for breathing techniques that we should do if we don’t want our energy coming down even more (I was feeling a bit emotional and down that day).  I didn’t feel any dramatic effects of the practice that evening.

We finished the weekend on Sunday with another practice after the lecture/demonstration session.  As I packed up to leave, I slipped out of the studio quickly and quietly because I was feeling a bit introverted.

The next few days after that, I continued to observe my mood, energy and behavior…

After a Vinyasa class on Tuesday evening (where we did some forward bending asanas and ended with an inversion), I awoke on Wednesday feeling DEPRESSED!  I didn’t want to get out of bed, and I had very little energy to stay awake for more than an hour at a time.  Everything overwhelmed me and I felt like I couldn’t face the world!

Wow…  Never underestimate the powerful effect of yoga!

(P.S. – After a couple of days, my energy and mood was back to normal.)

Yoga Teacher Training – Weekend #1

by Jheni, posted in Self-Discovery, Teacher Training, Yoga

Going into the first weekend of my In-Depth Yoga Studies & Teacher Training program with Shanon Buffington, I really didn’t know what to expect.  In my mind, I thought there would be about 10-15 people because the yoga studio that we were meeting at, Rescue Yoga in Carrollton, was fairly a small studio (I took a Zumba class there last year).  I also thought I would see some seriously enlightened, advanced Yogis (you know, the kind of folks that seem to ooze “Yoga” out of every pore on their bodies).  I was wrong in every semi-expectation that I had.

I got to Rescue Yoga at 5:15 PM to meet my husband at the front (we were doing a pick-up/drop-off of Jade, our 8 year-old daughter; his office is closer to the studio than it is to our house).  Once I kissed my family good-bye, I walked in to find that the studio had expanded!  The studio was as inviting as before, but it was much more spacious!  After I put my boots away in a cubby just outside of the room that we were going to be meeting in, I grabbed my mat and headed toward the room.  As I walked in, I met Shanon, the woman who was about to change my life.  She was warm and genuine as she greeted me.  “You must be Jheni,” she said.  There’s just something great about meeting someone in person after following her on Facebook and her website… but when she actually recognizes your face, it just makes it so much greater.

Once everyone showed up (at 5:30 PM), we started the evening with introductions followed by a short meditation (or the other way around… I forgot).   Some of the students – 24 in all – seemed to be in the same boat as I am; previous injuries, dancers, fitness instructors…  Some have been practicing yoga for years; others were fairly new in their yoga practice.  But one thing we all had in common is that we were beginning this wonderful journey together as students of yoga being taught by the same guru, Shanon Buffington.

We dove right into the topic of this weekend, Anatomy and Physiology.  Being that I have a slight medical background (I was a Certified Nurse’s Assistant when I was 18, and my dance classes in college required us to learn the human kinetics related to dance), I was loving the breakdown of the muscular and the skeletal system!  It was a lot of information to take in, but Shanon taught in such a way that was practical and exciting (okay, I may be bit of a geek…).

We got out on Friday at 8:30 PM, and then were back at the studio on Saturday and Sunday from 1 PM to 6 PM, which included three hours of lecture each day, followed by an asana practice (the physical practice of yoga) on Saturday and Yoga Nidra on Sunday.

“What is Yoga Nidra,” you ask?  Great question!  I didn’t know what it was when Shanon announced it on Sunday.  Yoga Nidra (also known as “yogic-sleep”) is a meditation practice that induces a full-body relaxation.  A quote from Rod Stryker, my guru’s guru:

“We live in a chronically exhausted, over stimulated world.  “Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of complete relaxation, holistically addressing our physiological, neurological, and subconscious needs.”

I found myself in such a relaxed state that I kept thinking I was asleep, yet I was fully aware of myself.  When our 30-minute Yoga Nidra practice ended, I was bummed out that it was over because it was such a peaceful, carefree, relaxing 30 minutes that I’ve had in a very long time.  30 minutes of Yoga Nidra is believed to be the equivalent of 2 hours of sleep!

The weekend concluded with some homework assignments (reading one of our required-textbooks, Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga Injuries, answering the 31 review questions, and documenting our practice in the Practice Journal) as I smiled at my new classmates who, I have a feeling, will become important people in my journey of self-realization that is Yoga.

Namaste.