Wow. So it’s been one year since the Power Living Bali retreat (part of the 200hr YTT). Basically after that week it felt like everything was BY (before yoga) and AY (after yoga).

My yoga journey since the Power Living 200hr YTT:
  • I bought my yoga teacher insurance and completed my CPR and first aid course
  • I participated in the Power Living assisting program, a great way to get used to the flow of a yoga class as a teacher, rather than student
  • I went on a giant exploration of different styles of yoga, different teachers, different spaces (in Australia and Bali), trying to understand what was going on when something resonated deeply within me
  • I practised my Yamas and Niyamas daily and dove deep into Svadhyaya
  • I created my own yoga series called Yin + Din, where I lead a yin class for small private groups and then host a healthy dinner afterwards
  • I continued my teacher training – I’m currently in Canggu, Bali participating in two separate 50hr teacher trainings with The Practice (yin yoga and traditional hatha tantra, which starts next week…yippee!)
What I took away from the course (apart from yoga teaching qualifications):
  • A daily yoga practice – whether that’s getting on my mat, reading yoga books, journalling, saluting the sun, meditating by the ocean…I do something everyday to connect me back to the point of this thing called life
  • Some of the best friends of my life, soul sisters – and an amazing community of friends (three of whom lived on my street!) that made me feel like I had moved to a new neighbourhood in the best way
  • The ability to go into any yoga class and not feel like I have to be ‘good’. I don’t look around at what everyone else is doing. I’m able to be with myself on my mat, in my own little world and it’s da bomb
  • I fell in love with Bali – specifically Canggu. I’m writing this from the most gorgeous balcony overlooking rice fields here…my third time back in one year,
  • I found a clear pathway to live life that has given me so much peace, power and understanding (will post my yoga essays from the course soon and link here).
  • Certainty in who I am. What I’m doing. Why I’m doing it. Acceptance. I feel like I was given the permission I seemed to be searching for to stand strong in myself. No apologies for who I am. Can it get more liberating than that?!
Will I teach yoga in studio (apart from private sessions)?

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach yoga when I signed up for the 200hr YTT and when I finished the course I was so high off of the experience and the excitement of our final exams (teaching in the main room at Bondi’s Power Living studio was one of the most exhilarating highs), but when I thought about actually going into a studio and teaching people I didn’t know, I just didn’t feel ready yet. That’s no reflection on the teacher training though, lots of my friend’s have gone off to teach studio classes and are doing amazing jobs of it, but for me there was still a hesitation. I wasn’t sure if it was just nerves, but I decided to just keep doing what felt right and see where it took me. One of the biggest things I learned from the retreat was the power of surrendering and giving space to receive what comes next into your life – as someone who lived a previous life as an anxiety-riddled, Type A planner, this was a huge revelation (thank you Keenan Crisp!).

One year later, and one post 50hr Yin training with The Practice under my belt I can say now that I do feel the call to teach in studio. I love the style of yoga I’ve found at The Practice here in Bali and I’m trying to figure out a way to bring the essence of it back with me to Sydney. When I finish the 50hr Traditional Tantra Hatha training I will most likely do a writeup on my yoga learning experiences here too, so stay tuned!

Written by | Alex

The 200hr YTT series:

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