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Needless to say, everyone on the course
was normal. Like me, in fact. Nervous, full
of self-doubt about their own yoga practice
and insecure over the prospect of becoming
a yoga teacher. The course was set out. We
were to learn a set sequence, sit two exams
at the end of the year — philosophy and
anatomy — and practice yoga six times a
week for the year.
That’s when I entered phase one of my
teaching practice – I like to call it ‘the
manic phase’. I threw myself into the asana
practice, attended retreats, workshops,
tried hot yoga, Iyengar, hatha and rocket. I
practiced on friends, family and people at
work. Determined to conquer the splits, I
tore my hamstring. Determined to perfect a
caturanga, I gave myself a rotator cuff injury
and determined to master a crow I fell on
my face more times than I care to remember.
Half way through the year, my body was
sending me strong messages. Slow down.
And then it began to dawn on me. There
were other ways to practice yoga. It didn’t
literally have to be six days of gruelling
asana practice. Slowly, I was beginning to
learn that yoga is so much more than the
physical postures. I could use pranayama
breathing techniques to conquer the anxiety
I felt at work – that’s practicing yoga. I could
follow the ayurveda recipes to improve my
nutrition — that’s practicing yoga. And I
could take a few moments out of each day
to practice gratitude for what I was learning,
physically and philosophically. That is yoga.
A qualified teacher
Six months into the course I entered my
second phase of teacher training, ‘the calm
phase’. My practice slowed down and my
mind slowed down. Gradually and without
even noticing, I began to stop judging myself
and began to learn acceptance. I was truly
inspired by the books I read on mindfulness,
meditation, Buddhism, breathing and the
Bhagavad Gita. Bit by bit, the yoga teachings
seeped into every moment of my daily life.
The body is a fascinating instrument. The
greatest instrument we own and sometimes
it goes wrong. Yoga can help that. But the
mind really dictates how we live. The mind
can live in turmoil. Yoga can help that too.
As Patanjali said around 3,000 years ago,
“yoga is the calming of the fluctuations of
the mind” — and over the course of my
teacher training year, yoga calmed my mind.
At the age of 48 I am now a qualified
yoga teacher. I am proud to say that. I even
own my own mat. I can’t do the splits, it
doesn’t matter. I am still carrying injuries
and probably always will, but it doesn’t
BLOW YOUR MIND
Don’t forget: OM’s yoga teacher
training special report will feature in
our June issue. It’s the perfect place
to find out all you need to know
about making the leap into yoga
teacher training and moving your
life up a gear.matter because there is a lot I can do and
more importantly, offer to others. Yoga has
made me feel calm and balanced, excited
and energised. I am grateful for my peace of
mind. I don’t know how that happened, but it
did. In short, yoga has blown my mind.Kristina Symons teaches vinyasa flow at
Coldharbour Leisure Centre, Eltham, London
(kristinasymonsyoga.com)