om yoga teacher training guide
Sivananda student, Mirabai,
shares the experience of teacher training
Yoga is a Gift
I enter the centre on a bright sunny
afternoon. Immediately something inside
me tells me something special exists here.
An inner subtle presence in me seems to be
linked to this space. It is the same air I am
breathing, but something here is beyond
words. A harmony, a colour of life, a vital
preserved energy. I walk into the asana
classes, the students are getting ready in
silence for their class. I can sense a true
respect for what will be taught.
The teacher starts the class, she
chants. Her voice is profound, the
sounds and vibrations seem connected to
a higher sphere,
I can feel a gentle release inside me, a
peace within. I know this is the right place.
I know something miraculous happens
here. My mind cannot grasp it, only deep
inside me I sense a truthful pure impulse
that I have to train within the Sivananda
Yoga Centre.
The TTC begins a few days later
Like a child I sense my whole being ready
Sharing
gift
to learn. I know nothing. I will let myself be
open to the teachings of the masters. Day
by day, gently, something inside me opens
to new dimensions. The physical awareness
of my body grows, the voice gets released
in chanting in Kirtan, the spiritual practices
gently guide me. Challenges happen and
I suddenly realise there are beautiful
challenges that are meant to be. I surrender
and decide to go with the flow. I realise there
is a ‘Big Picture’. Day by day light comes
within. The group grows and learn together,
and I can now clearly see that each step of
each one of us counts.An instrument: journey through a
body, a voice, a spirit
I start to grasp deep inside that we are
instruments for something bigger, and if we
are brave enough, if we surrender, the flow
of energy comes to us and the instrument
can play its part into the world. If there is a
sacrifice to the higher consciousness, light and
energy can flow and the knowledge that we
are always held and protected comes to us.Stillness discovery
One afternoon, during asana classes, a real
stillness appears to me for the first time.
The experience is both from beyond and
within, there is no duality there. The inner
being opens up and is suddenly at rest. A
whole new dimension has been open in my
existence and I realise: there lies the gift of
yoga, there lies what can be given to others.
We can transmit to others the tools to
access rest and inner peace.Become a child and learn: exist
It is almost the end of my course, I can see the
transformative experience that each one of
us has been through. I see more clearly within
and without. I look at the others: their eyes are
brighter, the smiles and laughter are truthful,
the bodies are lighter. People seem to be
dancing through their lives. I understand I have
been given a gift through this experience with
them and that there is no time to lose now.
Each breath counts in this existence.Discover more about the Sivananda Yoga
Vedanta Centre at (sivananda.co.uk)the