My yoga journey- TT coming to an end - or maybe it's just the beginning...

The almost three months of yoga teacher training that we have undergone have been different and much more powerful than I would have ever imagined. First of all, it has been challenging physically and continues to be so. I have not had time or energy to do any other exercise apart from a slow run around the island last week. For those that have not taken intensive vinyasa classes before- believe me, it's more challenging that a run. Obviously it's not cardiovascular exercise but a lot of strength building and flexibility training which can be more intense especially for those of us who are quite athletic and love their running, cycling or swimming. I have been sweating almost as much in these vinyasa classes as I have in Bikram or hot yoga classes and the room is not heated! One of my classmates mentioned to me yesterday that she saw that my back muscles were really coming out - so apparently something is happening there...

But the most amazing transformation that has been happening, is the mental one. By opening up to other energies, learning about chakras and Ayurveda etc I have a feeling that a whole new world has opened up to me. It may sound cheesy but it's really become apparent to me that the body is just a vehicle for the mind and by trying to bring the two in union, which is essentially what yoga is to me, you become aware of so many things.

Our daily meditation practice has been the biggest task for me- I have not yet managed to find as regular a routine as I would like to - because it is so hard for me, I keep on finding excuses why I don't do it first thing in the morning before even checking my phone. But strangely enough, I know that it is precisely this regular routine that I am craving and missing so much. It's probably similar to physical exercise for a lot of people- they know it's good for them and they should be doing more of it but they still find ways of not doing it every day. We did one of the most amazing breathing exercises in our meditation call yesterday which I attended from my hotel room in Denver, Colorado- it must have been the holding if the breath and the top and the bottom of the exhale and inhale that just made me feel like I was flying through the streets afterwards. This feeling has been enhanced by the wealth of knowledge that we have received during the course of our training and it is fascinating to see what kind of energies it unlocks in people.

I am certainly becoming more confident and passionate about things I never thought I would care about. I am very excited to start teaching some classes at my work over the next weeks and contrary to what I was thinking at the beginning, I can't wait to start teaching now. It's not that I think that I'm experienced enough now - I don't think you'll ever feel ready for it. It's more that I just want to try out things and see if I can pass on some of the great effects that I have been receiving...

Just now I didn my first sirsanana or headstand - not against the wall (ok, the wall is still not too far away to support me just in case) but on my own!!! Am so excited and have to say it's pretty amazing what practice can do. Our teacher said about two weeks ago that we should just practice the knees into the chest and not even putting the legs up to build core strength and I tried but I couldn't even get my knees up. You really need to figure out how much to shift your hips too when getting into it. Just want to try it every day now...