Yoga Field Training Internship Pooja Arora (Oct 2013 – Apr 2014) Union Yoga Ayurveda, Singapore
Introduction of Yoga teacher training internship
Yoga teachers training experience overall has been an immense immersion in Yoga and yoga principles. When I started the course, I knew it will be an intense commitment physically, mentally and of time I could allocate to the teaching. Our training was done in weekdays. Each day we did some yoga practice and spent the rest of our days learning about a variety of topics. We learned about meditation, breathing exercises, anatomy, assisting, teaching skills, yoga history, Yoga philosophy etc. Outside of training we had reading assignments and requirements to observe and assist classes. And we also had to do an internship ( so take yoga classes on your own) post the requirement to assist had been met. Yoga teacher training internship was an integral part in learning to be a Yoga teacher. It was a fantastic experience that taught me a lot about yoga principles, taught me a lot about myself and helped me really deepen my yoga and meditation practice.
Personal experience of teacher training
The reason I was learning to be a teacher was to know more about yoga and deepen my practise. Initially I wasn’t sure if I would actually teach yoga to people.However as the training went along, I got various requests to teach yoga and when I started doing that, I really enjoyed it. I decided to do 1:1 classes as this will help me form a deeper connection with my students, discuss the deeper meaning of Yoga principles. I did 10-11 classes per student and hence I was able to structure my classes so that’s it’s not only about aasanas but about balancing of mind-body-spirit through aasanas, pranayama and meditation. Initially I felt a challenge to talk, demonstrate and correct all at one time. However I slowly got a hang of it and got comfortable with the art of teaching. I also realized that the 1:1 interaction was really helpful as I could catch the minor issues in my student’s posture and guide them to get it right. They also enjoyed the individual attention. Additionally, I had to draft the sessions taking into account physical limitations of my clients, their needs and what they enjoyed – so that the sessions stretched them, was good for them but they also enjoyed the session. This meant every session was different and that I had to prepare upfront before the session. I really enjoyed doing that as I was thinking about my students and how to help them achieve best results. As I started teaching, I realized that I had to be conscious and ensure I carve out time for my own yoga practise. Teaching someone is not the same as working on your own aasanas, deepening your meditation or lengthening your pranayama routine. And after few days, I was able to find a balance between teaching yoga and maintaining my own practise. In the end, I’d say that Yoga teachers training had been a transformational experience and I’d like to thank the teachers for painstakingly taking us through this journey and helping us deepening our own practise.
Few photographs of yourself conducting classes of Yoga
I have only conducted 1:1 Yoga classes with clients at their homes. Pls see attached few pictures of the clients and me doing yoga poses.
Feedbacks from the clients.
The client feedback has generally been quite positive and they enjoyed my sessions with them. Few quotes from clients below
“Learning Yoga with Pooja has been a wonderful experience. She was able to really correct my posture and help me attain the aasanas better. The mix of pranayama along with the assans were really helpful as it really helped me get in balance with myself” — Divya Gowda
Pooja was really able to help me relax. I thought I could not meditate as I had an active mind, but Pooja was able to help me relax completely through the cyclic meditation practise she had me to. Additionally she was able to work around my injured wrist to still allow me to benefit from the aasanas. A wonderful experience and something that makes me want to do Yoga much more often” – Rahul Aggarwal
“I really enjoyed my sessions with Pooja. I really liked the mix of assanas, pranayama and meditation. Doing the AA-O-M chanting was a new and an amazing experience, something I still continue doing. Also Pooja was able to ensure I go into the postures correctly to ensure I get maximum benefit. I will definitely recommend Pooja as a Yoga Teacher” —Shiva