200-HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

Hello and welcome back to another blog post about my journey as a yogi. I want to share with you how my experience in Bali went during my yoga teacher training.

Let’s start from the beginning. It was a warm summer in August and I was going through some changes in my life that had me feeling a bit “lost” and unsure about what I wanted to do regarding work at that time. I quit my corporate job a year prior to that and had not found anything else to replace this income so in the meantime I was living off my credit cards, my little bit of savings, and working side hustles like food delivery, cleaning homes, house/pet sitting, etc…

As far as my yoga practice, I would practice at home mainly and was not the biggest fan of going into actual studios. I also didn’t have much of a deep understanding of the true meaning behind yoga and how this practice was more than just a physical matter. I was in love with the connection I had created with this practice and how it had healed me in the past with two of my lower back injuries. One day, out of nowhere, my soul spoke to me and the idea of becoming a yoga teacher was all of a sudden very present. I started looking into teacher trainings and without a doubt in my heart, I knew I had found my new calling. I was meant to serve others and what better way to start than by teaching something that had served me for the better and had helped me heal in many ways. YOGA.

Teacher trainings are not cheap let me tell ya! I was making very little income and my credit card debt was only growing, however, I trusted my intuition and this calling I was receiving. I let go of any fears that I had, of any self-limiting beliefs, of all doubts, and trusted that everything was going to work itself out in my favor. I held on to faith and purchased my one way plane ticket to Bali, Indonesia, one of my dream destinations!

In order to become a certified yoga teacher you must first take a 200-hour course, which you can do online or in person. I chose Bali because I wanted to live this experience in another country, one that was calling to me and somewhere I knew yoga and spirituality were very popular within the community. After doing my research, I booked my stay with House of Om, in a magical location they have surrounded by two rivers and lots of nature, jungle vibes all the way.

The day I arrived at the resort, I felt like a kid again. It reminded me of the feeling I felt when I was younger and it was my first day of school. Feeling excited and nervous at the same time. We were asked to wear all white for the opening ceremony. All 40 of us women looked like beautiful angels that day.

I got to meet my roommates and most of the girls before the opening ceremony. During our welcoming, we were greeted by a priest and some of the teachers from the program. I remember holding back tears of gratitude, and then later that evening I allowed myself to completely release and to connect with all of the emotions I had felt until that moment.

The rest of the days consisted of intense training, from 6am to 7pm. Lots of asana practice and a lot of new information for my brain. Some days I felt exhausted from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. Other days, I felt recharged and like a new person ready to learn and absorb everything that day had in store for me. I allowed myself to be so present that I remained very disconnected from the outside world. Keeping very little contact with my family and friends, but missing them every day. There was a 15 hour difference between Indonesia and my home country, USA, which made it even more difficult to stay in touch with my loved ones. This disconnection allowed me to fully immerse in the teacher training and to also connect on a deeper level with the other yogis that were in the program.

We were up at 5am every morning and met at 6am for our first asana practice. I would wake up with the sunrise and prepare myself a warm cup of lemon water before heading to my first class of the day. We practiced being in “silence” the first 3 hours of our morning, until breakfast time, and then we were able to break that silence if we chose to or we could continue to stay in silence for as long as we wanted to.

The food they served us was my absolute favorite thing about the course if I’m being quite honest! I am a foodie and I love to nourish my body with delicious food always. At House of Om, they served us plant-based, vegetarian meals, which is exactly what I already eat back at home, so it worked perfectly for me. They served us buffet style meals, with so many delicious options to choose from every day. Breakfast was my favorite of course. Smoothie bowls, chia pudding, vibrant fruits, and so much more. I also took some of my mushroom coffee from back home and shared with some of the girls during my stay there, they all loved it.

On our days off, which we got two in total, most of us would leave the property and rent out a villa in the center of Ubud for the day. The first time, it was only one of my roommates and myself that decided to get our own cute villa and spent our day off walking the center of Ubud and dedicated time for some self-care. Massages in Asia, or at least in this part of Asia, are very very affordable compared to back in the United States. So every chance I got, I would book myself a Balinese massage. SELF CARE BABY.

A week later, on our second day off, some of the girls and I decided to get a bigger villa and spent our day off hanging out by the pool there and celebrating that we had one week left before graduation. That night we all went to this event at the Yoga Barn, it was my first time attending an ecstatic dancing event, and it blew me away. I had never danced this way before. Hard to describe, but if you have experienced this yourself, you know exactly what I am referring to. I felt so FREE.

These days off helped to serve me as a reset and allowed me to process what I had learned so far in the course. 200 hours of intense yoga teacher training, learning about asanas I had never even tried before, learning about anatomy, philosophy, mythology, and so much more. At the end of the course we were all asked to teach an asana class and we all took a written exam on the content we were taught.

20 days, 40 women from all over the world, sharing tears, sharing hugs, sharing dances and laughter, learning from each other, creating a safe space for each other, becoming sisters, becoming ONE. I guess I mentioned earlier how my favorite part about this experience was the delicious food they served us, but I will have to admit that the friendships and connections I made in this journey were so special to me that nothing else can compare. To this day, I still maintain contact with many of the women that attended this course, and some of them have even visited me back home in the USA. I am forever grateful to the Universe & the Great Divine, for the memories I created and for gifting me with this magical experience. GRATITUDE FOREVER.

As I am writing this, I am getting a bit emotional reminiscing about my 200-hour ytt, knowing that something wonderful is approaching later this year. If you are reading this, thank you for getting this far. I will like to share a little secret with you. I am going through a very similar experience as I was 2 years ago when I had that first calling from the Universe to become certified in holistic wellness. Except this time, things seem to be a lot more clear for me. I am ready to dive a bit deeper into my yoga & meditation practice. I am ready to immerse myself in another course that will take me further into connecting what I already know with everything I don’t know yet. I am ready to travel across the world once again in search for a deeper understanding of how I can serve my community better, in search of a deeper connection with my soul’s purpose.

I will be traveling to Rishikesh, India, the birthplace of yoga & meditation. I have registered to take my 300-hour yoga teacher training in a school that is located right in the center of the city, near the Ganges River with a far view of the Himalayas. I CANNOT WAIT! India is a country I have always wanted to visit, don’t ask me why because I don’t have a clear answer, other than my soul and my intuition are telling me it is a place I must visit in this lifetime. I already know that I will come back home being a different, more expandable version of my current self. I am ready to let go of all that I need to let go of, and completely surrender to this divine experience waiting for me on the other side.

Thank you for following my journey and believing in me.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you for your love. NAMASTE.