Yoga Teacher Training Weekend #3

It was that time of the month again...


no, not that time... it was yoga teacher training this weekend. (I know, I'm a dork). Anyways, just to remind you of the hours, it looks like this...

Friday - 5:30-8:30
Saturday - 8:00 am - 6:30 pm
Sunday - 8:30 am - 2:30 pm

It seems like a lot, but when you're in the moment, it flies by. I really absolutely loved every minute of it. I obviously am not going around taking pics everywhere because we're all listening and working, so I wish I had more to share.

Some of the highlights this weekend included -

Breathing Techniques -
even though I try to meditate every morning, I have a hard time, sometimes, with my mind wandering all over the place. This morning was a good example. I only lasted 11 minutes. I couldn't finish the last 4 :(

We talked about Humming Bee breath which is where you breath in normally and then breath out with a humming sound. It is very calming AND it helps you get ready  for meditation. So, I will definitely be doing that tomorrow.

Yoga History -
Learning about how yoga came to the west has been very interesting.

source

Indra Devi was a major contributor the Yoga coming to the United States. She studied with Krishnamacharya who is considered to be the "Father of Modern Yoga". He was the first to teach Yoga to women (before then, they were not allowed) so that it could reach a mass audience. We watched a video on Devi and she was so funny. 

We also talked about some yoga theory and the ideas of what's behind yoga. It's very interesting and is probably my favorite part. We also did a LOT of asana work and I was surprised at how tiring it was. Some of the poses we covered - 

Forward Folds which included - 

Standard Forward Bend 

Uttanasan - source

Seated Forward Bend

Paschimuttanasana - source

Backbend Poses which include - 

Camel Pose 

Ustrasana - source

Bridge Pose

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana - source

It doesn't seem that hard until you do each pose over and over and over.

Lastly, we talked about Moola Bandha which is basically a kegel. I don't know if you've ever tried... but it's hard. If not, look it up :)