Joan Hyman is a teacher at Wanderlust Hollywood, and leading the Wanderlust signature Voyager Teacher Training with Clio Manuelian in the New Year.
The process of going through a yoga teacher training is never easy. It can be time consuming, costly, and involves working through a lot of resistance: Not only in the physical body, but also within our own minds. Over the years, however, I have seen the transformation that many of my students go through during their teacher trainings; how they are able to change their lives in a very significant way.
Teacher training encourages us to learn to deal with our thoughts and fears, our simmering anxieties, and our perceived limitations. It takes a lot of courage to explore these dark and unsettling facets of ourselves. It takes a lot of strength to endure all the messy feelings and issues that bubble up, to dig deep, and to find clarity within. Teacher training can certainly help with this process, leading to a great shift that connects us to both our community and the world around us.
Getting Started
A lot of people are first drawn to the practice of yoga because of the fulfilling physicality of the asanas. We work our body and clear our minds as we move from pose to pose. We ground ourselves through the steadiness of our breath, and at the end of it, we enjoy the exquisite release and quietness of Savasana, which keeps us coming back for more.
It starts out pretty simple, but as we become entrenched in our practice, the work intensifies and we approach our edges. The journey through consciousness results when we commit ourselves to the process of releasing habits and negative patterns that hold us back, that take us down an unintended if familiar path.
To realize the fullness and the wholeness of our being we need to burn through these Samaskras, these unconscious habits. In doing so, we create more awareness and feed our inner light. This shift is essential to help our highest potential unfold. This is how the practice of yoga and meditation changes us from deep within. Teacher trainings deepen this process by helping students understand how these practices work.
Deeper Understandings
Training also illuminates the commitment necessary in order to truly understand the benefits of yoga. Each day will be filled with a physical practice, learning, lectures, discussion and meditation. This will change your perspective and open your mind to new possibilities. New experiences will be brought closer to the surface, and as this happens, your inner light will become stronger and brighter, helping you recognize the light in others as well.
This daily commitment to a teacher training program will take you to darker and unfamiliar places within. You will be challenged with new ways of learning. Your body may experience openings that will be perceived as “painful.” Through it, you discover a whole new you, a you that was always there, just waiting to emerge.
In the same vein, along the way you will meet other like-minded yogis on the same path of self-realization; with them you will form a community of support. You will form long-lasting friendships with like-minded people—you spend a great deal of time with your fellow teacher trainees. These shared experiences, spanning both professional and personal goals, are deep and personal and will bond you. The yoga community can offer a deep sense of support and realness, as everyone shares their love for this amazing transformational practice.
External Benefits
And, of course, deepening of personal practice isn’t the only benefit: Teaching training gives you the tools to step into a career that allows you to have a positive impact on people’s lives. Helping people get more connected, find physical relief, and become happier is the most rewarding job ever. Going to work won’t feel like “work.”
All in all, you will become much more present in your life, and to the people in it. You’ll learn how to see more clearly who and what truly is serving you. You’ll have a solid foundation toward living with a purpose, and learn to connect with what you really want and deserve within your heart.
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to train with some of the country’s most renowned teachers, in the first yoga center of its kind. What are you waiting for?
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Joan’s grounded teaching style creates space for students to deepen their personal journey while aligning with teachings of true yogic traditions. Joan frequently shares her insight on the subject of health and wellness in national magazines and blogs, including Elephant Journal, Mind Body & Green, Yoga Journal, ORIGIN Magazine and Women’s Health. She currently has a thriving career as a Wanderlust Senior Teacher (E-RYT500) and leads yoga retreats, workshops, and teacher trainings all over the world, while maintaining a full yoga class schedule in Los Angeles. 