How I ended up doing a Yoga Teachers' Training course?

Exercise or simply put Play, is an integral part of childhood or school curriculums. But as we navigate through the different phases of our lives, physical activity becomes quite a less significant part of many of our lives.

As a kid, exercise or sports was not something I considered myself good at. I was a studious child, never in sports but always dreamt of participating in sports activities. Being that runner, the one you see running around in the morning. Or that gym friend who can do continuous Leg Presses double or triple your weight. And the aspirations hold to this day as well.

And by the time this aspiration took even the slightest form, I was already approaching 30. Somewhere, the studious me had read all those things about losing muscle as we age. Having tried things like morning walk, running, bodyweight exercises at home, I found myself unable to stick to anything.

I got a gym membership, and you know how the story goes for a newbie in the gym. Sores, aches, that hard time getting out of the bed. Through this membership, I got access to CultFit centres. It was here that I started liking this subtle exercise form.

Yoga was the only exercise form that I felt at ease with. My oldest rendezvous with yoga has been Ramdev Baba's live telecast on the Aastha channel. Yes, that time, when he was organizing shivirs and everyone sitting ideal would be rubbing fingernails to grow their hair (Balayam yoga).

One fine day after my yoga class, I came home and just googled "how to be a yoga teacher", with definitely no intention of being one. And then I started reading, it continued for a while. And then I realized that a lot of people take yoga teacher training courses just to deepen their practice and not necessarily for teaching others. And also that it was not that difficult for me, difficulties being time, money, effort.

The hyper-productive me thought about a weekend course. And then I pinged a yoga teacher from CULT, whom I was connected to on Instagram. And this introduced me to a TTC in an ashram.

I had been longing for a vacation for quite some time. Amidst the pandemic, lockdowns, social distancing, living secluded in an ashram looked attractive. A Yoga Teachers' Training Course seemed like a vacation to the mind. Though this was not exactly a vacation, for me, it did the work.

A vacation would have brought a temporary change of scene. This course brought a mindset shift also. And not to forget, I am a YOGA TEACHER now.