⇪ MAXIMIZE THE EXPERIENCE, READ WHILE LISTENING TO THIS TUNE ⇪
1 month after the end my intensive 33-day Yoga Teacher Training, it is still hard to wrap my mind around what happened during this special experience. It is hard to write about it even if during the training, I’ve filled more than 80 pages of my little black book. It is hard because it’s been (and it is) such a vast evolutionary process and it just keeps unfolding everyday since, and therefore it is hard to dissociate what really belongs to the training itself.
It all makes my head spin a little. But I’ll do my best to put it into words.
Last summer, I’ve fell madly in love with Indonesia, and I can say that it is also here that I truly fell in love with yoga, even tho I had been practicing in Montreal before. The very first class I did at the Yoga Barn a year ago, was a true moment of bliss in my life. I little bubble of light that made me cry on my mat, and you can read that full story here.
It just made so much sense to come back here, where it all truly started, to do my YTT. To dig deeper, to explore this art & science further. I was just feeling thirsty to learn.
The day finally came and it all started…
The deal was:
33 days of training / 240 hours
From 7.30am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Saturday. (Sunday was a free day)
No alcohol whatsoever.
No meat (that was a personal challenge I decided to take)
22 women. 2 men, and various different teachers. Multi-age. Multi-nationalities. Multi-languages!
All that taking place in Ubud, a place known to have one the the highest level of energy vibrations on Earth. I swear, this place is magic.
We started everyday with 2h15 of morning meditation, breathing exercise (pranayama), and yoga practice (asana). The rest of our day was dedicated to different kinds of learning: Anatomy of movements, history, philosophy, ethics, art of touch, body reading & adjusting, teaching technics, singing mantras (like the song that is currently playing), sequencing, discussions, business… A lot of new informations to explore and process !
Most of the people think that yoga basically revolves around bending and stretching your beautiful body in various directions.
Misconception.
Or rather, Western conception.
The practice of poses, which is the image we have of the word Yoga, is actually named Asana, and it is only a tiny slice of the whole yogic culture…
“Yoga is an art and a science dedicated to creating union between body, mind and spirit.”
The practice as we know it today, is actually so far and different from it’s original form.
The yoga, or art of right living, was perfected and practiced in India thousands of years ago and the foundations of yoga philosophy were written down in The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, approximately 200 BC… Like it’s been around for quite a while you know. Lululemon didn’t invent it.
And no need to say that the true Indian yogis had absolutely no interested in doing acrobatic handstands or complex bends in pretty clothes. -That has been created and associated to yoga in the social medias era-. They were looking for a way to connect all elements.
So what is yoga for me ?
Yoga for me is about love & union.
Connection to oneself. Connection to all beings. Connection to our precious life.
It is about Authenticity, Truth, Expansion, Inner Peace, Self-Care, Awareness and Community.
In a nutshell, Yoga is, I believe, a doorway to a higher level of consciousness.
And if you ask me what is Spirituality for me?
I would definite it with the same words.
Spirituality is not about God.
To be spiritual is believing in your own power. The force, and the light you hold inside your chest. Believing in the power of the universe. And that perhaps, you are the universe, and you have the power the manifest great things.
So yes, during that month of training, we did get to do a fair amount of downward dogs, but that ain’t what I remember…
I remember dancing. Dancing for fun, Dancing under the rain, Dancing with my demons.
I remember cries. Of joy, Of relief, Of seeing and feeling others’ people pain.
I remember hugs. Hugs of happiness. Healing hugs. Hugs that hold all the pieces together.
I remember sitting a lot. To look inside. To share & listen. To eat incredible food, eh !
And I remember getting a strong feeling of belonging. Of being part of something good and real. Of being understood, seen and supported. Of being united.
I’ve also discovered that I still have SO but SO MUCH to learn.
Above all, this whole process has undoubtedly made me incredibly aware…
Aware of my own body; By learning more about anatomy and by spending so much hours with those 23 other humans, I’ve discovered parts, folds and angles I had never acknowledged before.
But what’s more interesting is starting to notice much more about the body language and what posture can tell you about someone… You just start reading things differently. Instead of analyzing the level of perfection or imperfection, you see fears, you see protective patterns, you see proudness, you sense their intentions.
You start sensing where a hand or a soft touch is needed. You start seeing a little bit beyond colours and shapes.
“I don’t really care for the level of perfection in your hair, I’d much rather talk about why the concept of perfection even exists and why some strive for it when it’s audaciously unattainable. Cuz I truly believe it’s amidst our cracks and colours and shades and those shaky ends of sentences where the words trickle away into oblivion that sheer brilliance, while we are here soundly sleeping simply waiting to feel safe about coming alive.
I wanna know your genetic make up from the tips of your nerves to the depths of your breathing, not the length of your fingernails but the distance you will run to chase me and the time it will take for you to trust again.
I don’t give a fuck about the colour of your skin I wanna know the darkness of the blue on your sad days and the brightness of gold on your good days and the rosiest red your heart feels filling up with all things you’re particularly passionate about and just how black the black can be. So please don’t waste your time spending money on fancy things even though we all like fancy things, I would very much prefer to trace each individual vertebrae on your spine than tell you if you look good in stripes.”
I’ve also became more aware of everything that goes down under my skin & inside my mind.
I’ve come to feel sensations I never had before.
Very big and overwhelming ones- so big that I could barely contain them inside my ribcage.
As well as very subtle ones – like a soft, soft, blow.
I’ve literally felt the blood running in my veins.
I’ve felt waves of energy totally electrifying my whole spine.
I’ve felt this very sweet & blissful sensation of aliveness gliding down my body.
I’ve felt the tickling sensation of someone else energy field touching mine.
I’ve felt a hand in my back when there wasn’t.
I’ve became more aware of my thoughts patterns. The stories I tell myself, the ones I keep reproducing because of past experiences.
What you think you create. For the better or the worst…
I’ve became more aware of the energy, light and beauty you can perceive in the outer world.
In so many ways, I’ve felt like I was experiencing the world for the first time again, with childish heart and eyes!
And all of this put together is, I believe, the growth of what we call the 6th sense.
I know it might sound weird, but that’s what it is: you start to read things differently, you feel them, you dream them, you sense them. You are aware.
It is not a super power. It is just that in contrast, so many of us have learned to numb themselves. So many just don’t allow themselves to feel anymore.
Why? ‘Cuz sensibility rhymes with vulnerability ?
‘Cuz sensibility means loosing control ?
And not being in control is scary…
Feeling SO MUCH is scary too actually.
But you know what? if only we would all become a bit more in-tune, and aware, of our feelings and with how much every one of us is feeling, it would be less scary for everybody.
To show our vulnerability and our sensibility, is to build bridges between our lonely hearts.
Sometimes we just have to remind ourselves that we are ALL seeking to be understood and connected.
All that to say, this whole experience has in fact been life changing. But then again, we change everyday. Let’s just say, this training was like taking the fast lane…
I guess the question is How does it all affect my ways of waking through life now ? Where to go from here?
From here, I want to walk in a direction where I’ll be able to keep sharing my love for life. Share the light, and share smiles & tight hugs.
From here, I want to help build bridges. I want to help you unleash your beautiful soul.
And luckily, this is exactly what I’ll be doing on the Salty Souls Experience.
Yoga is a tool I use to switch my brain mode. When the internal dialogue stops, the silence allows me to discern my truth from my bullshit. Clever ideas and positive thoughts starts to align & flow effortlessly. That’s why it’s so addictive, it removes all the layers of bullshit and makes everything in your head clear & luminous.
For the ones inquisitive about doing a Yoga Teacher Training ⇢ I’ve trained with Cat Kabira at the Yoga Barn.
