our collective wisdom
a santosha yoga community blog
When people say, “I do yoga”, what do they really mean? Believe it or not, there are many different forms of yoga! Especially in the transition from the East to our Western culture, other forms or subsets of yoga have become popularized. Entering into the yoga world can become confusing when just understanding what kind of yoga you’re even doing! Here, we’ve cultivated a basis of each type of Asana practice offered at our studio for your understanding. There’s always more learning to be done, but here is your introduction: Yoga is a practice of paying attention, to everything within and around us. It is literally translated as a "union" or "yoking" to a wider power and cultivating the mindfulness to embody the full Self. Most of the time we see it today as a practice of movement, although Yoga as a full practice is a lot less of a "workout" and more of a work-IN. Yoga is based on Eastern traditions and philosophies with traits of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism weaved throughout, and depending on which lineage or style you follow. Vinyasa Yoga “Vin” meaning breath and “asa” meaning movement, this form of yoga is the relationship between breath and body/posture. Each pose is led into through the breath. You’d notice that you are in a Vinyasa class if the teacher says “Inhale, Mountain pose” or, another example, “Exhale, Forward Fold.” These Flow Classes on our schedule tend to be faster moving and dancelike, feeling like water as you find a seamless transition from one movement to the next. Hatha Yoga “Hatha” means “force” in Sanskrit. The “force” is typically referring to the physical practice of yoga rather than the breath. It’s well-known as an umbrella term to cover many of the other styles you see here and beyond! In fact, my RYT (yoga teaching certificate) is registered under Hatha yoga. It’s become the general type of yoga you would encounter here in Western Culture. These classes are more static, and do not incorporate the same circular transitions of flow. Balance Class on our schedule and Iyengar Yoga are great examples of a Hatha practice! Iyengar Yoga Iyengar yoga is named after its founder, B.K.S. Iyengar. It is a style that is made of detailed and precise movements and cues, so that postures can be held for a long time. Challenging right? Plus – your focus is to control your breath throughout. An example that you might find in an Iyengar class is if the instructor cues, “rotate your pelvis towards the prop wall,” or “activate your left glute to lift your heel higher.” On our schedule, you will see this style of class called Align. Restore Yoga Close to the ground, slow, and supportive, Restorative Yoga is created for those recovering from injury or illness. It is great for all bodies, whether you're athletic or have limited range of motion. It allows you to release whatever you have been doing during the day and stimulates the body's natural repair and healing response. A Restore class will have lots of props, leveled transitions, being completely passive in the body, in order for you to get the deep rest and presence you need. On our schedule Restore Yoga is offered Sunday mornings, and every other Friday along with live music. Yin Yoga Compared to Restore Yoga, Yin Yoga is a more meditative practice with deep work in the connective tissues of the body rather than activating the muscles, like in a Vinyasa class. Postures are held sometimes 5 minutes or longer with the challenge being to find stillness in the eye of the storm. “Yin” is linked to the balance shared with “Yang.” There is a Yang Yoga, but we’ll get into that next time! Yin Yoga is gentle in its approach, and can allow you to drift off into a space that feels like you’ve been there for 3 minutes or an hour. On our weekly schedule you will see these classes listed as Gentle Yoga. Kundalini Yoga This is a unique style of Yoga that is based on building a Sadhana (or ego eradicating practice) through breathwork, chanting, and movement that is repetitive and done in a certain order, known as a Kriya. The aim is to awaken energy at the base of the spine and move upward to liberate Shakti, your personal power. Kundalini is offered on our schedule twice a month, every 2nd and 4th Friday! Chair Yoga A wonderful practice for those who need a little more support and TLC; Chair Yoga does not necessarily follow one single yoga tradition, but rather brings in elements from many disciplines. Here you might experience Sun Salutations, standing balance work like Tree Pose and a Warrior Series, along with healthy core and spine connection, and getting a deep stretch, all while supported by the Chair. One of the most popular classes on our schedule, 11am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! Santosha Yoga Collective
“Santosha” is a sanskrit word that means contentment. Our Loomis-based Yoga studio brings together decades-long practitioners and new students alike. We believe Yoga is beneficial for every body and will make sure you find the right classes to support your yoga journey. With 24 weekly yoga classes from Vinyasa and Balance, to Chair, Yin, Kundalini, Iyengar, and Restore, our aim is to provide a space of contentment for students and teachers of yoga as we honor movement, holistic wellness, and community as a way of life. We serve the beautiful community of Northern California. Any questions? Send us an email at hello@SantoshaYogaCollective.com or you can directly call or text us at 916-303-0621. 3587 Taylor Road, Loomis CA 95650 We can't wait to see you on the mat! Post written by Stephanie Alston ERYT200 and Annie Schwab RYT200.
0 Comments
3/11/2024 0 Comments YTT: How to Become a Yoga TeacherBecoming a Yoga Teacher is a fun dream for many, but the steps to get there can sometimes feel confusing! Let’s break it down: Once you decide you want to become a yoga teacher, it’s time to find your training / yoga school. Get to know the studio(s) you might want to teach at and talk to the teachers there. Every studio has a different style or training preference. When you find teachers you love to learn from the most, they can help guide you to great trainings or what to consider. Especially when embarking on a new journey, sometimes it’s best to be familiar with the space, practice, and faces. (: A Registered Yoga School is a studio who has RYS status with Yoga Alliance. YA is an international registry of yoga teachers and studios that provide continuing education and uphold certain standards, ethics, and philosophies around the teaching of yoga. Everyone starts at a base-level 200-hr training, but from there they can soar to 300-hr training and even 500-hr training! Once base-level training is completed, you have the option to add on to your training to develop more skills on the mat or in the studio. There are many different kinds of certifications one can choose and more often than not, the spark is found on the mat once you find the right teacher! Traditionally, after completing your 200-HR teaching certificate, yogis have the option of continuing their education to receive a 300-HR. This certificate is designed to look deeper at the postures, philosophy, and world of yoga since the foundational level has been achieved. Like a Masters program after an Undergraduate degree, 300-HR training certificates have plenty of different specialties. We are thrilled to be hosting Inner Peace Yoga Therapy School at our studio in May 2024. In this Yoga Therapy Teacher Training, Erin will be the facilitating teacher in coordination with Inner Peace Yoga Therapy School, where students will have the opportunity to receive their Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) 300-HR certificate. Teachers may choose to go on and complete their full 800-HR IAYT training from this accredited program. (See the blog post under this one for more information on Inner Peace Yoga Therapy School and their 300-hr training!) [chart from The Yogatique on Yoga Alliance] Your baseline yoga teaching certificate is broken down into 200-hrs of learning, teaching, and doing. All these (seen in the graphic above) is the current YA standard. All these have to be hit in order for you to be a certified instructor through Yoga Alliance! In every level, there is a foundation of respect, honor, and safety.
I had a yoga instructor who was certified in Trauma-Informed Yoga and the 100-hr certificate reframed her language used on the mat! The core of Trauma-Informed Yoga is so that you do not weaponize the body, but instead, feel safe and supported within the space. In fact, our very own Stephanie Alston is a certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor! She got it in addition to her RYT-200hr and I and many other students feel the difference her class makes – especially if you’re looking for that in a yoga instructor. (: After you complete the necessary amount of hours it takes to be able to teach at a studio (your 200-hr), then you are certified to teach! It is always up to you whether you’re ready or want to, I know plenty of students who took and completed their 200-hr yoga teacher training but only wanted it to supplement their own practice. (: At the end of the day, yoga is meant to be of service to you and how you can be of service to others: on and off the mat. If your cup isn’t full, don’t pour from it! If you’d like to teach, yay! Know that teaching is a big jump from practicing and it’s okay to feel scared! When I first taught, I stumbled over my words and forgot the left side in some postures! The fear is okay, completely normal, and honestly – good. If you’re nervous, that means you care about it deeply. And that care will only grow and carry you through each stage of teaching! One of the best tips I can provide is to teach as much as you can. The more you’re in the studio talking, connecting, and leading, the easier it will come. Every teacher has a different story as to how they began teaching as well as their career after their first hiring. Up until a few years ago, it could be hard to be a yoga teacher. Many studios only had you work a class or two a week on their schedule, and if you were a brand new graduate from your 200-hr certificate? You would be lucky to find a sub opportunity! After your certificate, you would have to earn hours to teach. For a lot of my friends, that meant donation-based yoga in the park or bugging their favorite studio enough until they finally gave them the opportunity to substitute a class. From there, they would have to substitute a few more times and then maybe be considered if there was a new teacher opening. The yoga teacher market post-COVID was a doozy. With two years of total shut down for studios, gyms, and other yoga-found spaces, many yoga teachers had to find another job or different career path. I was a fresh graduate of my yoga teacher training at the 200-hr level in 2021. So by complete happenstance, I was able to be hired right away due to a needed job market. Since it was also a new studio as well, I was able to build my way up to teach up to around 10 classes per week. Once you have the experience teaching, it becomes dramatically easier to move around and operate within the yoga job market. And if you mix up your lefts and rights, the more the merrier. (; Post written by Stephanie Alston ERYT200 and Annie Schwab RYT200.
|
AuthorThis blog is authored in collaboration by registered yoga teachers and guest educators at Santosha Yoga Collective. Archives
April 2024
Categories |