Searching for Grace: for some, travelling outside comfort zone is essential to the YTT experience

By William Martin

Yoga April 11, 2014

Journal Vol. 5, Issue 12

Awakening into the warmth of the spectacular purplish Indian sunrise, Elise Fellowes’ senses speedily adjusted to the cacophony of sounds enveloping her, and smiled. So this was India.

The gush of the rushing waterfall extinguished into an ambient harmony of singing voices, snoring roommates, innumerable bird calls, and, of course, shrieking monkeys, many of which currently were living in the Ashram she had awoken in.

One yellow monkey, in particular, sat perched in a fig tree no more than three metres from her bed, although it was clearly more interested in collecting and eating figs, than in its new neighbour. And this is Yoga Teacher Training, in India, 2013.

*** Whereas the word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj”, meaning to bind, join, attach or yoke, the yogic exercises most identified with a yoga practice are derived from ancient Indian Hatha yoga, in which multifaceted regimens of stretches and postures utilized to strengthen diaphragmatic breath, and exhaust the body, in order to prepare the individual for silent meditation. That said, North American yoga classes don’t usually emphasize the “Uijay” breath in their practice, in the same way as practitioners do in India. In fact, the most popular type of yoga, today, Bikram or Hot yoga, artificially preheats the body so it doesn’t have to be done with one’s breath. As the popularity of yoga exploded over the past decade, so did the need for proper studios, and qualified teachers. Many of the studios that initially opened here in Windsor, Ontario, however, were owned by entrepreneurs more interested in their bottom line, than in providing their clients with first rate yoga teachers and classes. The dilemma was so disquieting that the North American yoga elite established globally recognized certification protocols (such as the Yoga Alliance Y-200), for Yoga Teacher Training programs (hereafter listed as YTT), regardless of where they are undertaken.

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Yoga Teacher Training programs have become hot commodities in the west.

Whereas traditional hatha yoga was passed down from teacher to student after considerable apprenticeship, now anyone with a stylish practice, $4500, and 16 free weekends can get comprehensive instruction in asana (poses) pranayama (breath work), meditation, and practice of teaching. With any luck, four months later the student will pass their requisite exams and be rewarded with their Y-200 certification. Not surprisingly, however, this is isn’t how all people want to do their YTT.

Whereas many enjoy doing their YTT at home, so they can still work and rely on family, others seek out a more spiritually genuine environment, and look to ashrams, in California, or Mexico, or further still, across the ocean in locations as far away as Rishikesh, India, and Bali, Indonesia.

True, individuals who do so are often seeking to travel as much as to train, seeing the journey, and the destination, as correlative in nature. And who could blame them? But it wasn’t all spirit and light, Pintus admitted. In fact, she initially chose the Akanda ashram because its name appeared first on a

Google search list; their website was “in clear English, and spoke to natural concerns, like coming to the airport to pick up you.” Fellowes told me the same thing. Cost, location, teacher, are all important factors, she insisted, but personal safety is a deal breaker. “As a woman travelling in India, safety is a real concern; sexual assault happens a lot. I was seriously surprised to see how few Ashrams actually provided transportation to their locations. For a Western female, it’s a must.” By the same token, both females did specifically seek out a particular yoga masters, and likely would travel just about anywhere he has an ashram.

“As a woman travelling in India, safety is a real concern; sexual assault happens a lot. I was seriously surprised to see

how few Ashrams actually provided transportation to

their locations.”

For Pintus, for example, the teacher was as essential to this YTT experience, as the ashram was incidental to it. In fact, she returned to India last year after realizing she could never receive such training anywhere in North America. “It’s simply not the same doing your YTT here,” Pintus told me. “He is a genuine Yogi Master, living, breathing, practicing in Rishikesh, India; he is someone who has dedicated his life, love and soul to the practice he now is training you in.” Fellowes, who attended the same ashram, and trained with the same yogi, says the same: “after every class I did with him I felt an extraordinary calmness inside me,” she said. Learning how to perform proper verbal and physical adjustments on students was also extremely important to both females; as was learning how to help their own students master their breath. “Since I’ve returned to Canada, I'm become much better at observing the breath of my students before applying any pressure to them, and this magical ability I will forever owe to my Yogi. My happy gratitude, will spring from me forever.”

Pintus and Fellowes both were very satisfied with their overall experience, and would suggest the Akanda ashram to fellow yogini candidates, as long as they are conducive to travelling, and don’t mind its most grueling aspects.

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Likewise, YTT graduate Joanna Shultz, who performed her training in Vancouver, B.C., was also extremely satisfied with her experience, and included travelling to, and living in, the City of Vancouver for a month. “It’s such a wonderfully beautiful city; you’re surrounded by the ocean, the mountains, and the rainforest, all of which makes it perfect for any YTT experience,” she said. Shultz never wanted to travel to India to do her YTT, though she respects those brave enough to go.

“When I was quite young, I was on a trip with my parents, and became quite ill. It was a horrible experience, and I still have intense memories of it to this day. I was never going to go to India or Thailand for my YTT. Vancouver, B.C., was far enough, thank you very much.” Nonetheless, Schultz still had a great time doing her YTT in Vancouver. “The teachers were amazing, and so were my fellow students. There really is a different vibe out there, and you see it in the people.”

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On the whole, all three females were genuinely satisfied with their foreign YTT experiences, and hope their stories will encourage others to do so as well. “It’s scary to go to a foreign country and travel out of one’s comfort zone, but the rewards are simply too many to mention,” Pintus told me, as we concluded our interview. “Travelling is good for your body, good for your mind and good for your soul: just like yoga, which is why they are such a good fit.”