Newspaper article written on Female Yoga teacher training in India

1. 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

2. 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.
***

3. 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.”

4. 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.
***
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.”
***
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.”