How I Accidentally Became A Yoga Teacher
My name is Martin and I became a yoga teacher by accident. I had been practicing yoga regularly for 8 years with an amazing teacher who inspired and challenged me and I was fortunate to form a solid teacher-student bond with her. She teaches more than just asana. She weaves philosophy, meditation, pranayama, The Yoga Sutras, and more into her classes and I was eating it up. There were significant shifts that I felt mentally, emotionally & spiritually but I didn’t understand why. I knew it was a result of the yoga practice but I wanted to know “WHY?”. I knew there was more to this journey.
I asked my teacher what I should do to learn more about yoga. I had a million questions – “What books do I read?” “How do I learn more?” “Where do I find the answers to the meaning of life?” She told me that I should do a teacher training. “But I don’t want to be a teacher.” She told me that I would find the answers to all my questions in a teacher training. I asked her what I should do and she told me to go to NYC and study with Sri Dharma Mittra. Being an obedient student, I went home and signed up.
In For A Challenge
Little did I know that it was in for one of the most challenging things that I was ever going to face, but that’s a whole different story in itself. Part of getting certified was teaching a free class for 6 weeks. My mindset was “I’ve worked this hard, put in all this time and money and I’m not giving up.” I was determined to get that certificate. At the end of the six-week class, I gave a heart-felt “THANK YOU” to my guinea pigs and got ready to send in all my stuff so that I could receive that coveted certificate in the mail and get back to my regular life.
Guinea Pigs: “What happens now?”
Me: “What do you mean ‘what happens now?’ ”
Guinea Pigs: “What about our Saturday morning yoga?”
Me: “Go find a studio and a teacher that you like.”
Guinea Pigs: “We want you to teach us.”
Me: “I’m not a teacher.”
Guinea Pigs: “What have you been doing for the last six weeks?”
Me: “Teaching you yoga.”
Students: “So, same time next Saturday?”
Teacher: “I’ll see you then.”
And that is how I accidentally became a yoga teacher.
Martin Scott has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga since 2001 and embodies over 800 hours of professional certification. Part of his studies include the teachings of Master Sri Dharma Mittra and the acclaimed Stephanie Snyder. As a Vinyasa-based Yoga Expert and the Owner and Founder of Union Yoga in San Francisco, Martin applies an effective and attentive teaching style that is accessible to students of all levels. Martin is well known for his sense of humor, lightheartedness and ability to create an open minded, non-judgmental yoga experience.
