LOSING_MYSELF_INDIA

Losing Myself in India

Harsh sun pierced the delicate membrane of my retinas. Trickles of sweat poured down my back, along the sides of my temple, and into the folds of my dusty salwar.

Throngs of hawkers bellowed from their stalls, singing the praises of their products. “Brinjal! Fresh!” “Grapes!” Their eyes dart to me, eagerly seeking a potential sale with a firangi. Men in pressed shirts with small backpacks push by me.

Losing_myself_in_india
Delicately beautiful women bursting in jewel toned saris stare, sometimes smile at me. Cows trudge alongside, methodical with laziness and power. They know their revered position and flaunt it.

Stray dogs with matted fur and a permanent itch run towards me, hankering for a pet or scrap of food. A child shyly touches my leg, awed by this alien woman in their sights. Instead of diving in, I want to shrink, be small and insignificant. With over a billion people and animals to engage with, why do I feel so overwhelmed, eager to hide in a hole, instead of sinking it all in?

We come here for salvation, grasping onto the image of our goodness, but realizing that Mother India turns us into something else. Flawed, human and delicate. I learned that the hard way after spending three months at an orphanage putting out psychological fires in damaged children.

As I make my way through a thick of people and find a narrow alley that throbs with market stalls and stop to buy lemons and chikoos, I am bogged down with bargaining instead of an easy purchase. With the dust and heat, my arm feels weak as I lift a wad of damp rupee bills and place them in the seller’s hand. Another struggle over, until I notice the elderly, stopped woman who I just handed money to is smiling at me – widely and warmly. My body sighs, soaking in the relief. For the moment, I can relax, hug India to my body, see it’s there for me. The seller bids me goodbye in Hindi and I say the same in return.

I suddenly remember those damaged children that I spent everyday with, walking them to school, teaching them the English alphabet, and how sometimes I could eek out a smile and a laugh. That even in the bosom of their horrible family histories, they could still feel the sunshine and just be children.

It turns out that India is not salvation, tragedy, or any one thing.

India mimics the rhythms of the ocean. At times, it’s benign, lapping gentle waves at your feet, tickling your toes. Then there are the trying moments, a violent storm that slams your body, jarring nerves to the brink when you drop any social veneer and gulp heaps of utter shock.

Like the ocean, we are fearful of its tremendous power, yet we still break into a run to be enveloped by an arcing wave, revelling in the roar and exhilaration without resistance. Treat India the same.

I walk back into the crowd and go without resistance. This is India, and for once, I don’t mind getting lost.

Jeannie MarkAbout the Author

Jeannie Mark left the corporate cubicle in 2010 and bought a one-way ticket to India, never looking back once.

Teaching methodology + practicum

  • Learn how to lead and market successful yoga retreats
  • Learn the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting, and instruction.

  • Learn different teaching styles.

  • You’ll learn specific techniques that will enable you to easily teach all levels

  • You’ll also learn how to sequence your asanas to create a natural, therapeutic and transformative arcs in your classes

  • Learn the qualities of effective teaching

  • Learn the business aspects of being a yoga teacher and gain the building blocks of how to build a thriving yoga career

Development of the Professional Essentials

History, Philosophy + Ethics

  • Identify your spiritual stance so you can step into it as a source of strength
  • Identify walls and develop strategies to take them down
  • Create a support network and support strategies and have them in place when you leave
  • Complete a physical and spiritual adventure challenge
  • Learn the business aspects of building a thriving yoga career
  • How to bring the practice of yoga into your everyday life and make it work for you
  • The science and application of mantra
  • An overview of the history of the yoga tradition
  • The ethical standards of teaching yoga

Yoga Humanities

Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™

  • Receive training in Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ training for Yoga Teachers
  • Go further in your anatomy training
  • Learn how to access muscle function
  • How to sequence transformational yoga classes
  • Learn the energetic and deeper sublime effects of asana
  • The science and application of Mantra
  • Design classes based on Ayurvedic principles
  • Knowledge of both human physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.) and energy anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.).

Anatomy & Physiology

Techniques, Training and Practice

  • A breakdown in the anatomical and energetic categories of postures
  • Develop a daily meditation practice
  • Learn pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques
  • How to sequence and structure transformational 60 and 90-minute classes
  • Practical experience teaching postures, classes, and meditation
  • Learn deep relaxation techniques
  • Yoga Nidra, as taught by the Himalayan tradition and Western tradition
  • Learn how to conduct and lead fire rituals
  • Kundalini Yoga techniques
  • Learn the subtle energetic aspects of yoga like the Koshas and chakras
  • Kriya Yoga and Laya Yoga

Advance Your Own Practice in Yoga

Techniques, Training and Practice

  • A breakdown in the anatomical and energetic categories of postures
  • Develop a daily meditation practice
  • Learn techniques in pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques
  • How to structure and sequence transformational classes
  • Practical experience in teaching postures, sequencing, and meditation
  • Learn deep relaxation and meditation techniques that come from the Himalayan tradition

Develop a Rock Solid Practice in Yoga

Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™

  • Receive training in Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ training for Yoga Teachers
  • Develop an understanding of basic anatomy
  • Learn about muscle function and how to improve it (something you will not learn in any other YTT)
  • Knowledge of both human physical anatomy and physiology (bodily systems, organs, etc.) and energy anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.)
  • The study of both the subject and application of its principles to yoga practice (benefits, contraindications, healthy movement patterns)
  • Skills to teach yoga classes suited to all levels of practice.

Anatomy & Physiology

History, Philosophy + Ethics

  • An in-depth study and application of the Yoga Sutra
  • How to bring the practice of yoga into your everyday life and make it work for you
  • The science and application of mantra
  • An overview of the history of the yoga tradition
  • The ethical standards of teaching yoga

Yoga Humanities

Teaching methodology + practicum

Get hands-on practice teaching so that you’ll be able to teach on day one after the training is finished. You will:

  • Practice teaching in small and large groups

  • Be ready to teach yoga as soon as you leave the yoga teacher training

  • Get hands-on experience teaching and give/receive feedback

  • Practice assisting students

  • Learn the principles of demonstration, observation, assisting/correcting and instruction

  • Learn different teaching styles

  • Learn qualities of effective teaching and adjust to the student’s process of learning

  • Learn the business aspects of how to build a thriving yoga career

Development of the Professional Essentials