One of the biggest components of our 200hr Teacher Training Program is empowering our students with the tools to transform their lives & others through the practise of power yoga. The journey of a yoga student from that first yoga class to the completion of their yoga teacher training & beyond is always unique & inspiring. Read on to hear a powerful & personal interview with our 2020 teacher trainee graduate & now MOVE Yoga teacher Tanya.
Ally: Could you share with us your first experience with yoga and how it came to be a part of your life?
Tanya: I took my first yoga class at around the age of 16. I was a cross country runner in high school and our coaches decided to start having a yoga instructor come in once a week. It was quite a random introduction and that was that. Yoga was something I would just very occasionally do throughout my college years.
Ally: What was the crossroad moment you faced that brought you to the practise?
Tanya: Then, life got overwhelming. I was working, in art school, in the process of submitting my application to graduate school, and on top of that I was in a toxic relationship which I was only starting to realise it for what it actually was after 3+ years. I was looking all around me and everyone I knew seemed to have it all together. I was just completely filled with feelings of anxiety and inadequacy.
Ally: What was the turning point at which you knew that you had to make yoga part of your daily life?
Tanya: In high school, cross country was something that really made me feel good so after the break up I dove straight into fitness to fill my free time. I was trying out all different types of fitness classes but there were only two that really stuck. One of course, was yoga. I absolutely fell in love after my first class in a hot yoga studio. I woke up the following day and I remember just feeling sore in muscles that I didn't even realise I had.
Ally: What was it about yoga in particular as opposed to other types of exercise?
Tanya: Physically feeling myself getting stronger was one part of it. The next part came after being more consistent in my practice. The way it made my mind feel. I was finding that I was less anxious, less worried about not having my future all planned out. I always left the studio feeling like I was up in the clouds. These two parts together empowered me. I felt like I could truly do whatever I set my mind to. Yoga was allowing me to reflect on myself and to discover a new kind of confidence.
Ally: Yoga is a life long journey. What was the next step for you?
Tanya: So then, I decided I wanted to do a Teacher Training course, to get a deeper understanding of yoga and my own practice but I still had a lot on my plate and the dates for the course at the studio that had become my sanctuary didn't align with my schedule.
Fast forward to last year (2020) when I arrived in Melbourne, the stars aligned and I enrolled in MOVE's YTT course.
Ally: At MOVE all our students and our team witnessed such a transformation and we are so proud of you! Anything else you would like to share with our community?
Tanya: When I began this journey, never did I think that this girl from Chicago, who by the way has always been terrified of public speaking, would be teaching yoga in a studio on the other side of the world!
Check out our 200hr Power Yoga Teacher Training dates and info here
You can catch Tanya teaching regular public classes @ MOVE online & in studio and follow her journey on https://www.instagram.com/the.sunstone.yogi/