The Health Benefits of Yoga Teacher Training share

The benefits of practicing yoga are well known; it improves flexibility, strength and posture, reduces stress, increases levels of physical fitness and facilitates relaxation. What most people don’t know is that teaching it can be even more beneficial. Although it is rewarding for yoga teachers to share their knowledge and expertise with others, this is not the only reason that they do it; it also has a range of health benefits. In order to teach techniques to others, you first need to master them yourself, meaning that yoga teachers are able to maximise the positive effects of the discipline upon their minds, spirits and bodies.

Benefits of Yoga Teacher Training

In 2010, the Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, measured the effects that a four-week yoga teacher-training course had upon the psychological well being of those taking part. The results showed that participants demonstrated an increase in their locus of control, which is the perception that an individual’s behaviour has a direct effect upon the outcome of life events. Those who attended the course felt as if they were in the driver’s seat of life as opposed to having their fates dictated to them by circumstances that were beyond their control. This could help budding yoga teachers to take major steps to better themselves, for instance they might start dieting, they could change their occupation to something that they are happier doing or after years of smoking cigarettes, they may decide to set themselves free from smoking. After all, feeling in control is the first and most important step on the journey towards being in control.

Rishikesh Yog Peeth

This research is backed up by the feedback given by attendees of yoga teacher training programmes and retreats at Rishikesh Yog Peeth yoga school in India. One of the most frequently expressed comments about the courses is that they are ‘life changing’. Another is that they leave participants feeling renewed and refreshed. This also ties into Harvard Medical School’s findings because the school’s report states that the levels of optimism observed in the students increased dramatically throughout the course. Equally impressive was the effect upon their perception of the world. Participants in the study reported an increase in interest and awareness in experiences that were radically different from those that they encountered throughout the course of their everyday lives. They became more mindful, developed greater humility and exhibited greater levels of empathy towards other people.

Free yourself from Mental Baggage

Yoga is an introspective discipline that encourages people to dig deep inside themselves. Teaching it places individuals at the centre of a supportive group experience that can encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings and let go of unwanted emotions. ‘We are lost in a vast sea of consumption and yet what we need is just love and nature,’ enthused Anastasia Rantilaki after attending a course at Rishikesh Yog Peeth. Her words demonstrate perfectly the ability of the programme to help participants to recognise their true needs and desires and rid themselves of unnecessary wants.

Master your Breathing

It is essential for yoga teachers to master their breathing so that they can teach breathing techniques to their students. Yogic breathing techniques have a whole host of health benefits. They can help to reduce tension that might have accumulated due to a strenuous routine, help overcome asthma or shortness of breath, reduce anxiety and stress and improve vitality and stamina. It therefore stands to reason that somebody who has learnt enough about the best methods of breathing to train other people to do them will have improved in all of these areas.

What are you Waiting For?

To sum up, learning to teach yoga can make you more optimistic, more in control of your life and more able to free yourself from negative thoughts that clutter up your psyche. It is also a terrific bonding experience, as the students at Rishikesh Yog Peeth can attest to. ‘We often found ourselves discussing yoga, life and love long after the class was over,’ says Faraaz Tanveer. The courses on offer are fun, informative and can improve your health so what are you waiting for? Sign up today and learn to share the gift of yoga with those who wish to participate in this ancient and enlightening discipline.

by Lily Brooke