This group of dedicated yogis decided to take their practice to the next level by participating in The Yoga Sanctuary’s Teacher Training Program. Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing you to them with short interviews followed by the “yoga story.” Each and everyone one them is a true inspiration!
Kristi in Tadasana, the mountain pose.
Introducing Kristi Berg:
TYS: What made you decide to participate in the teacher training program?
KB: I love learning, in general, and I really wanted to learn more about yoga. I had been going to classes at The Yoga Sanctuary for three years and wanted to deepen my practice through knowledge and thoughtful new experience. Because yoga had done so much to restore my physical health and mental attitude after my stroke, I was looking for an intellectual challenge to see if I could still learn new concepts and ideas. As it turns out, the teacher training program more than satisfied all of my motivations for participating in it, and then some!
TYS: Has being in the program changed your yoga practice in any way?
KB: Yes, very much so. I now have a regular home practice that is very satisfying. My siting meditation practice has grown to 20 minutes a day five days a week (I am still working on developing a sustained, regular daily practice). I also now experiment with poses and new sequences that both energize and relax me. It is very satisfying for me to put my newly obtained knowledge of yoga into practice as I explore new poses and sequences.
TYS: What has been the most rewarding part of the program so far?
KB: I have received two precious and unexpected gifts from the teacher trainer program. The first is the bond that I have formed with my classmates. I feel like I now have a trusted community of friends who love yoga as much as I do, with whom I can share yoga. The second is doing the community class honoring Tidewell Hospice and feeling what it is like to “give” yoga to others. After being nervous for most of the day before the community class, when it came time to lead it, I felt relaxed, happy to be there and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was surprised to be more energized after the class than before it started and I was thrilled to feel that people enjoyed the practice.
TYS: What has been the most challenging part of the program so far?
KB: The most challenging part of the program has been trying to make sure my husband, Arthur, does not feel too abandoned on the weekends when I have Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon classes. Our dog, Sweetie, died right at the beginning of the program. We both loved her very much and both Sweetie’s absence and then mine, on the yoga weekends was hard on Arthur.
TYS: Where do you see yourself taking this once the program is complete?
KB: I love Restorative Yoga and doing legs-up-the-wall before my yoga classes. I would love to share Restorative Yoga in communities that would enjoy and benefit from it. That might even lead to teaching Gentle Yoga and Level I classes as well, but who knows! For me, doing Restorative Yoga means creating a special, if not sacred space. I would very much like to extend that space so that others may enjoy it, too, either by bringing it to them in a familiar environment or providing it in a Yoga Sanctuary-like place.
TYS: Do you have any suggestions for someone that is considering a yoga teacher training program?
KB: Sure. Do it! Make sure your schedule permits a significant commitment to the time and energy the program will ask of you. If it does and you love yoga, know that you will be giving yourself a gift like none you have every received before. Your yoga teacher training program can be a life and soul-changing experience. Help it be a very positive time of life by creating the space in your life, your mind and your physical being for all that it has to offer.
Learn even more about Kristi here!