I Didn’t Sign Up for Yoga Teacher Training to Become a Teacher

Kripalu (MA, USA) in 2010. Here I am with a few of my fellow trainees. At the time, I wasn't planning to become a yoga teacher - I simply wanted to learn more deeply. Little did I know how meaningful that decision would become.

Actually, the idea of teaching made me uncomfortable.

I signed up because I loved yoga - and I wanted to understand it more deeply. So I found myself in a 21-day immersive training with around 60 other students. It was full, intense and - at times - a little overwhelming.

But something shifted.
I fell into a rhythm of daily practice.
I got curious about the philosophy.
I started to understand the body in a new way.

My practice changed. And so did I.

Of course, not everything stuck. In 21 days, you take in a lot - and you leave a lot behind too. But what stayed was a deeper connection to the practice… and a few meaningful friendships that are still part of my life now.

Teaching? That still wasn’t the plan.
Even though I was… surprisingly okay at it during practice teaching exercises.

When I returned home, I simply kept practicing. More consistently than before. Something had taken root. It wasn’t until more than five years later, after landing in Basel, that I stepped into teaching - almost by accident. I was “just” a substitute.

And somehow, that turned into something more.

Now I teach regularly. I run a studio.
And even though I still feel a bit of nervousness standing in front of a room, I genuinely love it.
Funny how things unfold.

Santa Cruz, CA, 2018. Nearly a decade after my first Yoga Teacher Training, I returned to student life for a 300-hour immersion with Mark Stephens. This time, I wasn't wondering whether I would teach - I was focused on becoming a better teacher. My daughter (in tree pose) even came along for part of the adventure.

Five things my Teacher Training taught me
(that had nothing to do with becoming a teacher):

• I can do hard things - even when I don’t feel ready
• Consistency matters more than intensity
• Understanding the why deepens the how
• The practice keeps evolving - if you let it
• You don’t have to know where it’s leading for it to be worthwhile

If you’ve ever felt curious about diving deeper into yoga - not necessarily to teach, but to explore your own practice - this is your invitation. Our upcoming 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training is open for exactly that.

You don’t have to know where it will lead.
You just have to be willing to begin.