Namaste friends, it’s time for the next step in my yoga teaching career! This past weekend, I paid my deposit and reserved my spot in a month-long 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) program in Rishikesh Uttarakhand: the BIRTHPLACE OF YOGA in the HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS in northern INDIA!
To say I am excited is an UNDERSTATEMENT!
My training starts Oct. 17, so I’ll start my journey on my 35th birthday, since it will take quite a bit of time to physically get to the ashram I’ll be studying at.
I’ll be flying from Flagstaff to Dallas/Fort Worth to New York City to New Delhi to Dehradun (phew) and then taking a bus or shuttle or cab to Rishikesh from there.
Plans, obviously, have yet to be finalized.
I’m so, SO incredibly beyond excited!
I’ve been wanting to take my 300-hour YTT for about a year now. It’s been about five years since I finished my 200-hour YTT program, and I’ve been teaching at my current studio consistently for about two years now. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and confident with my teaching abilities… which probably means it’s time for a new challenge and some further growth.
One of the hardest parts of my 200-hour YTT was balancing the program with my day job, and my freelancing job, and my regular yoga practice, and my home life, and my volunteer schedule, and my social life, and all of the other things that kept me busy during my life in Chicago.
I kind of put off my 300-hour training because of how stressful my 200-hour training was. I knew I had to do it, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I had originally planned on pursuing my 300-hour training the same way I pursued my 200-hour training, and dragging myself through an expedited night and weekend program squeezed into the spare minutes I had here and there.
Not the best way to learn yoga.
But, a short while ago, I had a thought — what if I pursued my 300-hour overseas?
All of the pieces kind of started falling into place. Ryan had, at the time, been planning a six-week-long solo thru-hike on the Arizona Trail.
Both of us have accumulated a good amount of annual leave at work, and that was how he had planned to use his — which would have left me with a ton of time to use on my own.
I thought about taking a solo trip somewhere (you all know I love solo travel) but the idea of taking on the mental load to plan an entire trip for myself seemed exhausting, and booking a pre-planned trip with a travel service is just so pricey.
Then, one of my yoga friends was talking about returning from her 200-hour YTT, which she had just finished abroad, and my ears perked up.
Of course.
Pursuing my 300-hour YTT overseas would be perfect. I would be able to get my 300-hour certificate while disassociating from my home life, so I would be able to fully focus on my program without interruption.
The month-long program is completely pre-planned. There’s a daily schedule and all meals are provided, so there would be absolutely no mental load to carry and I would be able to fully commit to just yoga. Plus, since it’s overseas, I literally cannot bring my U.S. government work phone and computer with me… which means I would be forced to take an actual break from my day job for the entire duration of the training.
I also wouldn’t feel quite so guilty about taking a long trip without Ryan, since it’s for a yoga teacher training and not really for fun, fun.
Even though a yoga teacher training is my idea of fun.
Plus, the cost ends up being kind of similar. YTT programs in India are typically about half the cost of programs here in the U.S., with all lodging and meals covered. So, the cost of tuition and flight ends up being pretty comparable to the cost of tuition alone here.
I spent about a week looking at different ashrams and yoga schools in India before deciding on Rishikesh Yogpeeth.
Rishikesh Yogpeeth is a fair bit more expensive than a lot of the ashrams I looked at in Rishikesh, but the location (a bit outside of Rishikesh proper, in a remote location accessible only via hiking) looked really compelling. Rishikesh Yogpeeth was one of the most frequently-mentioned ashrams I saw referenced in a positive light on various forums, and so far everyone I’ve talked with during the booking process has been so kind and wonderful.
I’m planning on spending an additional week exploring northern India after my training. Ryan is planning on coming out for about a week or so to join me so the two of us can hike in the Himalayas, raft down the Ganges and explore various Indian national parks.
Yay!
I am so so so unbelievably excited for this next stage in my yoga teaching journey. I plan to spend the next few months preparing, refreshing and studying yoga so I can get as much out of this experience as possible.
