You are Ready for Our San Diego Yoga Teacher Training

When I took my first yoga teacher training, I had only been seriously practicing yoga for about a year. I had tried it in college and when I moved to Los Angeles in my early 20’s I found a teacher that I loved and practiced daily with him. I had a cool job but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do forever. One day I was feeling low and I went for a long walk on the beach. I knelt down on the sand to pick up a sand dollar and in that moment I had an epiphany. It seemed sort of silly at the time, but when I look back on it now I know that this moment changed the course of my life. This epiphany had three parts: 1) I’m going to trade in my Honda Accord and get a pickup truck, (deep thoughts haha). 2) I’m going to get a surfboard and become an amazing surfer (got the surfboard, still working on the amazing part). 3) I’m going to become a great yoga teacher and make a living at it. I totally pulled this last one off. So if you’re thinking about taking a San Diego Yoga Teacher Training but aren’t sure if you’re “ready” than keep reading. A few people didn’t think I was ready either, and they were wrong.

They Said I Wasn’t Ready for Yoga Teacher Training

In the early 2000’s in LA, the most sought after training was at Yoga Works. This was before it was a chain and it was still owned by the LA yoga OG’s Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller. In order to get accepted to their program, you had to attend either Maty or another senior teacher Lisa Walford’s class. They knew ahead of time that you were auditioning for the yoga teacher training and they paid special attention to your practice. I took Lisa’s Iyengar class and when we spoke at the end she said “you’re not ready. Keep practicing and come see me before our next training.” I was extremely disappointed but I also understood. At that time, Yoga Works was known for having the best teachers in town and they were very selective in who they let in to their program. She didn’t say to give up on my dream, just that I needed to practice more before I signed up.

I had a very strong desire to learn more about yoga. Not just the poses, but the history, philosophy, anatomy, all of it. I wanted to teach but I also felt like yoga was a way of life and I was eager to make it mine. So I couldn’t take no for an answer. I found another training at The Center for Yoga and there was only one spot left. The woman leading the training very reluctantly let me in after I came to her class. She also felt I wasn’t ready but after some relentless begging she gave me that last spot and the training started two days later. It was one of the best experiences of my life and set me on an entirely new and incredibly satisfying path. It’s also been amazing to have created our own San Diego Yoga Teacher Training and watch it evolve and grow.

If the Desire is There, You are Ready

If you have the desire to know more about yoga but can’t do a handstand, you are ready. If your triangle pose is a little lackluster but you’re itching for a concrete set of philosophical principles to guide you through life, you are ready. If you want to teach yoga but you haven’t been practicing that long, you are ready. If the desire is there, you are ready. A 200 hour program is just the beginning of a lifetime of practice, study, reading, and meditation. The biggest gift I took away from my first training was that I could now practice yoga on my own without anyone else’s guidance. I was able to melt together aspects of yoga such as asana, pranayama and meditation in a way that worked for me and then share it with others. Teacher training is a gift to yourself that you can also give to others.

Get all the info about our San Diego Yoga Teacher Training. starting this January because like I said, if the desire is there, you are ready. And we’d love to have you join us.