This blog comes to you from someone half way through their 200YTT with Lucy Leslie at Crawley Yoga – in hope to inspire anyone siting on the fence about committing to a 200 Yoga Teacher’s Training at this studio.

Its also confirmation and a chance to excite those who have already committed! Congratulations – you are in for a life changing experience that you won’t regret.

I’m going to take you through some common questions, theories and misconceptions about the course. Let’s begin…

What is a 200YTT?

It’s a 200 hour yoga teachers training course held at the Crawley Yoga Studio. It starts around September and consists of one weekend a month of practical and theory, learning everything to do with yoga! It also consists of a small amount of homework, that you complete at home every month before discussing and clarifying it all together at the studio. There’s a pre course booklet that covers the basics on philosophy and asana’s, as well as some recommended reading to do before the course starts. 

It’s for people that want to be instructors?

No! Here’s the thing, its a common misconception that only people that want to teach yoga should take the course. If you love yoga and want to explore it more then this course can be for you. 

Has a yoga teacher once said something that you connected with, perhaps it sparked something deep down inside of you? Have you had an experience on your mat that you can’t explain and want to delve a little deeper into the WHY? Or maybe just like me, you have a love of yoga that you can’t get enough of and want to learn as much as you can from it to improve your private practice. 

But I’m not any good at yoga?

When I hear this, I assume you are talking about ‘being good’ at the Asana’s (yoga poses). Perhaps you consider yourself not very strong or flexible which means you can’t be very good at ‘yoga’. The asana’s (poses) are considered one small portion of yoga. Moving and connecting to the breath is far more important than being super ‘bendy’ or ‘mega fit’. 

I have been doing yoga for about 6 years now and hand on heart, I can say I have only had a handful of moments where I have truly connected to my breath, so maybe you could say that I’M not very good at yoga. Who cares? I love just moving and exploring my body.

When it comes to asana practice, binding (where you ‘bind’ your arms together in different poses) comes easy to me – mainly because I have long, monkey, hyper mobile arms! (Lucy’s gonna kill me for saying that as you have probably heard her say ‘We are all made perfectly – not too long or too short anywhere!’) So, I’m ‘good’ at binding but my god my back is as stiff as a board! I’m notorious for avoiding Camel pose like the plague. The point being – we all have things we are good at and things that need exploring!

I’m not good at learning or the scientific stuff?

You don’t need any prior knowledge to succeed on this course. Lucy has chosen world leaders in Yoga Anatomy to help you understand the body and how it works. Each section is broken down into video’s to watch and worksheets to complete. What’s really interesting is that the anatomy instructors work with the facts AND the feelings of the body. So yes, you will learn the names of different sections of the spine but you will also learn how each part of the spine feels in different asana’s. We are not training to be doctors, we are training to help others move well and deepen our own experiences. 

Not everyone in our group enjoys the scientific stuff or finds it easy (although I will admit its a favourite subject of mine) but Lucy is always on hand to help with any questions and I’m sure you’ll find the rest of your group super supportive to help you through it – Just like my Class of 2019/20.

I don’t look how a yoga instructor should look?

So maybe teaching yoga is something you would like to explore but feel you don’t ‘look’ the part. What do yoga instructors look like? Young? Fit? Well that counts out most yoga teachers around the world then!! 

Yoga is for everyone and every age and shape can do it so why can’t they teach it? If you have a passion for yoga and maybe want to share that passion with others – then I think you’ll make a fab yoga teacher! If you’re the kind of person that talks about yoga to your friends or recommends to other that they should start yoga, then maybe this course is for you. 

But I don’t want to teach yoga?

So this IS a YTT which means there WILL be teaching or class leading to others (mainly the rest of the students on your course), but like I’ve said above, teaching doesn’t have to be your final destination. It may be scary leading a group of students (you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t get nervous) but I guarantee it can build character, courage and confidence in doing so. 

Regardless of your final goal, you can absolutely benefit from this part of the course and if your class is anything like mine, your fears will be met with understanding and supportive smiles from the other students who all feel EXACTLY the same!

What if I only like/want to teach a certain kind of yoga?

Some of the ladies on the course prefer hot and fast yoga and some prefer the slow, internalised yoga, its our differences that connects everyone in the room. Lucy’s training is not attached to a lineage and the course will explore all styles of yoga. Whether you’re a hot vinyasa kind of person or a slow Yin Yoga lover, this course will cover a wide array of subjects for you to explore and maybe go on to teach.

So let me tell you about the Class of 2019/20…

It is February 2020 and we are half way through our course. This year’s course is made up of approx 15 students of all different ages, shapes and sizes. We all have different lengths of yoga experience and a variety of life experiences.

Not all the students practiced at Crawley Yoga before the course, I myself only joined the studio a few months prior. Top Tip: If you are considering starting a 200hr YTT anywhere, I would always recommend meeting the instructor and taking a couple of their classes first – lets face it, you are about to spend the next year with them!

As a group we all love different styles of yoga and we all have different goals after this course BUT we all have a passion for yoga and we all love tea and biscuits! (Very important!) Already this year there has been lots of laughs, lots of feelings shared that we all recognise and a few tears and frustrations. Its part of the process of growing as a person and as a Yogi. 

I eagerly look forward to each weekend of the course to learn more and to see the other students. I can’t wait to finish with my certificate and see where my yoga life leads, as well as watching the other students blossom and follow their own path. 

If you recognise any of the feelings and apprehensions above that may be stopping you from signing up for the Crawley Yoga’s 200 hour Teacher’s Training then I hope this blog has alleviated your fears or encouraged you to inquire further as to whether this course is for you. 

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions I haven’t thought of to Lucy the Studio owner , myself or anyone on this years YTT, we don’t mind.

I hope to see you all at the studio soon

Carly