So Your Partner is Considering Yoga Teacher Training? FAQs

What to Expect

If your partner is considering enrolling in a yoga teacher training program, this can trigger some feelings.

You may feel concerned about your partner or spouse spending a lot of weekends away from home while in training. This particular training meets ten weekends over 5 months.

Or you may have worries about the impact of the training. Will your partner be changed in a way that’s unfamiliar or unwelcome to you?

Fears and doubts naturally arise with big decisions and the consummate changes that come with them.

You’d be foolish to ignore them.  And yet, at the same time, reacting to them may not serve you.  A short lesson in biology may help to illuminate why fear and doubt arises in the face of uncertainty and change.

Human biology is wired for survival.  This means that if the current status quo of how you are comfortably surviving is subject to a change, the survival instinct will view the change as a threat.

In essence, our survival instinct is change-averse.   Back when we were hunter-gatherers, this served to protect us again danger.

But in the modern age, this instinct often aborts opportunities and possibilities for growth and expansion.  According to author Mastin Kipp, fear arises before massive transformation and growth.   Isn’t that something you want for your partner?

Once you can recognize the response as the survival instinct, you can choose to focus on the positive outcomes this growth and transformation will bring. Lucky you, read on to learn what you get to enjoy.

Positive Outcomes of Personal Growth

When your partner enrolls in our yoga teacher training program, right away you can expect to see increased excitement and energy.  Your partner may laugh more, be more appreciative, creative or insightful.

This is a direct product of your partner feeling passionate about what they’re doing and the support they are feeling from you.

As the program progresses, you can expect to see your partner being a more honest and open with you. At times, they may ask for your support with helping to carve out time for themselves – either so that they can just have some down time, or so that they can practice yoga at home.

All participants in our program are strongly encouraged and supported to establish a regular daily home practice six days a week. The benefits to this are many including but not limited to:

•   A sense of new found peace, calm and confidence
•   Cost and time savings from not having to drive to a yoga studio for paid classes
•   Better body image
•   More energy
•   Improved ability to manage stress
•   Better sleep and digestion

It’s not unusual for the “other half” of our participants to have trickle down benefits from these improvements.

How You Can Support Your Partner

•   Practice Space –As mentioned above, participants in our program are asked to establish a home yoga practice. This necessitates them setting up a permanent home practice space.  You can support your partner by helping to identify and prepare a space for their yoga practice.  Of course, if you are inspired, you can join them!
•   Practice Time–A home yoga practice takes between 20 – 75 minutes.  Is there a way you can support your partner in finding a time that’s s/he can practice at the same time every day, where s/he won’t be interrupted?  The silver lining is what might you do with that time for yourself?
•   Participate By Being a Student–If you really want to support your partner, or you’re looking for ways to connect, volunteer to be a student so that they can practice their teaching skills.
•   Child or Pet Care – If children or pets are involved, is there an opportunity for you help with child/pet care during the teacher training weekends?  During home practice times? Sometimes this may feel like a burden.   But testimonial feedback from our participants indicates that most spouses found the extra time with their children to be an incredible bonding experience that they would’ve otherwise not had!
•   Growth support – At times, your partner may experience growing pains.  This can happen when the teacher trainee becomes aware of a habit or pattern that limits their success and happiness in the world.  It can also happen from having perfectionist ideals of oneself.   So don’t be surprised if occasionally, your partner may be hard on themselves for not measuring up to their own expectations.    You can support them through this difficult time by be being encouraging, and holding them as powerful.   Some ways to hold your partner as powerful include:
•   Recognizing that fear and doubt are never truth.
•   Supporting them in making decisions from where they want to be, not from where they are.
•   Recognizing when comparison is taking them out.  The antidote for comparison is asking for help.

Return on Investment

Most of our participants are teaching in paid jobs long before the teacher training ends.  We take pride in helping place our teachers, whenever possible.  Via our informal earn-as-you-learn program, we make available upon request a temporary teaching certificate that acknowledges that the participant is enrolled in a teacher training program.

Furthermore, because our program has such a strong reputation, we graduate some of the most sought-after teachers instructing in all of the major yoga studios in Columbus and other metropolitan areas such as New York city, Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Participants who decide early on that that they want a return on their investment are more successful at gaining jobs.