Insight From Virtual YTT Graduates on their Personal Yoga Style
Lila Flow Yoga has a network of yoga teachers that span the globe. Each yoga teacher brings their own style to their practice. I met with a few graduates of Lila Flow’s virtual trainings to talk yoga, the pandemic, and their style.
Recent Loyola Marymount University graduates Annalise Gehling and Antonella Doblanovic turned to yoga for structure after a tumultuous beginning to their post-graduate experience. Still, their desire to become yoga teachers rested in something deeper. Annalise describes how the Lila Flow YTT provided a space “with people who were all interested in the same movement practice.” This helped her make connections and discover things about herself, even while quarantining in Los Angeles.
Regarding her interest in yoga, Antonella says, “I also joined because I thought learning to be a yoga teacher would facilitate a space for me to grow as a person in the way of interacting and marking my place in world by rising to new heights finding another part of myself.”
Rutgers University student Josh Gonzalez acknowledges that he came to yoga as a supplement to his dance career. His YTT experience deepened his understanding of yogic tradition, and he discusses how “Yet throughout my experience I began to understand the essential philosophical, mythological, and spiritual parts that make yoga as a whole.”
Current Loyola Marymount University student Sadie Crystal joined the Lila Flow YTT after an unusual first year of college. Prior to the training, she says, “I felt that I had lost my creativity and passion. I decided to do the YTT to reignite my movement practice as well as just the opportunity to be a part of a community again.”
Since then, all four have taught yoga on Lila Flow’s online platform and brought yoga into their daily lives.
Before returning to her online sophomore year, Sadie taught a month of virtual classes, which allowed her to explore her own yoga style. She describes her style as “lighthearted, centering, and generally just offering a time and space to turn inwards and focus on connecting the mind and body.”
Even as she returns to an online fall semester, Sadie has hope. “Post YTT I've observed life differently. I've moved forward with more compassion than ever. I've become more aware of how important quality time is to me, how physical presence and attention is a greater gift than any tangible thing.”
For Annalise, her YTT experience gave her confidence in her accomplishments. “I feel like I accomplished something for myself, and I can share it with my friends and my family because I am passionate about it.” She is particularly invested in merging the physical and spiritual elements of yoga.
When I asked her about her style, she grins. “I like when classes are challenging both physically and mentally/spiritually. I would say my brand emphasizes the connection between the spiritual and physical practice of yoga.”
For Josh, yoga has shaped his life in an everyday sense. He describes yoga’s impact on his life: “I find myself making better decisions. Continuing my yoga practice either through reading, consistent lesson planning or taking classes everyday has allowed me to be more in touch with my inner-being and feeling more balanced with my body, emotions, and thoughts.”
Inspired by the current push toward social justice, Josh says his teaching style has followed suit. “I would describe my style of teaching to be more centered around acceptance, uniqueness, and inclusivity as this is what I believe is essential in yoga, in dance, in life.”
Antonella recently moved to France to teach English, and the virtual platform has allowed her to stay connected with her YTT community. She continues to teach weekly yoga and meditation classes, and says, “I enjoy the process that comes with having this small weekly task to complete at the hands of others. These classes keep me accountable and more than that, keep my brain fluid with creativity when trying to reinvent how I might explain a new or old concept or how I can carve other pathways to a familiar place.”
Her style is honest. She laughs, “I just like the real stuff.” Antonella believes both in challenge and modification, and her classes reflect her commitment to providing her students with tools to deepen their practice.
All four agree becoming yoga teachers opened their minds and hearts to something greater than the physical practice of yoga. Antonella sums it up well: “But what’s more is the amount of knowledge, kindness, and openness to which the training has exposed me in turn, setting me on a lifelong journey after what most interests me.”
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