It’s time.
The Mentoring Sessions
Option 1: YTT available for mentoring :
All Ways Yoga in Sidney, 2024
Option 2: Private mentoring online or in-person.
Now accepting applications for Chania, Greece, August 2024.*
*Once you have completed a 3 month minimum mentorship, you will have the option to apply to attend and mentor 200 YTT’s in the future.
There’s a piece missing from the Yoga world.
Once you graduate from your 200 YTT, you are on your own.
After students graduate their 200 hour YTT, they are often left floundering, wondering where to go next.
I know this because this was what happened to me too.
I was lucky to have taken my YTT at a studio that offered a weekly Karma class from new teachers, and started to teach classes there. My next class was a class at a local gym, which I felt unprepared for, but managed to bumble my way through. I kept attending classes, observing classes and taking any workshop or training that came through my city. I taught anyone who would let me teach them! My friends, who laughed hysterically when I chanted OM. Friends of friends, who laughed hysterically when I tried to give an assist. Slowly, I got on the sub list at a studio and started to teach my own regular classes and found a few privates.
I had been teaching for about a year, when I felt like I was missing something. I had questions about situations that had happened in class. I had questions about cuing, sequencing,theming and what the next step in my teaching journey should be .
When I approached the owner of the studio I worked at, I told her that I felt like I didn’t really know enough and I needed to take another 200 YTT. She looked at me and said “No Jonni, you don’t. You are fine. Just keep teaching.”
So I did. And in a way she was right.
And in a way, she wasn’t.
What we both didn’t know at the time, is that I was looking for a mentor. This was 2007, and such a thing didn’t really exist in the yoga world at the time. Which is strange, because this is also the most traditional of teaching ways. A student would approach a teacher and ask to be taught. The teacher would then turn them away 3 times and if the student came back the third time, then they would agree to continue together. The student had shown that they were committed to the path of learning, and in turn the teacher would then offer their commitment to the path of teaching.
I finally understood what I was looking for , when I read an interview with Seane Corn a few years later. She talked about how she had been approached by Kathryn Budig, as a young teacher and asked to be mentored by her. She spoke about her hesitation and internal conflict. Here was a young and up and coming teacher, asking to be mentored by her. In the yoga world, there is competition and here it was staring her in the face. She examined her own feelings about it and then agreed. She also agreed, with the promise that when Kathryn was asked in the future by an up and coming teacher, she would also agree to guide them.
Here was an example of Yoga in action.
I have carried this story with me for years. Here was an example for me, of yoga in action. It was not how I saw Yoga being practiced and taught in my community. Honestly, it still isn’t for the most part. What this story reflected to me, was women lifting up and supporting women. It also reflected to me, self reflection, moving into the difficult parts of ourselves and still serving. With Grace. An acknowledgement of the competition in the industry and a clear decision to do it another way.
This is what I had been looking for.
A mentor, someone that I respected and lived and practiced Yoga in the way I understood it to be.
When I took my 300 hour Jivamukti training ten years ago, I had quite a few certifications under my belt already. I had always loved the fierceness of Jivamukti and this training was a dream come true. One of the things that I appreciated the most, was the way the school had been set up. The 300 hour was your first step. Once you have been teaching yoga for a while, you start to understand that the first certification is just your first baby step into teaching. The next step in this lineage is a 500 hour apprenticeship. You apply to work with a teacher. It is a formal application, with guidelines clearly stated for both teacher and student. There is one-on-one work, you would assist them in class and receive feedback, working closely with the teacher over the next 6 months to a year. Someone works closely with you, guiding and growing you, responding to your needs.
So, what is your next step?
If you are looking for guidance because you just graduated or have been teaching for a while, where do you go from here?
This is the advice that I would give my younger self.
Look for a teacher. Go to classes and find a teacher that you would like to learn from. Ask them! They may have a program set up, they may not be interested or they may be willing to create something for the two of you to work together. Even you do not mentor with this teacher, if you go regularly to their classes, you will learn a lot from them.
If you have the ability to travel, you can now Google yoga mentorship, and get many results. Be sure to check out the teacher and the school to make sure it is in the direction that you want to go. Have as open communication with the teacher as possible, as this is a big step for you. Make sure you feel it is the right one.
Look for 200 YTT’s, either in your area or abroad and ask if they have assistant or mentorship programs within the YTT. Often schools prefer that you have studied with them first (not all trainings are created equal!) but it’s always worth asking.
Treat it like a research project. Go to teachers' classes who you respect and figure out what they do that inspires you.
Here are a few things to look for to get you started:
How do they interact with the students? During class but also before and after?
How do they open and close the class?
Do they give Dharma talks? Do they theme the class and if so, how is it woven throughout the class?
How do they (if they do) weave the Bhav or intention through the class?
Do they offer hands-on assists? How is this approached, explained and offered throughout the class?
How do they cue?
What is their sequencing style?
How do they use their voice throughout the class? Their language?
How do they hold the space of the class?
If music is used, does it tie into the theme? How is it used to create the Bhav of the class?
What is the teaching tone of the class? Inspiring? Uplifting? Fun? Serious? Informative?
Do they demonstrate the entire class or walk around?
Do they teach an anatomical principle in class and if yes, how do they approach it and weave it throughout the class?
If you have explored all of these options and still are searching for more, taking another teacher training is always an option.
In truth, not all 200 hour YTT’s are created equally.
Some are very focused on anatomy, others on philosophy, some teach hands-on assists in depth, others focus highly on sequencing. With some trainings, you have had hours of teaching experience and with others, just a little. There are extremely high quality yoga teacher trainings out there. And some are not. No matter how you feel about your training, if you are reading this, you are looking for what you specifically need to focus on or learn in depth. We live in a time where there are absolutely brilliant yoga books out there, plus podcasts specifically for yoga teachers and many, many resources available to you. All of these will help you on your journey. However, there is nothing like in person interactions and experience to help you take the next step on your teaching path.
If you are here, looking for a mentoring program, then we have something that will fit your needs.
Areas a mentor helps you to continue skill development:
Building dialogue and connection - Assisting students appropriately
Designing creative, cohesive classes
Establishing a consistent personal practice
Teaching pranayama and meditation with confidence
Working privately with students
Managing injuries
Teaching large groups
Business, marketing, philosophy
Developing one’s unique voice
A mentor can also help new teachers navigate questions on getting started like:
Getting first teaching jobs
Whether to teach free classes
Approaching studios for work
Marketing oneself effectively
Resources for the teaching path
Class sequencing
Online promotion
Special event planning
Building a sustainable career
“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey
Mentoring Options
Option 1
A one-on-one mentorship.
Online or In-Person.
We will work together for a minimum of 3 months, meeting 2 times privately per month for at least an hour. There will be an application form for you to fill out, so I can tailor the plan specifically for your needs and goals.
You are expected to attend at least 1 or 2 classes per month of mine to observe and eventually assist, if that is appropriate. You will have homework to complete weekly and be expected to teach during this time. You will either teach a class I will attend or we will arrange a class for you to teach with feedback given.
Investment: $200 Canadian per month
3 month minimum.
Option 2
Mentor within the upcoming 200 YTT in at All Ways Yoga.
In-Person only
This program begins at the end of January and finishes at the end of June. You have the option to attend and observe a full 200 YTT by Namaha Yoga School.
Within this option, you are not required to attend the entire training but you are required to attend at least half. The hours and times to be decided. You will be mentor the YTT students, attending and assisting classes. You will discover and explore your particular niche or interest and create a class or workshop that you will present to the students with feedback. We will meet privately once per month, with homework assigned, as well as in small group sessions.
*This option will give you 100 hours towards the NYS 300 hour certificate.
3 or 6 month program option
Investment:$ 1108
or
$185 per month minimum 3 months
Payment plans available
Please contact me directly for more information or to sign up a jonnilynfriel@gmail.com