My Yoga Teacher Training took place in South Korea. It was a one year course at the Korean Yoga Cultural Centre in Seoul yogamind. I trained daily, …the yoga practice was primarily hatha, zen and restorative …the main text was my teacher’s analysis and practical application of several traditions, both eastern and western. This was a mix and exchange of his unique heritage and that of India using Hatha yoga posture with both zen and yogic breathing practices with subtle body work in both yogic paradigms and Han dynasty traditional medical and philosophical processes and functions.
The physical training included two daily hour(or more) practices, regular weekly study group for asana for the which the main text was BKS Iyengar’s Yoga Dipika (I studied both the English and Korean translations) and supplemented by his own text and research presented from individual students. Each week we were each given two or three asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha practices and asked to demonstrate and teach variations or sequences for self-development classes, study and practice groups with other yoga teachers and teacher trainees. Our particular class also rehearsed and performed a dance fusion of yoga ballet that was choreographed by national level ballet performers, teachers.
We had a three hour lecture every Saturday with other options for extra practice attending workshops or doing karma work at the studio
We also did a lot of walking which my teacher taught with vigor both as meditation, exercise and as transportation and exploration.
The final exams followed months of uninterrupted study, attendance and focus.
It consisted of two parts :
1.A written test with exam questions on basic yoga
theory and practice
2. a physical demonstration of asana, Surya Namaskar/Variations, Basic Hatha Yoga asana, pranayama, mudra, bhanda and a stamina test including: shat kriyas, 1 hour padmasana still breath meditation, bhanda locks and pranayama breathing and sequences
I was in the Korean Yoga Cultural Centre’s 11th teacher training class… now they have taught several times more than that…
My asana teachers and theory teachers were mostly female and all the teachers were Korean and taught exclusively in Korean. Consequently, I also studied Korean with several friends along with my yoga study and practice in order to attend lectures, read and study texts, and communicate verbally and through writings.
As much as I am grateful for this opportunity and unique experience I realized after traveling to India and returning to Canada that I have a sincere passion for yoga. Sometimes I feel there is discrimination and bias because of ignorance or staining of the true limitless essence of yoga. I was surprised to see my own ignorance revealed when I found a that yoga had been a part of this culture a long time and it’s influences showed in many variations of physical and meditative practices and philosophies. I also became exposed to many styles of practices influenced from Western, Indian and Korean backgrounds in Seoul.
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