How Martina found the first participants for her own yoga classes after the 200h Alignment Yoga Teacher Training.

After the first two days Martina wanted to quit the Alignment Yoga Teacher Training with us. Why she stayed, how she already has regular participants in her own yoga classes and has already signed up for the next 300h Alignment Yoga Teacher Training with us, this article tells.

We met at the end of September 2023 in Zurich for an interview.

How did you get the idea to do a yoga teacher training?

I started doing yoga in 2019. At that time, I was in a difficult life situation and pretty much everything went wrong that could go wrong. My sister gave me the impulse to try something completely new and that's how I got into yoga. It wasn't really on my radar before!

After about a year of regular practice, my yoga teacher approached me. She said that yoga teacher training would be something for me, that I should check it out. Then I thought, it would be cool to do such a training and teach yoga. So I started to inform myself.

Yoga teacher trainings are a dime a dozen, what convinced you about our offer?

For me it was important to acquire a solid basis in Hatha Yoga. I saw many offers in Vinyasa Yoga but in these offers this basic knowledge of Hatha Yoga and how to correctly align the yoga exercises was missing. In addition, it was also important to me that the teachers who lead the training really have a lot of experience. And that's what I found with you.

The decision-making process is not always easy for many people. Were there any hurdles that you had to overcome in order to sign up? What helped you?

At first I thought you needed a lot more experience to sign up for a yoga teacher training. But I got a lot of support in the form of motivation from my yoga teacher at the time and also from my family. That did me a lot of good, because I would have been much too hesitant and would not have trusted myself to do it.

On the second day of the training, you were not sure if you really wanted to continue. What was going through your head?

I'm more of a "head person" and had all these self-doubts in me, whether I could really do it, etc. I thought, "I'm not capable of doing this at all. I thought, "I'm not made for this at all!". I also found it physically exhausting and thought that the others could all do it much better than I could. I got in my own way a bit.

In the meantime, you have completed your 200h degree with flying colors and have already registered for the next 300h alignment yoga teacher training with us. How did it happen that you continued anyway?

It was mainly the group that carried me. The other participants motivated me to continue for another day. I did that and from then on it went better and better and was good.

It's true that for many people there comes a moment when you think, I can't do that or think that everyone else can do it better, etc. That's when an exchange in the group helps. That's where an exchange in the group helps, and that's what we do actively during the training again and again.

What advice would you give to others who are now where you were back then?

I would advise them to simply switch off their head and relax. You don't have to know how to do yoga perfectly when you are training! These feelings, doubts and the whole process etc. are also somehow part of a training and are normal. And that they should have some confidence, in themselves and the process.

Of course, such a training also triggers a certain process of change. How is that for you, what has changed for you personally since the yoga teacher training?

Today it's easier for me to leave things alone in certain situations, for example at work, and I don't let myself be pulled in so deeply energetically. My self-confidence has also increased since the yoga teacher training. Physically I also feel better, especially I notice that I can breathe much deeper than before. I'm sure that also contributes something to the calmness in me.

You had the desire to teach yoga when you started the training. Today you already offer your own classes and have regular participants. How did you do that?

During the yoga teacher training I wrote to a few people asking if they would like to join a yoga class with me. I wanted to practice and try out what I had learned and test whether I could imagine teaching in the future.

And afterwards some of the participants even wanted to continue! That made me very happy and motivated and today I teach 2 lessons per week.

In addition, I have also created a website and set up an Instagram profile. I love teaching and it gives me a lot of joy! What is exciting is that the whole day can be "full of stress", but when I enter my yoga room, everything becomes calm inside me!

What is your website and Instagram profile?

Website: https://www.hathayogamartina.ch/

Instagram: hathayoga_martina

You are already registered for the 300h Alignment Yoga Teacher Training that we are starting on 05/26/2024 with us. What are you looking forward to the most?

I have the desire to learn more about yoga and also to offer workshops. And also the thought of just doing something for myself again, to invest in myself!

Last question: You live quite far away from Zurich, and commuted back and forth for the yoga teacher training. How did that work out for you and did you organize yourself especially for that?

Because of my job, I was already used to the travel time. However, it is still a difference whether you commute three or four days a week, or seven days at a stretch. It's important to be aware of this and to recover well in the evening in order to be fit again the next day.

Are you also thinking about doing a yoga teacher training? Take a look at our offers in Alignment based Hatha Yoga Teacher Trainings! Wondering what Alignment Yoga is? You can find more information about it in our blog article: What is Alignment Yoga?