Why Yoga Teacher Training?

We are wrapping up our fifth year of our 200hr Yoga Teacher Training! Our new grads will soon be fledgling teachers offering their skills and gifts. Meanwhile, we are preparing to launch our first ever 300hr Yoga Teacher Training this fall, which will be a year long endeavor for those who already have their 200hr certification to immerse themselves more deeply into the art of teaching yoga. 

One of the questions we often get from people who are considering a YTT is, “do I have to teach yoga when I’m done?” It’s a reasonable question. After all, it’s called “teacher training”. The short answer is no, of course you don’t have to teach after you’ve completed training. But there is a question beneath the question, which is—what does it mean to teach yoga?

If you have practiced yoga at a studio it can be easy to assume that yoga teachers are people who teach in designated, calm, clear spaces that are meant to be used exclusively for practicing yoga, and that a yoga class is a 60 minute predetermined sequence of consistent components. That is where and how a lot of yoga teachers teach. But it is by no means the only way. 

For instance, some of the places that I have taught yoga include hotel conference rooms, school gymnasiums, mountain summits, karate dojos, living rooms, community centers, church basements, prisons, recovery centers, and parks. And most of those “classes” did not even remotely fit into the structure of a 60 minute vinyasa flow sequence. 

Furthermore, for me the most important aspect of my vocation as a yoga teacher is the way that it informs how I move through the world. It informs my values, my friendships, my politics, and my aspirations. I am not always teaching yoga. But my teaching of yoga is always informing how I live. 

The truth is that even after 15+ years of teaching yoga, I am still asking that question, and my answer continues to shift and evolve. What I do know is that walking into a studio room to facilitate breath and movement for 60 minutes is only one small part of what I consider to be my vocation of being a yoga teacher. 

So, what does it mean to teach yoga?  

Ask around. Ask your teachers. Ask yourself. Share what you discover.

You can head over to our trainings page and learn more about our specific methodology of training teachers and what you can expect if you do decide to participate. And as always, let us know if you have any questions. 

Ready to jump in? Check out our upcoming teacher trainings!

Welcome to The Portland Yoga Project blog!

Since PYP first opened its doors in September 2018, our space, our members, the numbers of students who come into the space each week, and the number of teachers on our roster have grown significantly. We love the expansion and breadth of our community and our offerings. Something that we have always wanted to prioritize is the depth of community engagement, relationships, and all around quality of what we offer. One of the challenges of having a community that keeps growing in size is how to maintain intimacy, accountability, and connection.

So we’ve decided to create this blog designated for teasing out ideas, asking questions, and providing space for conversation. We want to offer the why behind the multitude of offerings we provide, our values, and what we want to embody as a community. It is an opportunity for us to deepen the understanding between us of what we are all a part of when we show up to The Portland Yoga Project.

The fundamental organizing principles of our business are all in our name. We are a local studio in Portland, Maine, which operates on the unceded land of the original stewards of this place—the Wabanaki people. We take the concept of place seriously as we understand that to have a place is to have a home and to have a home is to take responsibility to the land, history, and people that make up that place.

We are a studio that offers yoga classes. But the “yoga” in our name is not just about the fact that we offer classes in which people can practice yoga asana in 60 minute increments. We also offer barre and matte and workshops and trainings and events that are not yoga asana. But the word yoga remains at the center of our identity as a community because we are committed to practicing the essence of yoga. In everything we do we want to engage in the practices that bring wholeness, union, reconciliation, and connection. And we want to respectfully and humbly learn and apply the tools that have been handed down to us by this ancient tradition and that have been studied and applied and honed and explored by teachers and students that span time and space far beyond our own community.

A project is defined as a set of actions and goals that are taken in order to achieve a particular aim. Our project is to facilitate a community in-process, constituted by people who are in-process. And our commitment is to make sure that the trajectory of our process is toward the common good.

We hope you’ll continue to join us in this project, whether you are regularly attending classes or reading from afar. Read along, ask questions, share your thoughts. We’ll be writing monthly!