Personal reflections on a TSYP Foundation Course

When I became pregnant with my first child, a door was opened to the world of yoga. The quality of classes was a bit hit and miss until a couple of years later I found Roxanna Ziolkowska’s yoga class. 

After having attended 2-3 years of regular high-quality yoga classes with Roxanna, I realised that yoga was helping me on a physical and mental level, and I wanted to know more. Why did I feel better after this particular yoga? What was it doing? However, I still did not feel like I was doing yoga regularly enough to find the full benefits. 

More skills and confidence

There are two reasons that I wanted to do the course; the first was to re-address the mental balance internally and the second was because I enjoyed the physical movement of yoga. I knew that if I could find confidence in myself to do my own practice, I could be responsible for my own well-being. 

The problem was that when I walked away from my weekly yoga lesson, I did not feel that I had the skills or confidence to do my own yoga practice at home and this led me to enquiring and then joining the Foundation Course led by Bea Teuten

Bea was immediately warm and friendly, and after attending some of her yoga classes I knew it would be the right course for me. Through the last nine months, I have immensely enjoyed having that one Sunday a month to be a student of yoga whilst making some great new friends on the same journey of exploration as myself. There are 10-12 of us on the course and it is the right number to get to know each other over the year and be able to support and help one another. 

Carefully planned learning

On our Sundays, we start with a wonderful energising yoga practice and then talk about the individual postures and their benefits. Bea shares her expertise and knowledge on the breath and the mind, and then we move on to a chant; some history of yoga followed by a gentler yoga practice to finish. 

Each month, we have been introduced to a new set of yoga postures and how we need to order them for maximum benefit for the body, the breath, and the mind. I have learnt that the breath is the key to our practices – that the breath needs to be used correctly with the āsana-s (postures) to reach a meditative state of mind. The goal is to get rid of our rubbish and see clearly to follow our true self. 

New direction

If someone asked what this course has given me, I would say it has given me a new direction in my life. I know that if I truly follow the path of yoga and persist with a regular yoga practice no matter what obstacles come in my way, I will achieve more confidence, courage and peace of mind. 

However, the journey is never a simple and straightforward one and that is why I have been lucky enough to have a 1-2-1 mentor as a recommended part of the Foundation Course. This quarterly mentoring session has helped guide me along the way and enabled me to find a personal practice. 

I wish to continue in the path of yoga and it is truly in my heart to keep learning to unlock even more wisdom and benefits. I am currently looking into the teacher training course. Watch this space!

Donna Pink

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