I decided to take a Foundation Course in order to access Yoga Teacher Training as I want to become a Yoga Teacher. I started practising yoga five years ago in a therapeutic context and it has become my pure passion. Admirable effects of healing became a great reinforcement in my desire to develop my personal practice, knowledge and go more into detail in yoga.
I started my Foundation Course in October last year. I had a quite wide range of experience in different types of practices, as together with my teacher, I had touched profoundly many limbs of yoga. My practice included āsana-s, chanting, prānāyāma (breath regulation techniques), studying Patañjali’s Yoga Sutra-s and yoga philosophy. However, as I wanted to go further, I needed to systematise my knowledge to build a strong foundation that will enable me to get involved in even more deep and serious studies.
And the Foundation Course is the best way I could have chosen to achieve this! The course provides a strong dose of knowledge given with clear understanding on what yoga is about, its components, where it comes from, how to work with yoga in various ways, and develop your personal and spiritual progress and adjust it to your needs. You are also guided on how to apply yoga teachings and practices into your daily life to reflect yogic values in every dimension of your life and so you can become a true yogi from the deepest of your heart.
Well-constructed course
The make-up of the course along with the approach to every topic is wonderfully constructed. I was so amazed when I noticed that every session was organised in such a way so that it goes hand in hand with the whole point of yoga philosophy and takes you through each idea in a reasoned way and with a clear transfer of knowledge. Theory combined with lots of practical activities gives you a pure sense of the entire study on each stage of your learning adventure.
We cover a wide range of subjects: āsana (practice as well as theory), prānāyāma (breath regulation techniques), chanting, sound and Sanskrit, studying texts and philosophy (here I should point out that going through Patañjali’s Yoga Sutra is I think one of the best aspects of the course – it’s unbelievable how much you can discover about yourself and your surrounding world!) and Ayurveda (absolutely fascinating). And the much thought sharing empowers mutual exchange in learning and deepens your own understanding. All of these are passed to us with huge care, pointed and specified to the maximum, so it’s literally impossible not to understand something! And the great support from tutors after sessions, which feeds the hunger for any further enquiries or questions, deserves a special distinction!
In TSYP there are absolutely fantastic, experienced and very compassionate teachers who are leading their students throughout this journey with passion, understanding and professionalism. The sessions are well organised and very integrating, creating a safe and supporting environment where you naturally feel free to open up yourself. Whilst integrating the group and supporting each other, tutors also pay lots of attention to individuals, always trying very hard to make sure their effort meets individuals’ needs and any practices are tailored to a person’s needs, so everybody can take out the best from the course. At the same time everything is set up in such a natural, human way, that you really feel becoming one family with your teacher and other participants. To me the Foundation Course is not only a base for further education or creating a strong base of knowledge. It’s a lot more. I find every session when we meet all together with the whole group so therapeutic and healing. The course itself, the subject of it, all the work that we do, and the ideas touched during it are naturally healing on every level of holistic human being.
Stepping-stone
Being almost at the end of my Foundation Course journey, I can say sincerely that all my expectations that I had when entering into this course have already been far exceeded! My knowledge and understanding of yoga along with developing personal practice and skills have been entirely tided up, systematized and anchored. With such a strong foundation, I feel absolutely confident and motivated to move forward into the next step of my yoga studies adventure – the Yoga Teacher Training commencing this year.
Emilia Sikora
