Becoming a yoga teacher was not my intention.  I started Teacher Training (TT in yoga speak) because  from the top of my neck to my toes, my body ached.

And because I listened to two women who were older than me.

The first was, believe it or not, my mother.  While walking one day, my mother commented from behind me, “It looks like two cats are fighting in your pants.”

She was not referring to saber-toothed tigers gnawing my behind.  Sitting 24/7 had nearly paralyzed me from the waist down.  My buttocks were no longer in my control despite a six-day a week, work-out regime.

The second was Raquel Welch, the sexiest-woman-alive, who ranted about aging during her Oprah interview.

Many years ago, my friend’s mother purchased her yoga video.  Impressionable teenagers, we were mesmerized by the gorgeous, fit, forty-year old woman.  Raquel credited her ageless beauty to yoga.  Thirty years later, she still looked amazing.

Granted, Raquel possesses extraordinary genes.  But she swears she maintains her beauty with a 90-minute-a-day yoga practice, healthy eating, and, a little, cosmetic help.

I enjoyed yoga class because it ticked off Saturday morning’s hour of easy exercise.  However, I did not notice Yoga’s extraordinary benefits.  Inside, Raquel’s voice kept nagging me.

“You are missing something.”

I enrolled in TT to learn the ancient yogis’ secrets to a lean, muscular body and longevity.

I eagerly packed my mat and a water bottle for the first day of class.  My teacher, Amy, handed us a two-inch thick book.  Under the explanations, women of different ages and body types demonstrated the asanas.  No one looked like Raquel.  I thumbed through the sections.  Anatomy?  Sanskrit?  Where were Raquel’s secrets?

After a few lessons, I grew impatient with the slow buildup and began peppering Amy with my burning questions.

“When are we getting to the part where my back flesh no longer hangs over my bra strap?”

Amy kept adding more cushions to prop up my backside while patiently responding to my comments.  She rescued me when I shouted, “YOGA Emergency!”  Her clear instructions usually ended with a question mark directed towards me.

“Are you comfortable holding your arms like that?  Perhaps try rotating this direction….Rotate CLOCK-wise….The OTHER way.  Okay, start again.”

I progressed, even though I sat on a chair during meditation.

Still it wasn’t long before I told my gathered devotees (aka my children and husband),

“It appears my knee pain during Eka Pada Rajakapotasana stems from the tibiofemoral joint.  You see for pain-free articulation between the femur and the tibia, I need to strengthen my hamstrings, sartorius, quadriceps and my gluteous maximus.”

“I’ve been telling you that for years,” my husband would say.  Being the smart man he is, he quickly added, “Not that there’s anything wrong with your gluteous maximus.”

I knew I would become a yogini when my anatomical observations were validated by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.46.

The seat used in meditation, as well as the physical postures of hatha yoga, should be firm, steady and pleasant.

There it was, the five-thousand-year-old, yogic secret – a firm derriere.

The good news is you no longer have to travel to India, New York or LA to learn all Raquel’s secrets.  Namaste Bahrain will begin offering TT starting November 2013. And if you do your yoga practice this summer, by November, those wild cats might be tamer.

ABOUT NAMASTE’S YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

Objective: To truly understand, experience and feel the effects of the Yoga practice on an individual level in a nurturing environment. The transformations experienced through this course can then be shared from a genuine place with the graduate’s future students.

Pre-requisite: To be accepted onto the level 1 training, students will need to have completed a minimum of 2 years consistent, dedicated yoga practice under the guidance of qualified yoga teacher(s).

About the level 1 training: This course offers you a comprehensive, practical training in how to teach Yoga. We welcome experienced practitioners who are ready to refine their skills, in the art of teaching Yoga, and also those who would simply like to deepen their Yoga knowledge and practice.

This course will be the foundation of a consistent, dedicated practice of both learning and teaching Yoga. It is a challenging course that aims to provide the opportunity for maximum growth and transformation.  You will be invited to take a journey within and be open and dedicated to your practice in order to experience first hand the power of your Yoga practice in order to be able to share it with others.

Venue: Namaste Bahrain
Investment: BD1,310 on or by 1st Oct.  BD1,420 thereafter.
Schedule:     Part 1 18th to 27th Nov 2013 – Part 2  18th to 27th Feb 2014

ABOUT YOGA ALLIANCE

Yoga Alliance: Yoga Alliance is an International Organization for the quality and standardization of individual Yoga teachers and Yoga Schools worldwide. Completing a Yoga Alliance Accredited training will give the student an internationally recognized Yoga Teaching qualification.

Currently, yoga is not a licensed profession in the U.S., so it is not required that one register with Yoga Alliance in order to teach yoga. Registration with Yoga Alliance is voluntary and is the premier form of recognition given to a yoga teacher or yoga school.

On completion of a level 1 or level 2 Yoga Alliance Accredited Yoga Teacher Training, students then have the opportunity to register themselves with Yoga Alliance. Information related to the requirements of this registration including, fees and their application process are available from their website www.yogaalliance.org