The final week: the mosaic takes shape, by Maria Sondergaard

Only four days left of the Zuna Yoga 200hr Teacher Training... Four! Four!?!?!?! Where did September go?

Safe shoulders in Trikonasana

A part of me is really looking forward to end the course. That would be the worn out body that gets up at 5:15am every day, and is now seriously tired.

A bigger part of me doesn't want the course to end. I’m in a beautiful, caring and funny group. It’s 200 hours of self-development. I have a top quality teacher who is a never-ending source of knowledge. And I feel the effects of 12 hours yoga a day on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level – such sweet effects. I feel like I’ve been peeling off a layer or two, on my way to my true self. Like a snake shedding its old skin to reveal the new.

And another part of me doesn't want to course to end because I don’t feel ready for it. Imagine a massive balloon filled with colourful confetti. Now someone is popping that balloon right over your head and all the little pieces of magnificent colours are raining over you. It’s beautiful, it’s magical and enchanting. All of this colourful confetti consists of samskara, ahamkara, nauli, kriya, gunas, doshas, breathing, alignment, bandhas, asana, vayu, prana...and more. And now we try to collect all the little bits and pieces, connect all of them, so they make sense in a big and spectacular mosaic. That’s exactly how I feel at the moment. And now I only have four days to collect, connect and make it all come together… really??

Soaking up the knowledge

So I’m really trying to wrap my head around all the terms, some of them new, some of them known – but remembering all and in the right context is easier said than done. My inner perfectionist really wants to have it all come together during these last few days. I could sit after our (almost) 12 hour day, open my books and study. Practice the asanas I yet haven’t mastered, to deepen my understanding and make sure I’m going out there to share all these Zuna Yoga teachings. And the reality is, this is just a beginning. My learning doesn't end in a few days. We will all continue our studies and practices on our own – and through that, we'll be able to connect all the dots.

It’s been one crazy, inspiring and intense journey – and it’s not completely over just yet. I’m still swirling in the confetti, sometimes confused and always grateful. But I'm confident that my great, big mosaic is close to unfolding into a beautiful unity.

200hr Zuna Yoga Teacher Training, day 10 - by Maria Sondergaard

What a rollercoaster ride...

10 days in and I’m going through all sorts of emotions. After learning about the chakras, I realize most of these emotions are stored in the lower chakras and my ego/ahamkara (according to the Vedic model of the mind) definitely feels threatened. The ego works as a protector as well as a limit. Like a parent overprotecting her child. For me, it's with a twist of – “you don’t know how to do that, so don't.” The further down I dig in my ego-exploration, the sneakier it gets. My ego truly deals better with the old and well-known, even though it’s not beneficial. But as soon as I become aware of the process, I can laugh at it and comfort it a bit. It loosens up, and suddenly things seem a bit easier.

Morning flow

 I realize I’m my own harshest critic.  Forget about what you’ve seen on the different American talent-/reality shows. When my inner judge is loose, it’s like a wild animal. I’ve been through many self-development courses, retreats and programs, so it’s not the first time my judge is revealing itself. It’s actually active on a daily basis, but I’m more capable of handling it when it acts more subtly and with a whispering voice, as opposed to this screaming monster I’m dealing with now. The difference this time is that I’m capable of witnessing it. I’m feeling it AND observing it, at the same time. Now that tells me that I’m slowly separating from it.

Learning headstand

I’m going through emotions and reactions such as apathy, frustrations, self-criticism, peace, spaced-out savasanas, giggles, outbursts of laughter, forgetting my breathing, concentration issues, and love of the group and space in which we’re learning. All in the same package. Becoming a Zuna Yoga Teacher isn’t a joke. It is exactly the emotional rollercoaster I expected. As while the Zuna Yoga teacher training is a challenge on every level we operate on, I can't say enough how much I am loving it.

I’m learning amongst caring people. Every single one of us is on an emotional (and physical) rollercoaster – therefore we all understand what the others are going through. And Everett has got our backs. He sees us, encouraging gently at the right times, and is available to us at any time, if we’re feeling like falling apart.

Chaturanga dandasana

There is SO much knowledge, experience and good intention behind this teaching, it’s mind-blowing. The amount of wisdom being passed on to us is huge. It’s a wonder we are still capable of focusing, absorbing and digesting. The history of yoga, Ayurveda, anatomy, meditations, asanas, pranayama, Sanskrit, mantras – the list seems close to endless. And it’s all connecting together to body, mind and spirit.

I’m truly happy and lucky to be on this journey with Zuna Yoga and my fellow students. As challenging and thorough as it is, it's also equally developmental, caring and educational.

200hr TT on Gili Air, week one - The body, breath and energy, by Briahn Martin

I can't compare this yoga teacher training to any others, but from my personal experience as a student in Western yoga studios, I'm pretty sure that Zuna Yoga take a different approach and methodology to the practice of yoga. Zuna Yoga really emphasizes the science of yoga as being a comprehensive guide or tool to self knowing. My previous practice of vinyasa flow in Western studios hardly gave the energetic space or depth to explore the larger and deeper implications behind asana practice. 

We spent the first week learning about anatomy, alignment, breath and energy. Rudra made it clear on the first day of teacher training that the Zuna Yoga approach was going to bring home the idea that yoga is really about learning and practicing tools to help better know who you are. The methodology includes understanding how the breath brings awareness. Rudra emphasizes again and again that our asana practice is just one of the yogic tools that allows us to know this awareness/breath through the vehicle of our body. "It's not what you do with the body, it's how you breathe ...  what the asanas do energetically to the body is the magic of yoga."  

From my beginner's understanding, Prana is breath or vitality that brings forth the various expressions of life as we know it...(and also what our minds don't know, as it transcends what is manifest). Rudra explains that within the body, Prana is divided into 5 types according to its movement and direction...collectively called the Prana Vayus.  The asanas effect movement of breath in the body and this movement of breath has a direct and specific energetic manifestation in the body.  A knowledgeable teacher can create an asana sequence, or recipe as Rudra likes to say, to help create positive change in a person's life. The asanas and movement of breath act as a conduit of change through the space of awareness within which teach of us begin to live and practice.

It was here, at this piece of the puzzle that I realized what an amazing tool the practice of asana can be. It was only 6 months ago that I began to really see how important it is to BE in the body in order to really know/see your true self. That the body is a highly intelligent tool constantly in communication with you... regardless of whether you listen or not. This might sound simple and obvious to some but for me it was simply, profound. In my limited experience I'm only beginning to see that coordination of the body and breath are key...breath brings the BEing back into the body and for us humans in this physical reality....the body allows us to access and learn more of who we really are! 

It was clear to me that Zuna Yoga delivers this approach. I couldn't have asked for a better yoga teacher training, it seems that the universe has brought me to the right place for exploring more body and breath connection and consequently exploration of self. I feel lucky to have found Zuna Yoga and am excited to learn and explore more over the next two and half weeks!

- by Briahn Martin

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