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.