I had breakfast with one of the delightful yoga students whom I’ve met since relocating to the country.
I was afraid that when I left my yoga teaching business of 30 years in Sydney that I wouldn’t develop inspiring relationships in my new locale. By inspiring, I mean that students inspire me as much as the reverse.
This particular lass has been in love with yoga for a long time and is now considering doing teacher training. Just in case there are some of you readers who have thought about training, I’m going to post my advice to my young student here for you to read, too.
There are many good trainings to avail yourself of right ’round the world. It just depends on how much time and money you want to invest, and what sort of yoga suits you temperamentally.
In Australia, I have experience with the Byron Bay Yoga Centre where I have taught as part of their Yoga Therapy faculty for four years. This centre presents their trainings at various levels and in different formats. You can do your training in Sydney, Melbourne, Bali and New Zealand. The fast-track intensives on offer mean you’ll take minimum time away from your work and/or family.
If you are interested in the B.K.S. Iyengar method, you will be up for a rigorous and lengthy training. You will have had to commit to one teacher, and studied with her or him for some time. Then, if you are deemed a sincere candidate, your training will comprise a couple of years study, plus a year of apprenticeship, before undergoing an assessment for a grading.
In Sydney, Qi Yoga on the northern beaches runs a year-long program. Their course is nationally registered with Yoga Australia and gives a qualification as a “Level 1 Yoga Teacher”. Nature Care College, where I taught for 9 years, offers a year-long weekend program that awards a Diploma of Yoga Teaching upon successful completion of the course. Check out Sindar Kaur on video on Nature Care’s site talking about the training.
I did my original yoga teacher training in 1980, then apprenticed to my teacher for a few years afterwards. I added to my qualifications in 2000 in a training I did over a two-year period. At the moment, I’m studying in Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machless’s on-line Applied Anatomy and Physiology course. I’ve lost track of the number of A & P courses I’ve done; it never ends!
If I were to start all over again and I could study anywhere, I would choose from the two courses below. Why? Because both courses lead to the fulfilment of Patanjali’s aphorism of today (below), which describes the point of the practice of yoga.
1) The Yoga Institute, located on the north shore of Sydney. The caliber of the teachers and the curriculum is superb, and the school offers three course structures for maximum flexibility.
2) The Yoga Room, in Berkeley, California. This is a course that comprises the Iyengar style, which is still where my heart is. The faculty are seasoned and dedicated yogis with decades of experience and wisdom.
There are countless wonderful trainings around and I hope I haven’t offended anyone by giving just these few the spotlight. If you are partial to a certain yoga teacher training, please let me know.

Sva swami saktyoh svarupopalabdhi hetuh samyogah

The conjunction of the seer with the seen is for the seer to discover his own true nature.*
*Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar.