Why I Studied Yoga & What It Gave Me
Yoga Teacher Training: Why I Studied Yoga and What It Gave Me
There was a time when life felt like a constant rush— sure, there was 36the annual holiday and occasional ‘no plan’ Sunday, but for the most part there were deadlines to meet, responsibilities to juggle, and an ever-present hum of stress and needing to be ‘on’ running beneath the surface. I wouldn’t have said anything was wrong at the time. Life was full, I was keeping up, and from the outside it probably looked like everything was on track. But it also felt like I was constantly moving, rarely pausing long enough to actually check in with myself.
When I initially began practicing yoga, it was simply a way to move my body. I wanted to feel stronger, more flexible, maybe even a little calmer. But beneath those surface-level goals was something deeper— a quiet curiosity around whether there was more to life than just getting through each day and working towards the next sales quarter. I didn’t have the words for it then, but I was searching for connection. Connection to myself, to my breath, and to something steady and consistent in a world that often felt anything but. Its funny looking back and its going to sound cliche but yoga taught me (and continues to teach me) that true contentment is a total internal job.
It was my Sunday morning teach at the time who subtly dropped the idea of studying my 200hrs (the entry requirement to teach in Australia). I still wasn’t ready though, I wasn’t quite ready to sit with myself, detach from all my busyness and the identity I had created around that very busyness. When I did eventually decide however to embark on the journey and study yoga more seriously, it wasn’t a spontaneous choice. It felt like a pull— subtle but persistent and one that I went back and forth with for years if I’m honest. Yoga teacher training became more than just learning poses or sequences; it became a journey inward. It asked me to slow down, to listen, and to sit with parts of myself I had long ignored, and I cried. I cried for all those parts of myself I had long overlooked, laughed off and distracted myself from in all of that silly busyness over the years.
Those moments—raw, uncomfortable, and deeply honest— became a turning point. Through the training, I began to understand that yoga isn’t about perfection. It’s not about achieving the ‘ideal’ posture, mastering every technique or even remembering all the Philosophy. Instead, it’s about presence. It’s about showing up exactly as you are— on the mat and in life— and being willing to meet yourself there with honesty and compassion. It takes courage.
One of the most profound gifts yoga gave me was awareness. Awareness of my body, yes, but also of my thoughts, my habits, and my patterns. I started to notice how often I operated on autopilot, how easily I got caught in cycles of stress or self-doubt, the dialogue and stories I had on replay, and an awareness of where I went when things became uncomfortable. Yoga didn’t magically erase those things, but it gave me the tools to observe them without being consumed by them.
Breath became my anchor. In moments of overwhelm, I learned to return to it— to slow it down, to deepen it, and in doing so, to calm my mind, the ‘monkey’ mind as referred to in yoga. That simple act created space. Space to respond instead of react. Space to choose a different way forward.
Yoga training also taught me resilience. Holding a challenging pose isn’t just physical; it mirrors the way we handle discomfort in life. Do we resist? Do we give up? Or do we stay, breathe, and find strength we didn’t know we had? Over time, I realized that the lessons on the mat were quietly shaping how I moved through the world, and what one of my very first Yoga Teachers would frequently quote ‘your mat is simply your mirror’.
Perhaps most unexpectedly, yoga gave me a sense of belonging—not to a place or a group, but to myself and in turn, to nature. In a world that often encourages us to look outward for validation, yoga gently turns us inward. It reminds us that we already have all that we need within us.
Looking back, I didn’t become someone new upon completing my studies, but instead returned home happily to who I already was.
And that, more than anything, is what yoga has gifted me. I can’t recommend completing your 200hrs more to anyone who’s at the beginning of their yoga journey. Even if your intention isn’t to teach, I’m sure you’ll be your own best student, and the returns will be invaluable.