Cultivating Curiosity
Yoga Haven is finally opening again after closing our doors four years ago! Dana and I are making this happen, and we are in the home stretch.
For me, these past four years have been a time to explore something that could spark my soul, challenge my brain, and foster new relationships. Re-opening the studio hits all these points for me, and nothing else can compare!
I have found post pandemic that there is a need to cultivate curiosity…and doing so is a vital part of healing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Cultivating curiosity has always been something that rules my life. Learning something new, understanding and seeing something in a different way, contemplating different views on the same thing has always interested me. Cultivating curiosity in those ways forms and deepens connection - a vital step towards healing in a post-pandemic world. Here’s my guide to cultivating curiosity as a step towards post-pandemic healing:
Become curious and creative
Invest in areas where you see a need
Collaborate! Especially intergenerationally
Observe disruptors and survivors of the pandemic
Cultivating Curiosity Through Yoga Teacher Training
When I took my original teacher training in 1994 at Integral Yoga, it was the most thoughtful learning experience I had ever had. Having had such a profound learning experience through that teacher training, early on in my yoga business career I created and began teaching YH’s teacher training and it quickly became the most exciting, stimulating, and satisfying part of my career in yoga. This training went on for over 20 years and each year revealed a new group of students committed to cultivating curiosity, invested in expanding their idea of themselves, how yoga relates and enhances their lives, and their interactions with the world around them. Every year I was re-energized as I witnessed the “light bulb” go on for so many.
Yoga teacher training isn’t just about becoming a yoga teacher. Many sign up for just that reason, but they quickly come to learn what I discovered almost thirty years ago, that this 8 month immersion allows them to cultivate curiosity in a way that will heal and inspire.
Our Teacher Training will run again this year beginning in September (WOOHOO!!!!). This training will not only prepare students to become exceptional yoga teachers, but it will serve as a supportive, communal way to heal in a post-pandemic world. Here’s how:
Become curious and creative: Entering into this experience we hope you come to teacher training with curiosity and a desire to think outside the box.
Invest in areas where you see a need: We know at this time many people are experiencing more anxiety and depression, lack of connection and many haven’t been moving much over the past 4 years with COVID leaving some with additional health issues. Yoga, as a self-care practice is a great way to re-balance the nervous system and incorporates a gentle movement, breath and meditation practice accessible to anyone.
Collaborate! Especially intergenerationally: This is one of the reasons why I picked Dana to be my partner in this new studio. She is 20 years younger and brings a different experience and skill set to the table. Almost every year in the past, Yoga Haven’s teacher training had age spans from early 20s to late 60s, and a couple of times early 70s! This makes for a richer experience for everyone.
Observe disruptors and survivors of the pandemic: This one is interesting. Since shut down in March 2020 I have watched online what people in the yoga/meditation community did to continue and survive, re-invent themselves, or start out in a new career. Never before had so many had to shift their way of teaching and working. It’s been fascinating to see what has worked and what has not. And what is starting to happen is the desire for people to practice together again, in person, in sacred spaces.
If you are looking for something to spark that inner excitement, challenge you on many levels, provide a space to foster new relationships, deepen your knowledge and love of yoga, and develop your own self-care practice…then join us this September for the 2024-25 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training.