Lessons I’m Taking Home From My Yoga Teacher Training in India
Which have little to do with yoga and much more with finding back to myself.
May 2022 I spent in Rishikesh, India to attend a 200hr multi-style Yoga Teacher Training. It was my first time in India and it’s definitely been a hell of a ride. Nothing really went as expected, but I believe that was exactly what I needed.
We were 30 people attending the course and all of us had at least one breakdown - or breakthrough as some of us call them in hindsight.
For 28 days, we got up at 5.15 am and had a full day of meditation, Hatha yoga, breathwork, yoga adjustments, philosophy, anatomy, Ashtanga yoga, and meditation theory.
In between, there were traditional ayurvedic cleansings, that might or might not have been safe, there were beautiful connections with even more beautiful people, and there were many runs to the toilet.
Even though some moments felt tough, I have never before in my life felt this much at peace with myself and my surroundings.
We have all learned our lessons from this trip, so I decided to write mine out and remind myself of them daily. This way I’m trying to keep that inner peace and contentment when coming back home.
Free yourself from “supposed to” thinking
The main narrative I held for myself back home was “You are supposed to [fill in the blank]”.
“You are supposed to want to party in your 20's”
“You are supposed to like these people”
“You are supposed to like this subject”
“You are supposed to have energy for that”
It is basically my own way of comparing my desires to the ones of the people around me and making myself feel bad when they aren’t aligned.
When you’re in a group of 30 people, there is always someone asking you to join them at something. Whether that be breakfast at a café in between classes or an extra session of Acro Yoga, swimming in the most polluted river in the world, or merely attending an interesting conversation till late in the night.
Although I enjoy most of the above, I learned that it is ok for me to say no to these offers, if I simply don’t feel like joining at that moment. And people will still like and invite me next time. If anything, they will respect me even more for standing my ground.
Turns out that most people don’t always enjoy what everyone seems to enjoy. But they have a hard time staying true to their own desires.
So many of my friends at the yoga ashram complained about feeling sleep-deprived, anxious, or even drained, just because they weren’t able to say no to all the things that were going on around us.
Maybe they really wanted to attend all these events or maybe, they couldn’t quiet that voice in their head that said “You are supposed to have energy for that.”
There were many moments in which I decided to sleep early or take some time for myself instead of following the crowd.
If I hadn’t done that, I might not have had the time to reflect on everything that was happening. Therefore I might not have had the realizations about my life, that I am able to bring home now.
Here are a few examples, of how I’m staying true to this resolution back home:
I’m waking up at 5.30 am every morning and will therefore be needing to sleep earlier than other people.
I will start working at a café for a while until my passion projects take off instead of working a corporate job.
I will say no to alcohol, simply because it doesn’t make me feel good anymore, even though most of my friends still enjoy it.
And many more.
Be more generous
I want to become more generous with my time, energy, and money.
In India, I met people that were so full-heartedly generous. One friend would buy deserts for everyone almost every day. Another would give crystal bracelets to everyone, whilst asking for nothing in return and another friend gave me a beautiful traditional Indian shirt, that used to belong to her father. (She felt sorry for me because a monkey stole my original one from the clothesline.)
These gestures of kindness felt so selfless and pure.
So I started reflecting on my own behavior. I’m not proud of it, but in my head, I used to often keep a score about these things. With my boyfriend, with my roommates, with colleagues and friends.
I catch myself having thoughts like “He didn’t bring me a gift from his last vacation, so why should I?”
If I buy a gift for someone, because I’m keeping a score, it doesn’t come out of generosity, but out of liability.
And I truly believe, that the whole what-you-give-out-will-circle-back-to-you, only works if you give out of pure love and kindness.
Now I remind myself that generosity is not about what the other person has done for me to deserve my kindness. It is about showing my kindness and affection unconditionally to the beautiful people in my life, without expecting anything in return.
Don’t judge people before you get to know them
Most of us are guilty of judging people too quickly. And in our everyday lives, we are rarely proven wrong when we have done so. Mostly, because we don’t stick around long enough, with people, we don’t hit it off with instantly.
One of my best friends joined me on the trip to Rishikesh. When we met the whole group, we made up our minds quickly about who were the people we liked and who were the people we disliked.
Some were too immature, another was weird, and someone else was simply rude and obnoxious.
Turns out, 28 days later, about these immature, weird, rude, and obnoxious people we have many good things to say. Even though I might still dislike some of their behaviors, I can still love and appreciate them as a whole.
I can honestly say that there is not a single person that I wouldn’t have wanted to be part of this experience.
I realized that back home, I don’t give people the benefit of the doubt. I think I know people so well when I really don’t.
I decided that I will take this eye-opening experience and remind myself to not judge people before I haven’t gotten to know them.
When I look back, most of my close friends are people, that grew on me. Love at first sight, especially in friendships, is a very rare thing for me.
If I want to expand my group of close friends, I will have to stop judging so quickly and start cutting people some slack.
Love, feel, and appreciate your body daily
When having been physically active in a very conscious manner for 28 days, you learn to appreciate your body in a new way.
In today’s Instagram culture, it is easily done, to forget that our bodies are part of ourselves and not an outside thing, that needs to be corrected, in order to conform to society's expectations.
I learned to value my body for the movements that it is able to do and show compassion for movements it couldn’t do. To listen and accept its limits with love and kindness.
At the same time, I am now grateful for the natural intelligence of our bodies. The movements they remember, and the muscles they build day by day to support us in our practices.
By doing Yoga daily I’m reminded to love, feel and appreciate my body and therefore appreciate myself daily.
Leave space for the universe to act
When my day is packed with plans with friends, my partner, work, sports, and studying, I have no space to become creative and let some higher power do its thing.
For the last 4 years, I’ve had every single part of my life planned out: How long I was going to study, where I was going to live, where I was going to work, and where I was going to work and live after that.
Even about things I enjoyed doing, like my Coaching course or my Yoga Teacher Training, I used to plan everything out down to a tee.
But, I’ve learned that I need space in my life for some magic to happen. For some things to evolve naturally, and for life to open up doors I didn’t know existed.
The way I am trying to keep this resolution is by actively planning downtime into my life. Yes, technically that still counts as planning, but this is my way of tricking my brain into letting more loose.
Instead of only marking in my calendar, when it’s time to publish an article, when it’s time to study for my psychological counseling course, or when it’s time to teach a yoga class, I now also add downtime on my to-do list.
That includes daily meditations, walks in nature (not runs), naps, or reading a book only for the purpose of enjoyment.
Build a Yogic Community
Another realization I had, was that I want to build a Yogic Community back home in Berlin.
And by Yogic Community, I don’t mean a community, that has to practice yoga every day. I mean a community, that is interested in the bigger things in life.
I want to surround myself with people that are less interested in drinking and partying, but more in connecting to themselves and their own bodies.
Having a group of like-minded people around 24/7 has been an incredible experience for me. People who push each other in the right direction, who support each other, and who inspire each other.
In that container, we were able to be our true selves, instead of pushing ourselves to be something we are not. And whilst doing so, we were able to learn from one another.
One way I’ve recently been able to integrate that resolution was by joining communities like
’s Modern Women’s Circle.
Another way I’m staying true to my takeaway is my own Sunday Yoga & Brunch Circle, which I will be hosting at my house and eventually online once a week.
And I’m sure, that by following my own excitements more, a like-minded community will grow in my life naturally.
Love full-heartedly without indulging
My last takeaway from my time in India is that true love is possible, without indulging completely in the other person.
My partner and I are very much in love, which, don't get me wrong, is a beautiful and important part of my life.
After almost 2 years, my trip to India was the first time I spent without him, that lasted longer than a week. Even though I was surrounded by many people, it was the first time, that I was completely on my own again.
I had forgotten how much I loved being on my own.
I realized, that in a way I had lost a part of myself to our relationship. Probably, because next to work, studying, friends, and him, there was little time to be spent by myself.
It is so much easier to indulge in the love of the other, instead of looking at the emotions and feelings that are lingering inside of us. I mean emotions and feelings, that can even be triggered by something trivial, like a rude comment of a colleague. Emotions and feelings, that are easily overlooked.
But I believe, that if we don’t take the time to sit with ourselves, they will act as background noise that can make our lives more uncomfortable than it needs to be. And no matter how much love we spread on top, the noise won’t go away, until we sit with it by ourselves.
Also, I noticed that I held a strong narrative, after which, love is only real if you are intertwined with the other on each and every level.
During the time spent alone, I realized that two people can be very much in love with each other, whilst still shining in their own true and individual colors.
And by colors, I mean aspects, that shape our identity. They can be motivations, passions, life views, hobbies, or even people we bond with.
I believe it is important to have traits in common with the other. But I also believe, we shouldn’t get so attached to them, that we aren’t able to connect to, feel and develop our own identities furthermore.
Therefore I will be making time for just myself. I will make sure, I have time to feel into myself and to ask myself: “What do I truly feel and need right now?”
This way, both partners can develop into their most authentic selves whilst being loved and supported by one another.
I quit my nine-to-six job and have decided to create a life, in which I do things that I full-heartedly enjoy. Things, that bring me into a state of flow, like writing on this beautiful platform, like practicing and teaching yoga, and like learning more about psychology.
I’m excited to see how everything is going to turn out. And I know that reminding myself of my learnings from India and staying true to my resolutions, will support me in finding the right path for myself.
Hello, I’m Nora. I write about self-development, relationships, and other human topics. If you like my writing and would like to be updated about new articles, feel free to support me here!
