YTT Diary: 18 Weeks to Go | What to Prepare

Join me on my journey as I prepare for Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) later this year.

I’ll share my learnings with you as I go, so you’ll know the actual time and financial costs, and what’s involved at a granular level.

So here I am, with 126 days, or 18 weeks, until my course begins.

I know that four months seems like a lot, but once I started breaking down the weeks to get super clear on what I need to prepare, I realised the sooner I start, the better.

In true Rachel style, I have created a countdown diary in a spreadsheet to track my time and progress between now and when I start the course in October.

This week, I am booking accommodation - the practical arrangements - and devising a study plan.

First, let me catch you up on what led me to sign up for training, and how I decided on which course to do.

Why I decided to teach yoga

Yoga was on and off in my life for some years before a seed of passion started growing.

It was only when I discovered a class that delivered spiritual connection and enlightenment that yoga became something I loved.

I have attended many classes, but unless I step off my mat feeling changed, as if I have been on a journey and found space within my spirit, I don’t feel like the practice has done its job.

Sadly, I have found this essence of yoga is missing from most of the classes I have attended in person and online.

For me, a yoga practice isn’t just a sequence of poses, it’s an internal exploration that should be respected.

So here I am today, after a long and successful career in IT, my passion for sitting at a desk is waning and I want to be free of the confines of an office and move into the wonderful space of healing, joy, and movement.

Preparing for Yoga Teacher Training

When you sign up for a Yoga Teacher Training course need to meet criteria such as previous training and level of experience.

If you’re thinking of signing up for a course, you’re probably an experienced yogini and ready to go.  

But if you need some help deciding which course to do, check out How to Choose the Right Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) Course.

Books for Yoga Teacher Training

Last weekend I ordered the two books that are required reading for my course, and at some point, need to choose another required book from a list of options.

The first book is The Heart of Yoga, by T.K.V. Desikachar, based on the teachings of Sri Tirumalai Kirshnamacharya, a yoga teacher who lived to be over 100 years old!

The book covers all elements of yoga and helps you develop a practice to suit your current health, age, occupation, and lifestyle.

As discussed in the introduction, most classes don’t pay enough attention to how students transform, even in a couple of days, so classes and poses must continuously adapt to suit the individual.

The Heart of Yoga contains a lot of Sanskrit or Indian words, which will be a challenge, but I hope with time, this language will become ingrained in me.

The second book is The Diet of Enlightenment Yoga & Vegetarianism by Sharon Gannon. This has been superseded by one for Veganism, which I was delighted to discover and is the one I have bought.

If you know anything about how the dairy and egg industries operate, you’ll know that vegetarianism is only a halfway step to living a life that doesn’t harm others.

To read a book on vegetarianism would be out of alignment with my vegan views and lifestyle.

I have calculated the number of pages I need to read against the days I have before my course starts.

This tells me how many pages I need to read daily – I have allocated two months to each book, or nine weeks each at this point – so I can measure my progress (or not!) over the coming weeks.

I used Post-it notes to mark milestones where I need to be in each book by my deadlines.

It’s going to be a busy few months for sure.

Practical Arrangements

If you’ve chosen a course that takes you away from home, I recommend you book your accommodation as soon as you have the course dates.

To travel to the city where I will do my course, I decided to take the train and stay away overnight.

My course is on Saturdays and Sundays over eight weekends, so I’ll travel after work on a Friday and use the time on the train to unwind or study – and stay off the wine!

I used Booking.com to reserve either hotels or self-catering rooms for the first four weekends using the ability to cancel for free – just in case anything changes!

With five outstanding payments to make on my course, along with hotel, train, and food expenses, costs are starting to mount up!

If you commit to a YTT course, please be aware that there may be additional expenses that can affect your budget - or what you thought it would cost to do the course.

If you’re brave enough to stay in a cheap hostel and share a bedroom and toilet, good on you, but for the rest of us, we face over-priced hotel rooms.  

I also searched on Airbnb, which initially looked cheaper, but this was not the case once cleaning and admin fees were added to the nightly rate!

You have to pay upfront with a lot of them, though you can get a refund if you cancel, whereas I won’t pay for my Booking.com reservations until nearer the time.

The Eden Ashram leggings I’ve had my eye on will have to wait a little while longer!