200hr YTT Part I : The physicality's

Hey lovers!

Firstly, I'd like to start by apologising for the lack of blogging. I was really hoping to have been writing and sharing throughout my yoga teacher training but, if I'm being honest with you guys, the whole journey had me at a bit of a loss for words. I didn't know where to begin or even have the time to try and figure out how to explain what was happening. I have now completed my training and I'm pleased to be able to share with you the things I have gained from these past weeks. Now I have settled myself, I am able to share with you. Aside from getting my qualification, I want to talk to you guys on a bit more detail about what I experienced physically, emotionally and spiritually over the past couple of months, during and after my training.

So, it all began when I arrived in Majorca for my 200hr yoga teacher training course on the 2nd April 2018.  For whatever reason, I was expecting for it to be a relatively relaxing time - I really had no idea what I was in for. The first couple of days were pretty chilled, everyone getting to know each other and settling in (I honestly couldn't have asked for a better group of people to do this course with, everyone was so sweet hearted and beautiful in their own way). As far as that goes, those were probably the only completely relaxing days of the whole training as it was an emotional rollercoaster from there on out. It really didn't take long at all for the yoga/ meditation practise and the diet change to start working its magic, physically and emotionally - through out the first week the group was experiencing a lot of physical aches, pains and soreness in our muscles, (which were to be expected of course), we were training intensely and using muscles we may have been neglecting for a while (I know I certainly had). The Asana practise and diet change, caused our bodies energies to naturally start shifting and detoxifying, which in my body, showed up as severe acid reflux and migraines - to the point where I was struggling to concentrate on anything. We were told to avoid taking any medications for pain relief, just to allow ourselves to work through the detoxification process - I don't often use pain killers, but I really struggled not to this time, the sensations were so intense it made so difficult to concentrate and process all the new information I was trying to take in. Luckily, as the week went on these symptoms died down and finally disappeared - Thank Goodness for that ! 

Throughout the course we were eating strictly vegan diets, consisting of fruits, veg, grains and pulses, for two meals a day - Lunch, dinner and occasionally a some snacks in between. This was also a little bit of a change to my normal eating habits - I was eating much healthier food and less than I usually would eat which at first was slightly challenging to adjust to as I was having cravings for my usual snacks but, as time went on I became less hungry and more satisfied with what I was eating. My mindset has changed about food also, I used to feel irritated and moody if I hadn't eaten enough and Id spend an awful lot of my time thinking of food. I now no longer obsess in my mind over food and the sugary things I always craved, or feel the urge to just eat for the sake of eating, to comfort me. Now, I believe I'm in a better mindset. I'm more in tune with my body and the connection it has with my mind, I listen to it in a healthier way, by eating when and what I feel I should - which turns out to be a lot different to what I though before.  - A big Thank you to Mercedes, (the chef on the course) for the AMAZING food! Honestly, it was without a doubt the tastiest food I've ever eaten. I have been vegetarian/vegan for roughly 5 years, but I was opened up to a completely new way of cooking which I absolutely love and now use every day!

All in all, the physical side of things for me changed a fair amount. I never really thought of yoga as a go to work out to get fit, I always looked at it as a mentally and physically relaxing practise - boyyyy, was I wrong about that! After practising everyday for the weeks of my course, and everyday since, I now notice that I am more toned and I can see muscle where I couldn't see any before. My upper body strength and my balance has increased immensely. I'm now able to do things with my body that I didn't even know I could do. A major thing that I learnt is that yoga is much more challenging than people expect. This course was an intense process to say the least, which in turn led to some deeply profound experiences that I was not expecting to have, (I will go in to more detail about this in part II) this whole experience has taught me so much and I feel truly blessed to be able to cherish and carry the memories and information with me. Through this course, I have fallen deeper in love with yoga and with myself also,  for me thats the best result I could have ever asked for.