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We just passed the halfway point of the Teacher Training and its at this junction that so many elements come together.  In the past few weeks there has been a steady  but rapid progression of:  lectures, practicing, learning new poses, Sanskrit, philosophy, anatomy, practice teaching and written homework assignments.  It’s a rigorous program and as a teacher, I have to keep everyone motivated, engaged and work hard to present all of the topics in an organized manner.  It’s also at this junction, that I know everyone’s name–all twenty-eight of them–their personalities and who may need a little encouragement.   At week five we had the emotional “Check-in Circle” –it’s when everyone either expresses their fears, insecurities or how they feel inspired.  “Check-in-Circles” are always tough–lots of tears.  Afterwards, shaken and ‘teary” myself,  I said everyone was going to make it through, “those of you who are worried about completing the program will go on to be great teachers and those of you who are already teachers, will be better teachers.”  I then had us recite the “Sarvesham Chant”….”Loka Samastha Sukinoh Bhavantu.”   I was surprised that the words had just tumbled out of my mouth–instinct told me it was the right thing to say at the moment.  The thing I realized as I walked home that evening is that I’m not just a teacher trainer, I have to lead, help them understand and encourage them to grow–and the pressure of that responsibility can be overwhelming.  However, these students motivate me to work throughout the week preparing the lessons and show up on Saturday and Sunday to teach.  I’m seeing a lot of progress:  they are getting stronger in their asana practice, have more confidence with their practice teaching sessions and are improving with their written homework assignments.  We’ve also made it through  some tough assignments: Samadhi Pada & Sadhana Padha of the Yoga Sutras; a number of anatomy topics (the pelvis and planes of movement, shoulder girdle, spine );  subtle body and the dreaded  Surya Namaskar A & B,  Standing Twists and Urdhva Dhanurasana practice sessions.  We have four more weeks and still lots of material to cover, but we’re having a good time together and will support each other until the end.