Why Teacher training
Our Teacher Training Staff reflect on their 200 hour training Experiences
By: Amanda Briody, Allison Korycki, Alex D’Agostino, Christen Schritter, Elizabeth Scollan, Sarah Cook, Tami Jacobs
a yoga teacher training is not a means to an end. it is an open door, inviting you in to a world of never-ending curiosity and wonder. while some students join a yoga teacher training to become a yoga teacher, many sign up because it is an opportunity to deepen their practice. but what does that even mean? deepen the practice?
well lets start with the word “deep.” it’s the opposite of superficial, the antonym of shallow. it is profound, full, mysterious, bottomless, and often intense. taking a yoga class is like snorkeling a well known reef. joining a yoga teaching training is plunging into the depths of the ocean and shining your flashlight here and there. you will experience more than you knew was possible and yet there will always be more to explore.
deepening the practice means going beyond what content a 60 minute vinyasa yoga class allows for. it is giving yourself ample space and time to study the history and philosophy of the yogic tradition. to become more familiar with its roots and what branch you live on. it is getting granular about the yoga asanas and anatomy, learning sanskrit, studying the texts and diving in to all 8 limbs of yoga, not just the physical poses. it is deep personal inquiry and finding your voice. not just in a yoga room, but in any space. learning more about yourself and how you want to show up in the world.
deepening your yoga practice is empowering. it gives you more knowledge and more tools to show up for yourself, even when someone else is leading the class. and especially when you are out in the world. so no, you don’t need a desire to teach yoga to join a teacher training, you just need love for the practice, a curious spirit, and trust in your Self. everything is going to unfold exactly as it should.
here are some of your teacher trainers sharing reflections from their yoga teacher trainings and offering encouragement to anyone considering the 200 hour at Soulage this fall.
Allison Korycki
Teacher Training was one of the most spiritually transformative experiences of my life. The deep sharing, the vulnerability, the way you are pushed to your physical and mental limits, all within the safe container my classmates & trainers provided. I have never felt more seen, heard, or cared for than in the sacred circle of my yoga teacher training.
Amanda Briody
my favorite part about yoga teacher training was learning the philosophy, specifically the yoga sutras. this is how teacher training changed my life. I didn’t just read that book
- I studied it. I filled journals with my reflections on how each sutra was connected to my modern life. how each lesson showed up and changed how I participated in my own story. to me, this is really how you take yoga off the mat and I am forever grateful for the sacred space I had to evolve.
Elizabeth Scollan:
I came into teacher training during a season when my life was in deep transition. I knew I wanted to understand yoga more fully, but I had no idea how much I didn’t yet know. It felt like moving through a tunnel with a flashlight, then suddenly stepping out into a vast, living landscape. The experience transformed my relationship with my body, my inner world, and the way I move through life itself. What I embodied from teacher training became a kind of compass; something that has continued to give direction to the choices I’ve made since. Even in moments of flux, I still feel deeply oriented. Fifteen years later, the seed it planted is still growing deeper roots, and the hunger to keep learning has never left me.
Tami Jacobs
I could go on an on about all the ways in which teacher training impacted me. In 2004 I was 23 years old and searching for a sense of belonging. Teacher training was like walking through the portal to the rest of my life. Yoga became the lens through which I looked at the world. It widened my perspective and continues to expand my curiosity for growth and view of myself.
In retrospect it feels like I gave myself an enormous gift. A desire to make the unconscious conscious subconciously. lol
Sarah Cook
A few years into practicing yoga, I knew I wanted to take a teacher training. It was just a question of when. As per my M.O., I always hem and haw a bit. What finally pushed me over the edge was one day, I was talking to a good friend about yoga. Again. For the zillionth time. And she very lovingly replied, I'm stoked that you love this stuff so much but you HAVE to talk to someone who's interested. Like yoga students. GO TO TEACHER TRAINING! And so I did.
Alex D’Agostino
I was so enamored by the somatic wisdom of my yoga teachers, and wanted to learn as much about yoga as I possibly could. Teacher training felt like an inevitable step on my yogic path.
I was surprised when the sequences became automatic and more fluid. Being immersed in the study of asana allowed me to find my own approach to building and leading classes.
Christen Schritter
If teacher training at Soulage has been lingering in the back of your mind, consider this your invitation to bring it to the forefront. You will be in such good hands. Every teacher here has at least 10+ years of seasoned teaching experience. Additionally, it’s such a treat to have so many different teachers leading the training to give different perspectives and insights.
Yoga Teacher training at Soulage Begins the Weekend of October 9th. And meets at least one weekend a month into June of 2027.
1 Bipoc scholarship and 1 financial aid scholarship are available. Please email us at soulagecollective@gmail.com for information about these options.