Recent YTT Mentoring graduates share their experience:
“It was helpful to have some direct questions to answer as homework. Made me sit with something that I was processing. Thank you so much for your thoughtful suggestions and hearing my heart over email. I am feeling so much more comfortable, and at peace now that I have created this space and allowed some things to clear out. Thank you for encouraging me in my journey. I loved hearing from the group, different perspective and ideas! It helped me to be more vulnerable after getting to know a few of the ladies in break-out sessions.” – Trisha Russell
“In school - whether it was k-12, college, masters, or law school - I tended towards passive learning. Take in information, pay attention to detail, absorb, assimilate, consider, translate information, and regurgitate the information back to the instructor. Then I forget it, or at best, set it to the side.
Active learning, on the other hand, is student-centered. The way you presented the self-reflection emails, aligns so perfectly with how you approach yoga for every body, where they are. You provided multiple means of engagement and multiple means of action and expression. You provided choice.
You taught to a variety of learning styles and modalities and did so in a way that allowed me to find my own path and explore the material as it relates to my experiences. I appreciated the variety of topics we covered, and the ability to work at my own pace through the SAYF program. I also appreciated the times I could not work ahead, like in Pranayama. That "made" me integrate the practice even deeper.
Your formative assessments were designed to be real and meaningful for us as learners, and to provide you with actual data about our learning. More importantly, for me, they truly let me drop into svadhyaya, which I deeply appreciated. The formative assessments also meant that your summative assessments didn't need to be major and deep because you already had real knowledge of our learning. This made it easier for you to manage the summative assessments because the program could grade them for you. This was a wise use of technology, and a wise use of your resources of time and energy.
I appreciated how you invited us to be co-collaborators in the process. Providing feedback; deciding whether to continue into June; etc. I appreciated the groups I found myself in for break outs. They felt purposeful. They built collaboration and collegiality early on so that when it came to practice teaching we felt comfortable and safe being vulnerable in our practice...
One more thing I feel is important to say, I found the online platform easy to use...It is a common online instructional framework so may be I had that on my side. When coupled with the app, I felt I could always access whatever I needed, whenever I needed. It was an effective combination for me. This program was exactly what I was in search of when I first emailed you all those months ago. I plan to continue taking courses with you and look forward to all of the new offerings to come. May be one day we'll get to meet in person 🤞” – Karen Steele
“Trusted source, great depth, options for extended learning. This is exactly what my soul wanted….a mirror reflecting back at me via all the limbs of yoga. I wanted to carry my yoga more firmly off the mat and that is happening!! My first ever online program – very happy I had access to participate!” – Celeste Cosgrove
“I am particularly grateful for the community that has been fostered by this mentoring program. I feel so inspired by all of the students that I have met while being apart of this course. There has been so many amazing learning opportunities that I have received from this, and feel much more confident in my ability because of this deeper understanding. From alignment to correct vocabulary, there has been so many great takeaways from this program. I am excited to incorporate these teachings in my practice. Thank you Steph for providing the space for deepening our understanding of the philosophy of true yoga!” – Kylie Lehne
“I am grateful for the comprehensive material but most importantly for the encouragement to stay committed through your unwavering support, passion and attentiveness to our needs and challenges. Very thankful I learned about SAYF. I feel it’s enhanced my commitment and confidence in teaching, deepened and expanded my knowledge and skill set, and helped me become a more inclusive and safe teacher. It’s given me more faith in myself in holding the seat of teaching while opening my heart and feeling greater connection with the divine (and aspiring to hold space for others to have some manifestation of such experiences as well).” – Christina Lafever
“I cannot fully express my gratitude and awe I have for you and the mentorship program. It was amazing how you wove together a group of beautiful souls all entering this journey at different stages and gave us space to grow exactly where we were at. I would encourage anyone, no matter where they are on the path to do this mentorship. Thank you!” – Roberta Schmidt
“I love this mentoring program!!! I love you!!! I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to be in your program. One great thing about continuing my Yoga Teacher Training with you is that my Yoga Community has grown so much. The extra trainings that you have offered and having Swami visit and the trips I have made to Hood River to do class in person or on Zoom have just broadened my community. It has deepened my interests and my studies as well as my desire to know more. I feel that I have the motivation to review this program from the beginning and keep going. We are connected forever!!!” – Maggie Horn
“I’ve learned and grown a lot throughout this mentoring program and have been grateful for so much. One of the big ones for me was the sense of community. It was great connecting with other members during the break-out rooms each week or during retreat, I experienced lots of connections and got good advice from peers. On a different note, I was really grateful for the chakra course we did as it was all new information to me that I really connected with. Overall, I’m grateful to have learned about how yoga is so much more than just asana ❤️” – Lakeyn Westby
“I am grateful for the consistency that we had through this program and the self reflection emails, classes, and readings. Deepening my yoga practice has allowed me to relax more into the flow of life, to stay grounded when life gets stressful, and I think my confidence in myself has increased a bit. The weekly practices and being held accountable with the emails has taught me the importance of a daily practice. I think our culture loves big, dramatic “before and after”s, but the real, deeper, and long-lasting changes happen when we commit to daily practice, whether that’s practicing positive thoughts, or meditation, or a physical exercise program, and so on. Thank you so much for being my guide through this process. I’m super grateful for you and have learned SO much from you. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. 🙏” – Emily Sloan
“In school - whether it was k-12, college, masters, or law school - I tended towards passive learning. Take in information, pay attention to detail, absorb, assimilate, consider, translate information, and regurgitate the information back to the instructor. Then I forget it, or at best, set it to the side.
Active learning, on the other hand, is student-centered. The way you presented the self-reflection emails, aligns so perfectly with how you approach yoga for every body, where they are. You provided multiple means of engagement and multiple means of action and expression. You provided choice.
- Learner to content: For me, this is super important. The self-reflection emails tap into one of the main strategies for interactions in active learning: learner to content. I can integrate and regurgitate information but for me to truly internalize and apply new knowledge I have to actively engage with the content. Think, reflect, discuss, challenge per-conceived notions, challenge new information, analyze information, and dig into what I do not know about myself to gain deeper insights into myself and how I relate to the content. This provides the opportunity for me to apply the new knowledge in authentic contexts. This leads to deeper conceptual understanding and higher levels of success. It also ensures that the new learning is stored in my long-term memory.
- Learner to Instructor: The self-reflection emails also tap into another one of the main strategies for interactions in active learning: learner to instructor. Since I am on the other side of the country I found these emails critical to my experience with you as teacher. I decided early on to be open and honest in my exploration of the self-reflection emails. It turned out that I was also very excited to receive your thoughtful replies. They left me thinking even more. I felt a part of, even though I was far away. And, I felt that my learning was important to you even though we have never met in person. All of this motivated me to stay engaged with the content.
- Learner to Learner: I will also say, you are very effective at building into the course, the third type of interaction that is critical to active learning: learn to learner.
You taught to a variety of learning styles and modalities and did so in a way that allowed me to find my own path and explore the material as it relates to my experiences. I appreciated the variety of topics we covered, and the ability to work at my own pace through the SAYF program. I also appreciated the times I could not work ahead, like in Pranayama. That "made" me integrate the practice even deeper.
Your formative assessments were designed to be real and meaningful for us as learners, and to provide you with actual data about our learning. More importantly, for me, they truly let me drop into svadhyaya, which I deeply appreciated. The formative assessments also meant that your summative assessments didn't need to be major and deep because you already had real knowledge of our learning. This made it easier for you to manage the summative assessments because the program could grade them for you. This was a wise use of technology, and a wise use of your resources of time and energy.
I appreciated how you invited us to be co-collaborators in the process. Providing feedback; deciding whether to continue into June; etc. I appreciated the groups I found myself in for break outs. They felt purposeful. They built collaboration and collegiality early on so that when it came to practice teaching we felt comfortable and safe being vulnerable in our practice...
One more thing I feel is important to say, I found the online platform easy to use...It is a common online instructional framework so may be I had that on my side. When coupled with the app, I felt I could always access whatever I needed, whenever I needed. It was an effective combination for me. This program was exactly what I was in search of when I first emailed you all those months ago. I plan to continue taking courses with you and look forward to all of the new offerings to come. May be one day we'll get to meet in person 🤞” – Karen Steele
“Trusted source, great depth, options for extended learning. This is exactly what my soul wanted….a mirror reflecting back at me via all the limbs of yoga. I wanted to carry my yoga more firmly off the mat and that is happening!! My first ever online program – very happy I had access to participate!” – Celeste Cosgrove
“I am particularly grateful for the community that has been fostered by this mentoring program. I feel so inspired by all of the students that I have met while being apart of this course. There has been so many amazing learning opportunities that I have received from this, and feel much more confident in my ability because of this deeper understanding. From alignment to correct vocabulary, there has been so many great takeaways from this program. I am excited to incorporate these teachings in my practice. Thank you Steph for providing the space for deepening our understanding of the philosophy of true yoga!” – Kylie Lehne
“I am grateful for the comprehensive material but most importantly for the encouragement to stay committed through your unwavering support, passion and attentiveness to our needs and challenges. Very thankful I learned about SAYF. I feel it’s enhanced my commitment and confidence in teaching, deepened and expanded my knowledge and skill set, and helped me become a more inclusive and safe teacher. It’s given me more faith in myself in holding the seat of teaching while opening my heart and feeling greater connection with the divine (and aspiring to hold space for others to have some manifestation of such experiences as well).” – Christina Lafever
“I cannot fully express my gratitude and awe I have for you and the mentorship program. It was amazing how you wove together a group of beautiful souls all entering this journey at different stages and gave us space to grow exactly where we were at. I would encourage anyone, no matter where they are on the path to do this mentorship. Thank you!” – Roberta Schmidt
“I love this mentoring program!!! I love you!!! I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to be in your program. One great thing about continuing my Yoga Teacher Training with you is that my Yoga Community has grown so much. The extra trainings that you have offered and having Swami visit and the trips I have made to Hood River to do class in person or on Zoom have just broadened my community. It has deepened my interests and my studies as well as my desire to know more. I feel that I have the motivation to review this program from the beginning and keep going. We are connected forever!!!” – Maggie Horn
“I’ve learned and grown a lot throughout this mentoring program and have been grateful for so much. One of the big ones for me was the sense of community. It was great connecting with other members during the break-out rooms each week or during retreat, I experienced lots of connections and got good advice from peers. On a different note, I was really grateful for the chakra course we did as it was all new information to me that I really connected with. Overall, I’m grateful to have learned about how yoga is so much more than just asana ❤️” – Lakeyn Westby
“I am grateful for the consistency that we had through this program and the self reflection emails, classes, and readings. Deepening my yoga practice has allowed me to relax more into the flow of life, to stay grounded when life gets stressful, and I think my confidence in myself has increased a bit. The weekly practices and being held accountable with the emails has taught me the importance of a daily practice. I think our culture loves big, dramatic “before and after”s, but the real, deeper, and long-lasting changes happen when we commit to daily practice, whether that’s practicing positive thoughts, or meditation, or a physical exercise program, and so on. Thank you so much for being my guide through this process. I’m super grateful for you and have learned SO much from you. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. 🙏” – Emily Sloan
