Yoga Teacher Training as a Threshold
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Yoga Teacher Training in Oregon: A Story of Truth, Embodiment, and Remembering
Earlier this week, I met with a yoga student just to hang out at a local coffee shop. As someone who guides a yoga teacher training in Oregon, moments like these remind me why this work matters so deeply.
One of my favorite things in the world is to sit and listen to stories. Real life stories. The hard parts and the hope that somehow still lives alongside them.
She shared about her six children, how deeply they adore her, and how she’s standing in the middle of a big life change. One that feels uncertain, tender, and also strangely ripe.
And it reminded me of something.
When Life Cracks Us Open
In 2010, I was in a marriage that came to an end. Growing up as a missionary kid, divorce never felt like a real option. Especially not in my twenties. And yet, I knew I had to trust what was unfolding, even when it didn’t make sense.
That moment led me to my first yoga teacher training. It connected so many missing links in my spiritual life. And honestly, I’m still connecting those dots.
But more than anything, it taught me how to be with myself. That immersive experience gave me space to listen inward, to be surrounded by others who were also seeking, and to feel enlivened again.
Satya and the Practice of Truthful Listening in Yoga
One of the eight limbs of yoga is called Satya, truthfulness. And one of the most powerful ways to practice it is surprisingly simple.
You sit with someone you love and you listen.
You gaze into their left eye, the receiving side, and ask a question. The hard part isn’t asking. It’s answering truthfully. Not from habit. Not from expectation.
Try this sometime:
- Sit across from your friend, partner, lover, or child.
- Gaze into their left eye and ask, “How do you feel?”
- And instead of answering right away with “I’m fine,” sit for a moment. Thirty seconds. Even if it feels like an eternity. Notice what shifts underneath that first response.
- The one asking the question simply listens. No fixing. No advising.
Now, back to my story.
A Question That Changed Everything during my YTT
We were sitting in a group circle during my yoga teacher training at Yandara Yoga Institute when the next Satya question came to me:
“What is your gift? And what is holding you back?”
Because I was last, my mind had plenty of time to rehearse an answer. So when it was my turn, I paused briefly and then offered what my head thought was the right response.
Something like: “My gift is giving love without limitation or judgment. And what holds me back is the fear that it won’t be enough.”
My teacher, Shane Christopher Perkins, looked at me and gently asked, “What if you didn’t have to give love?”
That stopped me.
Yoga Means Union
If I wasn’t giving love, then maybe it was simply overflowing. Maybe I wasn’t depleting myself at all and would never lack. Maybe I was just sharing what already was and would always be enough.
Having deep roots in Christianity, and also feeling the interconnectedness that had been missing in the tradition I grew up in, I had been longing to bridge that gap.
And in that moment, I realized something profound. I didn’t have to give love away.
If love was flowing through me without depletion, then I was love.
That was the beginning of a deep remembering.
If God is love, and I am love, then there is no separation.
Not in a heretical way. But as a channel. A vessel. A living expression of unity.
Did you know the word yoga literally means union?
Not God out there and little me over here. But the weaving together of the divine masculine and feminine. What yoga calls ida and pingala, Shiva and Shakti, Purusha and Parvati, spiraling around the central channel and rising into remembrance.
Okay. I know. This might feel a little whoa, Jill. And if you’ve read this far, thank you.
What Yoga Teacher Training (right here in southern Oregon) Really Wakes Up
Here’s the thing.
Yoga teacher training wakes you up to what is ready to turn on inside of you. Your spark might look nothing like mine. You might not resonate with any of this. And that’s okay.
You don’t come to YTT to adopt someone else’s truth. You come to discover your own.
Not to disconnect more. Not to choose one path over another. But to remember that there was never a wrong choice to begin with.
Your soul came here to experience being human. So let yourself experience it more fully.
The 200hr Mahasana Yoga Teacher Training in Klamath Falls, Oregon
The Mahasana Yoga Teacher Training right here in Southern Oregon begins February 20, and there is still time to join us.
This 200 hour yoga teacher training in Oregon is for those who feel called into a deeper relationship with their body, their life, and their inner knowing. Whether or not you plan to teach, this training offers a space to be supported, challenged, and changed in quiet and meaningful ways.
The training is based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with a hybrid option available for those who need flexibility while staying deeply connected to the experience.
If you’re curious and want to talk it through, I invite you to book a call with me. Scholarships and financial support are available, and I’m always happy to have an honest conversation about what feels supportive and realistic.
Learn more about the Mahasana Yoga Teacher Training in Oregon, or text me {Jill Nelson} directly to schedule a call at 541 348 3888.
Learn more about the Mahasana Yoga Teacher Training in Southern Oregon
This Is Not About Becoming Someone New
If your heart has been leaning forward while reading this, pay attention. That quiet pull matters.
This isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about coming back to what’s already alive inside you.
