Yogi Teacher Training Testimonials
 
These are a few comments from students in the St. Petersburg Yoga Yogi Teacher Training program.
 

"I just wanted to say thank you for such a powerful beginning to our yoga teacher training.

I have already gotten my monies worth in the impact the information has had on my practice. Of course this is the beginning and there is the whole seven months to maintain...

However I am so deeply grateful for the deeper understanding I have already about what yoga is and how to do the practice of asana and meditation without "torture", as Ruben says, but with grace. What a difference it made to me this morning to do downward dog as a dog does it, with delight, instead of struggle. That one piece has changed my whole practice.
 

Also the article telling me how to focus when I'm doing my asanas has helped me let go. Really that is my main challenge... to let go of struggle and trying so hard. I feel I 've made a great movement in that direction already. Of course struggle may continue to rear its ugly head in different ways I presume, but for now I really am enjoying the last two days of my practice in a whole new way.

thank you. thank you. thank you." -Anne

On the Yamas and Niyamas:

" I have been really grateful for the practice of Ahimsa. It is helping me restructure myself in a way that is making me happier and easier for other people to be around (me)" - Anne
 

On Asana:

"Hey, today's class made me think of gymnastics. I've been tumbling in my YARD!!... kartwheels, roundoffs, handstands!!! I realize that when I focus on the breathing and keeping the flow ---keeping air in the stomach... that I find balance and almost feel weightless --- like a string on the bottoms of my feet pulling me up towards the sky. Wow. That's awesome. Yoga is such an amazing tool... brings us back to our nature... our true self. And, there's so much power in the breath... but just so hard to always make it flow. " -Tara
 

On Pranayama:

" I noticed that each Pranayama technique offered me a calming and grounding experience. I found myself being present and energized after each practice...It is quite clear to me the value of Pranayama and the connection of my breath to body, soul and mind."- Gary
 

On Chanting:

" Concentration on the sound brings me inward and relaxes my body. Sometimes I have felt lightness and a feeling of being the only one in the room, even though I am with a group. The energy allows me to be completely still in my mind." - Erin

On the Subtle Body work:

"The Chakra exercise was very powerful. I have not experienced this exercise with this many people, and energy permeated my entire being. I felt I was truly "in the present moment". There was no strain, no pain, only presence. I honored each chakra as the chakra honored my body, the prana flowing." - Chica

 

On Vinyasa classes at St Pete Yoga:
 

"Just as humans are not exactly the same, you will find each human that teaches Vinyasa does not teach it the same. I have had the pleasure of sampling a few of the Vinyasa classes at St. Petersburg Yoga and I have found them all to be a very good and very different experience.

Chris Acosta teaches his Vinyasa class to take it slow. He utilizes the strength of the body and the mind to connect his practice. While you are left “holding the pose” he explains how to get in and out of the pose in a gentle yet remarkably powerful way. He often uses physical yoga tools to take the class on an exploration, one that they probably do not experience in other classes. But what Chris does best is to use the mental yoga tools in his class. He takes you on a slow journey, taking time in each pose, one pose falls into the next pose, feeling the self in the pose, the body, the mind. Always reminding us of our edge and to be mindful of it. To finish, there is a long savasana practice. Slow like the more active movements. It leaves you with the feeling that you just experienced a very personal and up close yoga practice.

Laura is another Vinyasa teacher at St. Petersburg yoga. Laura’s classes are about energy. Poses fall into one another, but unlike Chris’s practice, this is a fast paced practice that will keep your heart pumping and your body moving. Both classes make your heart increase, but in Laura’s class you will have a more rhythmic experience. She begins her class with an Om and a yoga mantra and she ends her class with a reading, and an Om. She is not shy about speaking about sharing the philosophical yoga at the beginning and ending of her classes and she does so with great vigor. She also teaches the asana practice with that same vigor. In Chris’s class you will hold the weight of your body and feel a work out. In Laura’s class you will feel as though you have run a marathon while holding the weight of your body. If you like to sweat, this is the class for you. " - Catherine
 
  

On the St Petersburg Yoga Yogi Teacher Training Program:
 

“I want to express my gratitude for being a student of St. Petersburg Yoga and the opportunity to gain so much knowledge of the asana practice from the instructors that I have had at SPY. Saturday in the teacher training session I saw what a difference that it has made in my teacher training. Early on as I started this practice I was there with a competitive attitude and through the 3 years of classes with Chris, Ruben and Julie, I learned to reevaluate where I was coming from, what I was doing and where I was going with the practice. The biggest thing I have learned is what it really meant to listen and that I have just begun to tap into my real potential and highest self."

"In 2007 I saw the commentary about St. Petersburg Yoga in Tampa Bay Magazine. I read the info and as I had been working 14 hour days 7 days a week on a computer and dealing with toxic situations and people, I thought, I really need to explore some new outlet to get away from work and my computer. From there the rest is history. I love all aspects of the practice, philosophy and challenges of the assignments in teacher training. The whole transformation for me as a yogi in training is very comfortable and I love what it has done for me personally and my family is embracing what I share and the new compassionate person that I have become."

"In the last month  I learned more about the spiritual aspects that I witnessed without any information before teacher training started. Slowly I began understanding that my life had been a big mess with outside expectations from work, family and friends along with mental chatter, family judgement, social judgement and just all kinds of huge negative influences. All of this information has allowed me to release the shackles that created chronic mental blocks that stole my peacefulness."
 

“Thanks for the wonderful program, your light, love, and knowledge. It has been a wonderful growing experience. I have mixed emotions about the closing of this course. I am happy to have the time back in my life, as it seems time is something we are always looking for more of, but I am sad because it has really been such a beautiful experience that I wish could last even longer. It is with this knowledge I am aware that this is just the opening of a door that has a path that can be trodden for life. While essentially I did the work, thank you immensely for providing the safe environment and tools for cultivation.”
 

“I was enjoying a lovely evening of philosophy and inspirational texts and it made me very compelled to share some insights. Between "The Four Agreements" and "The Sutras" that I have been enveloped with this evening I am very inspired about a life journey towards light and bliss. The person I am today, has changed immensely from the person I was when I first set foot in St. Pete yoga for my first ever yoga class, and even the person who walked into the teacher training program. I look forward into the ways in which I can grow and become more impeccable with time. I am well aware that this change, growth, development has been from my own creation. However, I owe a very large thank you to everyone at this studio for providing me with the tools to culminate this growth. Also for providing an environment that not only encouraged growth and change, but made this process feel welcoming, comforting and safe which is often times not the case. I know that you all have put a great amount of time and effort into developing this program, and I was feeling compelled this evening to let you know that I believe that it has really proved its worth. I hope that through the years you each are able to share this gift of light and love with many others! Thank you for all your time and thoughtfulness! Peace, love and sunshine!”
 

“I entered this program with the desire to deepen my own practice. It’s hard for me to recall the details of exactly what I thought I was looking for, but there was no way to predict how much deeper into my practice I could move…and can still. Today, my practice incorporates the 8-limbs of this beautiful yogic path. I continually remind myself of ahimsa. My pranayama practice has made me much more aware of my breath throughout the day, and is a wonderful way to incorporate Yoga into every aspect of life. It immediately helps me focus, calm my mind, and allows me to be in the present moment. These techniques have made meditation accessible for me. I’m now able to sit, relax, focus and turn inward without anxiety.”
 

“The transformation from a constant external observation of others to a mindful observation of self has left me feeling stronger, less judgmental, and more trusting of myself to be able to follow through on just what my body needs.”
 

“I recall my beginner practice leaving me feeling as though I never wanted to get off my mat –as if all the benefits would be rolled up and placed in my bag. I now feel stronger and more capable of carrying the experience of the benefits of a continuous Yoga practice throughout every single moment of my day. For this, I am eternally grateful for the time and patience I have given myself, but also the time, energy, patience, and love that was shared from all of my peers in class and each teacher we experienced through the program, especially Julie, Rubén, Suzanne, and Chris.”
 
 

“Two big words that come up for me is self-acceptance and trust. I definitely accept myself and everyone else around me far more easily than before. I am less judgmental of other’s paths and I truly trust my process or my path on my spiritual journey so much more than I did prior to the training.”
 
 

“I now have this magnificent toolbox and wonderful friends and teachers that I didn’t before. I know that I will continue on this yogic path that has been calling to me for many years before I finally was ready to answer.”
 

“I have not yet reached the level of meditation where I achieve stillness, but I have reached my Dharana, my concentration. It has been a pleasant surprise to me at how concentrated I have become in the last eight months and how I now have the ability to stay on my objective of what being a yogi means to me.”
 
 

“When I do my Yoga now, it is not as a competitive sport. It is not to see how close I can look like the person that is practicing next to me. Of course, I want to achieve a better form and more poses, but it is where my spirit is when I am doing my practice that is different now. When I am doing my practice, I am no longer looking outward, but inward.”
 

“The rest of the Yoga practice I have learned from my weekend classroom intensive discussions of the eight limbs of Yoga with my fellow fledgling yogis and my gracious teachers. In these sessions I have become better at ‘staying present’, even after five straight hours of sutra deliberations. I have become ‘closer to God’, by recognizing how to become more impeccable with my words as I shared my thoughts and I have begun to ‘live with intention’ by accomplishing on more than one occasion, to not be too attached and not to make assumptions as I listened to others share their thoughts.”

 

“This ‘How to be a Yogi’ training has been one of the most profound things I have ever undertaken. These 7 months initiated a change in me that will guide me for the rest of my life. I am as happy as I have ever been and file like I am growing in every positive way every day.”
 

“The end result is I am a Yoga teacher, a position that I take very seriously and consider to be a very high honor. On a weekly basis I teach 3 to 5 classes and reach 30 to 70 people. [I have gone from] a corporate professional career to Yoga teacher, life has gotten better everyday. I am totally in love with all who have had a part in this transition and eternally grateful to them all”
 
 
 

“I know that this yogi teacher training program allowed me a chance to better understand and gain more awareness of who I am.”
 
 
 
 
 “Physically I have gotten healthier and stronger. I feel better than I have in a long time. I listen more to my body, breath and mind when I practice asana and in my daily life. Through the process of this program I became more aware of when I was pushing myself physically, noticed my impatience, and disconnection between my mind and body. I realized that it takes time to cultivate listening inward.”
 
 
  
 “Emotionally, I am more balanced. I’ve battled depression and anxiety for a number of years. I kept them in check with counseling, but with Yoga I was able to do work on my own. It has given me a new sense of self-confidence and personal power. Several of the eightfold path steps were beneficial in my emotional transformation. The yamas helped me realize how harmful my negative thoughts were. Pranayama and meditation helped calm my mind. It was like I could take a deep breath in my brain and exhale the unnecessary, harmful emotions and thoughts. Pratyahara was essential in teaching me how to be a witness to my emotions as opposed to a player in the emotional game. I now have the skill to remove myself from the emotional cycle and keep myself ground and balanced.”
 
 
 
 
 “I feel an ease teaching Yoga that I have never felt before in any other profession. When I am able to help people relax and feel better a wave of joy and contentment washes over my whole body.”
 
 
 
 
“I honor and appreciate this experience and all that I learned. I thank St. Petersburg Yoga, all the teachers, and fellow yogis. A warm glowing light shines brightly from deep within me and lights up my world. It is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to walk down this path, to gather so many beautiful flowers along the way, and to know that the path does not end.”
 
 
 
 
“My journey has only just begun and I feel so well equipped with a foundation of basic understanding that drives my desire to know more and continuously move forward. The weekend discussions were so powerful in showing me too that all of our journeys are unique and as a yogi, we are called to recognize, respect and foster another’s journey with humility and non-judgment.”
 
  
 
 “The classes that I personally enjoyed the most were spiritual bringing more fully alive the light that was burning brighter as a result of studying Patanjali’s Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita. The sharing and connectedness of other fellow students and the witnessing of their transformations, as well as their struggles as the passed through them, were equally as searing on the heart, soul, spirit and intellect. The 101 introductions to Yoga philosophy, Kriya, Ayurveda, Kripalu, Vinyasa, Anusara, Anatomy & Phisiology, Restorative Yoga, and Yogic Fast have given me a taste of the broad spectrum that will serve as a foundational layer for more learning as I experientially seek."
 
 
 
 
“My views of Yoga at the beginning and at the present have changed so much! This Yoga certification has taught me the history, philosophy and the path (the eight limb path) to god. I really enjoy the Gita and the wonderful history it gives us. The Gita is a story or a prince and his spiritual guide that helped him make the proper decisions in life. The battlefield that the Gita opens with is a parable to life. The battlefield s daily life, and as we live in this battlefield of life we need a spiritual guide to help keep us on the right track, and to guide us, as we strive to reach Samadhi.”
 
 
  
“Thank you Chris, Julie, Suzanne, and Rubén for all the time and energy that you so openly gave. The certification was great, I loved all of it. Thank you with heartfelt gratitude.”
 
 

“I have grown significantly in my self care through the readings, homework assignments, class discussion and practice. I have expanded from strictly asana and journaling practice to a more intentional daily practice which includes Pranayama, meditation, and Pratyahara. I have found these practices calm my mind, keep my body and spirit centered, allow me to be present and mindful and promote a sense of inner peace and calm. I have gained a stronger understanding of how each of these areas promotes better health and balance in my life.”
 

 
 
“I have personally benefited from the teacher training particularly in showing compassion towards those around me.”

 
 

“I have thoroughly enjoyed opportunities to practice and apply the knowledge and skills I gained through the teacher training. The opportunity to teach other teacher training students helped me find my voice and gain confidence in my new knowledge and skills.”
 
 
 
 
“I anticipate that Yoga will continue to be a significant influence on the rest of my life. I am excited to be on this journey and proud of myself for making the commitment to complete the teacher training and enrich my life strengthening my commitment to selfless service toward those around me.”