Interview : Cynthia Joanne Naydani

This series of interviews is designed to help you learn from other yoga teacher’s experience. After all, who else is better to help you understand how to become a yoga teacher?

Cynthia is one of my current teachers here on Koh Tao, which seems a fitting place to start this series of interviews – in the present!

Why did you decide to take your (first) yoga teacher training course? Did you always know you would teach?

I had been wanting to complete a yoga teacher training course for a long time, but never really had the opportunity. I’d been living overseas and working with neither the time nor money to spare. Returning home to Canada, I ended up living in the yoga mecca of Vancouver, BC. I wasn’t working much and spent all my time at Semperviva Yoga, taking 2-3 classes per day to learn as much as I possibly could. They were offering a 200hr YTT and the timing was right, so I signed up! I did want to be a yoga teacher, yoga was and is the focus of my life and I couldn’t think of any better career than sharing my passion with others.

What advice would you give to those choosing their course?

I really think it’s important to have a good connection with your teacher trainer(s). Whenever possible I recommend that aspiring teachers take a YTT with teachers that they have already met, and, ideally, practiced with. Not every teacher suits every student, and sometimes people are just on different wavelengths or have different vibes. A 200hr YTT is a huge commitment in terms of time, energy, and cash, so it’s important to invest wisely. Having said that, I know that it’s not always possible for people to do training with teachers they know. In that case my recommendation is to contact the facilitators directly and to see what sort of response you get, and then to listen to your intuition!

What’s the biggest / most important thing you learnt during your yoga teacher training course?

I learned that, just like being a yoga student, teaching yoga is a constant work in progress. Just because I attended a 200hr training and had a certificate with my name on it, declaring me to be a yoga teacher, did not mean that I knew everything about teaching yoga! A first 200hr YTT is just the tip of the iceberg, it’s the foundation upon which endless study is built. A 200hr training can be a bit overwhelming as there is so much information to be shared. It’s important to remember that it takes time, patience, dedication, and hard work to become an effective teacher - just like it takes to be a yoga student!

What advice would you give to someone teaching their first class?

Take deep breaths!!! That’s the most important thing. When you cue your students to breathe, breathe with them. Other than that, keep it simple! There will be lots of time for complicated sequences, tricky transitions, and breaking down big poses further in one’s teaching career. Initially, it’s best to stick to simple sequencing of poses that you know really well, and to focus instead on communicating clearly and concisely. Also, expect to learn a lot more than you teach - being a yoga teacher is really just another flavor of being a yoga student, and a good teacher will always learn from his or her students.

Which is your favourite asana? Which is the one you find challenging or the one you are currently working on?

I have lots of favourites, depending on the day! I do love being upside down though, and so inversions are my favourite. I am working on handstand variations a lot these days. My favourite poses are always the ones that challenge me the most - I love a challenge! I love yin yoga a lot too, and make sure to do some yin every day to keep my body open and my mind well adapted to joyful discomfort ;)

Qualifications

200hr YTT at Semperviva Yoga, in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which included the styles of hatha, vinyasa, kundalini and yin

500hr advanced YTT with Denise Payne of One Song Yoga, in Bali, Indonesia, focusing on power vinyasa and yin,

Served as faculty for a 200hr YTT with One Song Yoga in Jakarta, Indonesia

Yin yoga teacher training with Sebastian Pucelle and Murielle Burellier in Koh Samui

Cynthia has had the great fortune to have studies with internationally known teachers including Meghan Currie, Bernie Clark, Seane Corn, Janet Stone, Michael Stone, Eoin Finn, Les Levanthal, etc.…

Find and Practice with Cynthia

Cynthia teaches here on Koh Tao, Thailand. Her website and Instagram account is below.

www.oceansoundyoga.com

www.instagram.com/cynthiajoanneyoga

You’ll also find her in Bunaken, North Sulawesi, in February teaching a yoga retreat that includes some of the best scuba diving in the world. Check it out here..

Cynthia recomended some great books for you to read which are available in our store. Check it out here

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