Biki TTC Testimonial
There are many different teacher trainings out there and I am really blessed that life narrowed it down for me to this one, Joy Yoga Centre Teacher’s Training Course. I did not have to search nor have to compare one institution from the other, the universe just brought the insitution and the course to me.
At that time I had no intention of becoming a yoga teacher. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I was naïve and open. The only thing I knew was that I had an intense burning desire and interest in myself as a naturally living being. I needed to deepen my understanding of life and my being at the core of things.
I dived in into this life-changing opportunity, I trusted and knew without any doubt that there were treasures waiting to be discovered which were hidden deep at the centre of this opportunity which presented itself as a yoga teacher’s training course.
It has been the most incredible awakening experience of my body, mind, heart, soul and my understanding of yoga. I have gained confidence and deeper love in who I am and what I am capable of. I have deepend both my yoga and spiritual practice as a whole.
There are no words enough to express my gratitude for the wonderful experience I have had at the sacred, Joy Yoga Centre Teacher’s Training Course under the gentle but yet intense spiritual guidance and supervision of Wynand Van Der Walt, largely in expanding my knowledge of yoga and rediscovering my being with its purpose and talents. “The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the greatest teacher inspires”. Thank you for being such an inspiring teacher! Thank you for opening my eyes and helping me to wake up. You held the space for me as I was shedding off my old leaves and waiting for my spring to become this magnificent being I am today. Thank you so much for selflessly sharing your wisdom and knowledge.
I am extremely content with where I am at this moment, inspired to stay present and continue learning.
My fellow teachers in training, were divinely hand-picked to complement me during the course. Thank you for your being and for lending me your kindness on days I could not give myself the kindness I needed. You decorated the sacred space of my training where my soul was safe and at peace.
I was so impressed with the structure and content of the course. The course was intense and demanding. The amount of information I had to absorb with my limited mind over a period of 11 months is mind-blowing. Even though I really struggled with keeping the balance of the physical demands of committing to my daily practice of yoga, studying, being a mother of 3 kids, wife and employee at the same time, I found myself falling behind at times, but I was so impressed at how my body was able to process the information that I have learned and also capable of doing even way beyond my expectations. In the midst of all these demands I also really felt there was time and space to listen and be attentive to the physical, emotional and spiritual changes that were happening to me, which were amazing and wonderful.
Because I have rediscovered myself and purpose in life, I feel I can now contribute in a much better way to making the Universe lighter and happier. “Taking care of yourself is an essential part of taking care of others. The healthier the tree, the better the fruit it can offer”. I can now serve and give love through teaching yoga.
Bernice TTC
Testimonial
In the beginning of this year I embarked on a life-changing journey with great enthusiasm and an open heart and mind, ready to absorb as much as I can to direct my life into a richerdirection of serving others as a yoga teacher. A dream come true, an intention I made years ago! Little did I know what a great adventure it would be indeed!
As within, so without. As Above, so below. To serve others, to love others, to give to others, we first have to go within. We have to clean up our act, to interact with unconditional love towards others. We have to purify our selves first, we have to go within, being in stillness with our purest, truest selves. And this was the challenge for the first half of the year of the training. We really broke down the Self that we used to know. We explored deeply. We found many new insights and perspectives. Meeting up with the magnificent potential within. Some days were exciting, some days were really tough. Purification all the way!
An we did it, and we made it, all worth it in the end! And then the journey started taking a new direction towards the outside. Using the insights and work done on the Self to serve others. We learned so much about working with people. From how the body works, how the mind works, how the emotions work to all aspects of a being, and how the work as a yoga teacher can contribute in helping the individual to integrate all these aspects. To guide them to a living a healthy, beautiful fulfilled life.
I feel deeply grateful when I search within my heart, that beautiful silence within and with a deep knowing know that I, that Life will never be the same again ever for my self and for
those I am blessed to interact with!!
The words of our chant, feels so much different and more deeper now than from when we started to sing it in the beginning of the year: Serve – Love – Give – Purify – Meditate – Realize Be good – do good – be kind – be compassionate Adapt – Adjust – accommodate Bear insult – bear injury Highest Sadhana!!!
I feel truly blessed when I look back at this year, to see all that we have learned, and all of it is hundreds and hundreds of years worth of knowledge and wisdom we had access to, all excellently and perfectly structured in almost 300 hours.
Wynand is truly a master in what he does, an excellent teacher and mentor, with so much clarity, courage, power, kindness and compassion. He never seizes to inspire!! TTC 2019 surely exceeded my expectations by far! Thank you so much Wynand!!
Leigh TTC Testimonial
When I first signed up for my Yoga TTC course I was blissfully ignorant about what it would entail and how all-consuming it would be.
This year has been intense, scary, exhausting, overwhelming and enlightening all at once. There were more than a few times that I came close to chucking in the towel. It was in these times a needed to dig deep and reconnect with my ultimate reason for doing this.
I was, however, utterly certain throughout it all that I was here, in this place, with these people, at this time for a reason and that the universe was trying to teach me something.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have been here with me. It has been an honour, pleasure and privilege to share this year with you. Thank you for your blunt honesty, sharing your energy and for holding space.
So I stuck it out, and tried to listen to what She was telling me. I am glad I did. I have learnt so much this year, and the changes have been immense. While I can say that I am glad the course is over, I am also grateful for everything I have learnt. And I know that although the course is over, the change is not done yet, and all my lessons have yet to be learnt.
I look forward to finding where this path takes me in future.
Namaste
Marina TTC Testimonial
The guidelines for today was to give a testimonial of my experience the past months that was the TTC-course. How do you give a testimonial in words / this thing called language which is so limited by its very definition? The closest I could get was to fall back on poetry – words that are used to convey so much more. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How do I love thee” immediately came to mind. So, please bear with me while I attempt to give words to this experience that is TTC.
How grateful am I – for the light, the love, the connection, to learn the difference between letting go and really letting go, to learn how to just be – and to just be here now, to surrender, to allow myself to feel what I feel, and to believe in what I feel, to embrace myself as I embrace the other, to accept myself as I accept the other, to love myself as I love others and to care for myself as I care for others. To finally learn that it is okay to also love and care for myself, and to get to understand the meaning of the phrase “you cannot pour from an empty cup”.
The gratitude for feeling a connection to the Divine that goes beyond words, to be in the presence of that which cannot be named by just tuning in, and to see a spark of that in everyone I meet. Gone is anger, irritability and frustration - most of the time. And if they do return, I now know to look for the light outside and within and let that be my guide. The gratitude to have built a connection with a special group of souls – a circle of unconditional love and acceptance – because let’s face it nothing binds one together such as a shared experience of going through a voluntary enema, or seeing someone’s face when they have not eaten solid food for a couple of days, or the stress when presenting your first yoga class. The gratitude for seeing the light in my loved ones, for the immeasurable joy that brings, and for the privilege to witness the light so strongly in my boys’ eyes. But also the sadness that comes with knowing that we all had that once, and that, for many reasons, we lost it or forgot about it along the way. The gratitude to gain feel a deep connection with nature, to look with fresh eyes and see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
The gratitude for the depth, the breadth and height of my life’s journey thus far. To finally be at a place of acceptance – of the good, and the not-so-good, of the happiness, and the heart-breaking losses; of surrender to the joy, the peace, but also the sorrow and grief, for without these I would not have found my way here, I would not have gone through this TTC journey in the way that I did, and there would be a fairly good chance that I would not have stayed committed / stuck it out. In short, without those life’s experiences, losses and joys and without the way I got to process them through the TTC-journey I would not have been able to stand here today feeling what I feel, and knowing what I know.
A deep gratitude for the stillness experienced in silent moments, in meditations (whether walking or motionless, whether giving a class, or making food, or just being with a loved one). The expansiveness of silence, the freedom that comes when one realises that the body is just a small part of you, that you expand beyond your body and that what we really exchange is energy. And gratefulness for the realisation that energy transcends physics – that we can send it to where it is needed, even if we are not quite sure where that it is. To also be the receiver of that healing energy and experiencing its effects in the physical home that is my body.
And finally, a deep gratitude for our teacher – who guided us, held us and showed us where to look, but not what to find, in the most compassionate, loving and accepting way that one could wish for. Words will never be enough or able to express the appreciation of you time, effort and for who you are, but thank you, thank you, namaste. May you continue to reach souls here, this time around and for always.
Ronel TTC Testimonial
I joined the course for quite a few reasons; being curious about advanced yoga practice techniques and asanas, a passion for yoga and I wanted to deepen my practice by learning and understanding more about this ancient practice and evolve as being. The opportunity came at a time in my life where I needed to find purpose and direction, where I could connect with my inner-self and be a better human being. My motivation was self-enrichment, healing and finding balance, as experienced in my daily life since I started practicing yoga as a student for the past 4 years.
We have been warned about the intensity, and serious commitment for TTC, but I was not prepared for the extreme challenging year ahead, my nature is one of commitment, loyalty and perseverance but there were many times that I felt overwhelmed by all the new information, non-stop study material and the time it consumed, it was a lot to process. Practicing yoga regularly, surely gave me the self-power, calmness and strength to persist and pursue the tough times, it helped to consistently remind myself of my Sankalpa, my intentions set at the beginning of my studies; to change my habits and cultivate new positive behavior and self-love.
In looking back on the year of studies, experience and what I have achieved, I would say it’s ‘IN PROCESS’, a solid foundation was laid with loads of information on yoga psychology, philosophy, Indian Sanskrit words and history, anatomy of the body and in depth studies of yoga practice; asanas, pranayama and meditation that needs to be practiced, processed and applied to be able to truly reflect. In my personal life I can honestly say that major changes have taken place, discipline, diligence, patience and a calmness and hunger to apply the theories and practice in my daily life. The various challenges pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but the transformation was so evident, after the sattva challenge I could see and feel the difference in my health and habits, my outlook on life and the environment changed, it rippled out to friends and family, a whole new world opened up for me physically and mentally I stopped all medication, and changed my lifestyle unconsciously and consciously, balance was restored on so many levels, I had the courage to break patterns and ties of things that no longer served me, finding my equilibrium helped me to focus on being happy, free, healthy and living in harmony.
This PROCESS did not come easy, the motivation, encouragement and inspiration of my mentor -teacher and fellow students pushed me to stick it out, with ‘ I CAN DO IT!, my Sankalpa/ vow: ‘DETOX’:-Detachment, Exercise, Transformation, Orientation/ Order, X factor inspired me with my intention to pursue and regain the balance in my life with each of these qualities and principles applied my loved ones, friends and family might not comprehend this yoga ‘hype’, as I pretty much ‘ate, slept and dreamed’ Yoga, but they could see the transformation and with their support and love I could take this ‘me time’ and it became a stepping stone for a happy, healthy joy full being.
Although my intention was not to teach, I realized it could be the change that others can learn from and plant seeds, the TTC has taught me so much, not only the teaching of yoga but of life itself although the course has come to an end my learning has just begun. In completing the TTC I have gained so much in my personal life that if this is all I could take from it I have achieved more in one year than I have in my adulthood, all the actual learning of TTC above all is a blessing and bonus and with encouragement and confidence I might just share this voyage and serve other beings with my teachings.
It is a privilege to be surrounded by these beautiful souls and goddesses who shared their experiences and journey , and to our own Guru Wynand ,the utmost respect for all the nonstop effort, time and knowledge shared, the enthusiasm is tangible and the passion heart-rending, I am honored and deeply grateful for this opportunity to have been a student of a Living example of the yoga teachings textbooks.
A true reflection of: Serve -Love -Give -Purify -Meditate -Realize -Be Good -Do Good -Be Kind -Be Compassionate- Adapt -Adjust -Accommodate- Bare Insult- Bare Injury- HIGHEST SADANHA!!
May my thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to the happiness and that freedom for all Namaste