FLY Yoga Teacher Training Returns to Island

April may still be four months away, but for any of you who think you might want to add a yoga certification to your list of things to do, this weekend you have the chance to find out more.

Sherry Sidoti, founder of FLY Yoga, is offering a 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT) course this spring. This will be the second time that FLY Yoga has offered a teacher training session, and last year’s filled to capacity. This weekend Sidoti is holding a donation based 60-minute yoga class followed by 30-minutes of Q&A about the upcoming YTT.  Sidoti will teach the class and the Q&A will include both Sidoti and some of the 2011 graduates.

The YTT takes place over two, nine-day sessions and features what Sidoti describes as a, “schedule that is pretty full-on.” Days start at 7:30 am and end at 3:30 followed by occasional evening classes. By the end of the second session, students will have completed 180 hours of the training and have a full year to finish out the last 20 hours. 

“I give a year because I want to honor that a lot of us are working people. Just to take the time off to do training is a big deal,” said Sidoti, adding that many students complete the entire 200 hours during the workshop and others spread it out over time.

The requirements are rigorous and “the classes don’t just focus on the physical practice, there are also all the teachings of yoga and teaching skills that have be learned as well.” Outside of classwork there is homework, reading, and writing assignments. Additionally, students have to take seven classes outside of training, teach five volunteer hours of yoga, assist in five classes and observe seven more. Finally you have to do five hours of Seva. “That means donating or sharing your time to anything that your heart desires,” said Sidoti.

The training is accredited by Yoga Alliance, which, according to Sidoti is the only international yoga accreditation. At the end of it all, “students are considered registered yoga teachers at the 200-hour level,” said Sidoti, which is the basic standard that you need to go out and teach yoga. Sidoti acknowledges that an original grant from the MV Women’s Network helped get the teacher training program off the ground. “That initial money really allowed this program to become possible and helped give me what I needed to develop it.”

As for location, Sidoti has worked out a deal with a client who owns an expanse of exclusive property in Chilmark. “It’s breathtaking,” said Sidoti. “We do meditation on the beach, we walk in the woods. We do as much outside as possible, weather permitting and the rest is done inside a beautiful barn.”

“I think it’s really important that people to understand it’s also a retreat,” she said, noting that many of last year’s students didn’t want to become yoga teachers, but wanted to get deeper into their own yoga practice. “It is a self study, a time to hone in on aligning with your true self. We think of yoga as down dog and triangle pose, but yoga really means to yoke, to unify, to bring together.”

“The program is really holistic, bringing together all aspects of our life. We look at how to be in right relation with food, with money, with others, with your life work, with your voice and speaking your truth.”

For those who can’t afford the tuition, Sidoti said there are many ways she can make it work. “Last year we made it happen for every person that wanted to make it happen. I have a small fund that generous people have donated to that can be used toward scholarships and I’m willing to work out trades as well. I can’t promise a full, free ride, but there is a fund that we can work with.” Housing is also available for those who come from off-Island at the 1720 House Bed and Breakfast and there are a number of rooms available in private houses.

What Sidoti found with last year’s group and hopes to convey again is that, “In the end I’ve found that the training is really an amazing life exploration sealed in package of yoga teacher training.”

To learn more about the FLY Yoga YTT 2012, there is a class this Saturday, January 14 from 2-3:30pm at Tapas Hot Yoga. The 60-minute class is donation based and will be followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.

You can also learn more or register at the FLY Yoga website.