Derek Jones is in yoga teacher training and trying to raise money for the tuition. He lost his home to a fire just a few weeks before the training began. He is raising money via Indiegogo.
Training has already been transformative, according to his Facebook posts:
Things I learned in Yoga Teacher Training.
<Week Two, Day Ten>
•The truth is the truth in the moment that it is the truth, and then five seconds later there is a new truth.
•The only thing that doesn’t change is change
•99% practice, 1% method
•The tighter that we hold on to something, the further away we push it
•Just for the safety of your ligaments, namaste your teacher and leave
•In yoga, we just spend some happy time together, and that is all
•There IS beauty in utkatasana
• Emma pulled out her inner gangster
•Shoulder sets in the socket
•First 30 – Surya’s, Middle 30 – Body and sequence, Final 30 – Soft and very sweet ending
•You find out where your chakra blockage is REALLY quick
<Things I learned in Yoga Teacher Training ~ Week Two, Day 8.>
•Yogi Popcorn
•Hold this pose for five minutes
•Note to self: don’t take natural vitamins before yoga class.
•Holy Sweatmas
•”How to explore the ‘risks’ section of the homework – personally hold every pose for five minutes in class.” ~ Barb
Here, he shares a blog post update with Just B Yoga:
“Hey everyone, with 80 plus in-studio hours completed, I have just finished week three of my 200hr teacher training at Hilltop Yoga!
Loving it and learning a lot!
It has been a challenging three weeks, and from what I hear the most intense is yet to come.
So far I have met 13 other unique and inspiring trainees, and two wonderful teachers. Through this I have been very humbled to appreciate that I learn as much from my fellow trainees as I do from those I call teacher. My quality of presence is ever increasing and I am able to see the present moment with more and more clarity every day. I am learning to stay with thought and emotions I would previously have pushed away in aversion, sitting with them and getting to know them that I might learn where they truly come from and what I am to do with them, simultaneously learning more about myself.
As the weeks go on I am also seeing my desire to meditate outside of class increase. It is becoming a more integrated part of my daily practice. Perhaps because I am finding that my “yoga-self” and “everyday-self” are becoming more and more integrated. Having come from previous experience with meditation, this is great! I had been finding it harder and harder to sit before training.
I have learned to extend this mindfulness to my physical asana practice to a greater extent as well. Purusha (“that which sees”) is recognizing my body’s contribution to and reflection of my inner state. This integration is Yoga!
But enough about me!
We have also dissected the subtle muscle movements of roughly 24 postures so far, learning to keep our students safe, how to adjust them, and, how to teach the postures while maintaining the flow we have built up in the class.
Again, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. This only scratches the surface of what is going on, but I hope to keep you updated with more details in the coming weeks.
Thank you.
Namaste.
Derek”