It’s not a crazy idea
After twenty years in this ever-expanding world of yoga, I’ve learned a few lessons about teaching. It doesn’t matter:
- If you can or can’t do Adho Mukha Vrksasana.
- If you don’t even know what pose that is.
- What you look like, your size or shape.
- What kind of fancy (or un-fancy) pants you wear.
- If you’re fluent in Sanskrit or Spanish.
You can let the nagging doubts stop you. . .
Or you can take the leap like I did…
I’m Shannon Caldwell, Texas gal, and passionate yoga teacher trainer. During my 20 years(!) as a yoga teacher and more than 10,000+ hours of teaching experience, I’ve seen yoga (and yoga training) transform, improve, and uplift lives (including my own).
In 1999, I was where you are. I loved yoga and wanted to teach, but I couldn’t do all the postures. I didn’t bend and flex like others. I’m vertically challenged and have T-rex arms. I looked nothing like my yoga teacher or any of the other teachers I’d met.
There were no yoga schools so I had to ask my teacher (someone I greatly admired) to mentor me. SCARE-Y. She probably wondered what the heck I could bring to the table as a teacher, but I surprised us both.
That 5 minutes of nervous discomfort (and telling my self-doubts to shove it) led to me to a life I could never have dreamed of…and I had plenty of people along the way telling me I was crazy.
No mud, no lotus
In 2002, I opened a yoga studio, but after a year of ownership, I was nearing burn-out. I was teaching 15 classes a week and handling all the responsibilities that come with running a business (marketing, paying bills, buying rolls of toilet paper).
I needed additional teachers, stat, and in 2003, Purple Lotus Yoga bloomed on the surface of the water.
I had 5 participants in my first teacher training. I truly thought after a couple of years, I’d have trained all the people who were interested in teaching yoga. I never imagined I’d still be doing what I love most 15 years later.
That simple need, so many years ago, put me on the path to YOU.
when you work with me
I love yoga history and philosophy. Ironically when I first started “practicing yoga,” I wanted nothing to do with either. Now I won’t let anyone else teach it, and it’s the first thing we cover in teacher training. It provides the foundation upon which the rest of training is built. It shows us all the different ways we’re practicing yoga and don’t even realize it.
Poses aren’t everything. In the grand system of “YOGA,” poses are only one part of the whole. They are one of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga (see paragraph above about philosophy). This doesn’t mean poses aren’t important, it means there needs to be equal attention paid to deep breathing, mindfulness practices, and living intentionally as there is to mastering a head stand.
And when you show up in my teacher training, I can guarantee the following:
- There will be some cursing. I can get pretty passionate about certain yoga subjects.
- Loads of laughter.
- Real, honest discussions about life, yoga, the world, our pets, maybe even yoni eggs.
- If you tell me you have a desire to teach, I will mentor, coach, encourage, nurture, and drag you kicking and screaming across the finish line.
- I don’t believe in belittling, criticizing, or making you feel like crap about yourself. I am your biggest cheerleader.
- Loads of laughter.
- No cookie-cutter teachers. (Cookies, perhaps). At the end of training you will be well on your way to the unique teacher you’re meant to be.
Curious? Check out the Mini Yoga Teacher Training, bite-sized lessons in some of the topics covered during yoga teacher training.
“I am lucky to have trained under one of the best, who also keeps it real and teaches true yoga.”
“Thank you for this unexpected gift in my life. I’m so grateful it was you I called.”
“Training touched my heart. Thank you for the opportunities and treasures that lay before me.”
Random Fun Facts
I’m born and raised in Texas. Between my Southern roots and yoga background, I have a pretty laid-back approach to life (most of the time).
I love unsweetened iced tea and it’s rare to see me without it. And that’s about the only thing unsweetened I like.
That guy <<<<<<< right there?
He has my heart.
I like ellipses (those three little dots you see everywhere, not the exercise machine) and parentheses.
I believe yoga is more than black pants, green smoothies and pretzel poses, and might be the original coaching program.
I’m the girl next door who loves coke, cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies.
When I’m not teaching yoga, I’m either reading or writing romance novels.
I’m a walking billboard for “if I can do it, so can you.”
