Taking yoga classes to the countryside has been the most rewarding experience.

There are really many reasons why you should do a yoga course in 5 Elements International School of Yoga & Movement. Let me start with the most obvious ones to the least obvious ones, but which may turn out to be really the most significant ones! :) The TTC200 course taught at 5 Elements above all gives us a lot of solid theoretical knowledge: about the body, its functioning, yoga anatomy, yoga practice, and philosophy, and this gives a very good foundation for being a conscious yoga teacher. After completing the course, students also receive a yoga teacher's diploma, honored all over the world. The teachers - Vinay Kumar Jesta and Szymon Jarosławski have build a course program not only on the basis of books and dry information, but also on the basis of their long-standing practice, experience in work with people, which significantly increases and diversifies the level of teaching and knowledge transferred. The Hatha / Vinyasa yoga TTC was held in a small group, so that each student was treated individually, thus giving an example of how we should teach others in the future. The most important thing is that this course is not a normal yoga course that I have seen in other schools. This course has a very rich program and the intensive daily practice combined with very thorough observation of the body and mind strongly cleanses and regenerates the body and the mind. It released deep emotions, feelings; unites and bonds the awareness. Each of us had the opportunity to translate and extend further these gains to his/her life and surroundings in their own way. This course, through its abundance, can radically change people and introduce a revolution in private and professional life.

Therefore, if you have doubts whether it is worth it or if you do not have the aspiration to be a yoga teacher, but you love yoga, like to develop new skills, to acquire knowledge, to expand qualifications, it is definitely worth considering doing this course.

During the course, everyone, is given a chance to extract and develop their skills on many levels and in many directions. Of course ... ultimately, how much we will "take away" depends only on us! Personally, I consider this course the best investment and decision I've ever made.

From conversations with people who participated with me in the course I know that most of them hesitated whether or not to participate, and at the end of the course tears of happiness appeared - therefore, do not hesitate to take part! :) In no other school will we get such an individual approach to the student, and so much knowledge and transformation needed on our further yoga path.

It's true that the course is a significant expense and for many people the price is very important. But the truth is that the price is comparable to prices in other schools, and in the case of 5 Elements, it definitely translates into quality and goes hand in hand with a high level of education. How to get a job after the teacher training course and what are the options?

Well ... as it happens in life, everything comes to you if you really want it and are properly motivated ;) And more seriously, I can share how it worked out in practice for me. I started by subbing classes of other teachers in the city. I was helped by the fact that I had already practiced for a long time and that I had been visiting various places related to yoga in Krakow (but Krakow is not that big). Initially, I subbed friends whose classes I used to attend. In addition, before the course I had worked part-time in one of the yoga studios in the marketing and promotion department - I have not taught yoga yet, but so many people asked me for classes. I also felt a certain need to share my practice with others.

Added to this was some kind of burnout and frustration from my previous job unrelated to yoga, and a strong desire to change into a "healthier", more active profession, adequate to my disposition and character. And so it began ... It all went, I admit, in a cascading fashion!

I jumped on the mat as a teacher, just after finishing the course. A month later, I managed to close the most urgent professional issues at work. Soon after, the teaching substitutions which I received occasionally from many different places transformed into my own, regular yoga classes.

I also think that a very important element for what I do here and now in Krakow, is that the Vinyasa yoga style hardly existed here at all. Lack of awareness and education about yoga styles other than static Hatha caused a really big surprise and a stir in my yoga classes and substitutions. Many people were (and still are) surprised by this form of practice and conducting classes. Krakow is very conservative and the yoga world is dominated by "Iyengar" schools and a controversial Ashtanga school. So people had not been given the choice of other yoga approaches. It slowly begins to change and students become more open. There are also a few more teachers of Vinyasa available now, but they are still very little visible and shy about their yoga practice.

The second interesting path that has worked out for me turned out to be teaching yoga in the city outskirts. I received a proposal to conduct yoga classes in the countryside near Krakow - and this is just a great formula to which I sincerely encourage you! After more than a year of working as a teacher, I observed that it is really the nicest thing to do activities on the outskirts and build everything from scratch.

People from outside the city are much more motivated and willing to work. There is a completely different quality of conducting classes in such places compared to the city center. People in the center have a choice of many activities, such as yoga, dance, swimming pool etc, and facilitated or subsidized forms of payment through benefit cards such as multisport cards, okosystem etc ...

This may give them a certain way of thinking: "it came easy, it went easy" ... and very little attention is given to the service they get. Of course, you can not generalize, because there are exceptions, but in most cases, there is a tendency to think that way.

Therefore, I particularly encourage you, if you have been offered to teach yoga on the outskirts - take it boldly. It is easier to reach with advertising, maintain subscriptions and observe the effects of regular practice than it is in city classes. My yoga practice group in Tomaszowice village has grown up so much after a year of work that there is a regular turnout of 10-16 people and I started with 4-8 students (which is not a bad result for a new place anyway).

Therefore, if you want to do something on your own, do look for areas distant from the center or just go to the outskirts, villages and look there for schools with gymnasiums, fire station depots, mansions, restaurants, hotels etc. - places where you can find an exercise room. In fact, in most villages in Poland there is a manor house and there may be a hotel, restaurant, etc. on its premises. You need to get in touch with the owner / manager about the idea of conducting yoga classes, you can either rent the space or share the profits with the owner. It's a really great idea and initiative to promote movement, a healthy lifestyle and conducting introductory to intermediate yoga classes for beginners.

Overall, no matter what we do and what we want to do - what counts is your sincere willingness, commitment and faith in achieving the goal. The attitude we show towards work is especially important when working with people - they see and feel what we do. However, when we have the right motivation, desire and passion, the work becomes much easier, lighter, more satisfying, motivating, and the goal is much easier to achieve. Often, to achieve something meaningful, you need to sacrifice: work hard and sometimes "after hours", because nothing really comes in on its own, but sometimes you can also use a little luck, good intuition and the opportunities that fate sends us! ;)

Finally, summarizing the topic about yoga & "being" a teacher (backed up by my own story), I'd like to convey a kind of punch line and encourage changes. Thanks to yoga, I balanced my personal life by improving my health, I have won my long fight with epilepsy; I improved the functioning of my body; I've learned to respect it.

However, by introducing yoga to my professional life, I refreshed and clarified my first passion - photography. Somehow, I began to enjoy taking pictures again; my perspective has become more interesting; working on a computer that I honestly hated (and I still do not like) has become much more effective, shorter and more bearable; I started to appreciate the time I devoted to photography and in the end I could start letting go of things, collaborations that totally didn't suit me.

Thanks to the wonderful method of "letting go", new, much more interesting projects and photographic collaborations with companies and private clients began to come along. What I lacked in the profession of a photographer - regularity, movement and intensive work with people, I received through yoga classes; I found joy, which for various reasons was blocked or lost somewhere. I met a lot of very interesting people and it started to open new paths and possibilities for me.

Overall, everything has become easier and lighter! As for me, this is the sufficient reason to dare undertake the yoga teacher training course. Observing and listening to the stories of other graduates who have completed this course it is not only me who have experienced the kind of transformation described above.