Cambio's resident "In-betweeners" teacher, Jen Barks, opens up about her uniquely powerful experience from her Yoga Teacher Training. Each trainee has a different experience in this program but one thing stands in common: you are given the opportunity to create something new in your life. From finding your voice, gaining confidence, building a new career or gaining a Sangha, you are sure to find what you need under our experieinced faculty.
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This is defintately one of the more unique experiences we've heard but we would also love to feature your story to share the spectrum of possibilities. Reach out to
Shoshoni Baby
After researching many YTT programs in town, I chose Cambio’s YTT intensive program for the experience of spending the night at Shoshoni. I had never had the opportunity to do a yoga intensive type retreat and the fact that the get away was in our own state over a weekend was appealing. At the time, my husband and I were trying to start a family so I knew if I was going to do a YTT program like this, this was it.
Throughout the YTT weeks leading up to Shoshoni, we studied asana, anatomy, practice taught, and the went deeper into the chakras of the body. I had never done so much yoga in one focused time of my life and I found those experiences to make me more open physically while also providing me more awareness of how my mind affects my body.
By the time we got to Shoshoni, I was convinced that I had to be pregnant. In fact, the whole ride up to the ashram, I was bubbling with excitement with the thoughts of a new baby. We arrived, got our room, got settled, and began to participate in evening activities. By the time the evening was winding down, in visiting the restroom, I learned I was not pregnant. I was extremely sad and disappointed, shared the news with a few close allies, and then joined the bigger group for an evening hike.
While on the hike, our teachers, kept telling us we “had” to do the fire ritual the next morning. The fire ritual was the ritual we had just participated in that evening and I wasn’t keen on doing the same exact activity again so I rebelled and opted to do 5:30AM yoga and meditation. This was the first time I would have experienced yoga and meditation together… they way it had been intended by the yogi masters. This in of itself was life changing for me.
So, while the entire YTT group went off to the fire ritual, I went to yoga. After the asana practice, the instructor taught us the Ganesh chant (about removing boundaries) and began to lead us through a 30 minute chant and meditation. After the 5 minutes, the vibration and the song of the chant began to take over my body and I felt focused, calm, and felt like I could keep the chanting and sitting going forever.
With my eyes closed, continuing to chant, I saw my body encompassed by a golden light. It felt safe, loving, and warm. I felt the light become a hand and press on to my back, supporting me. In that instant I just knew that light was my child, my daughter, and she was choosing me to be her mother. As happy tears filled my eyes, I knew my daughter was coming to me. 3 weeks later I took a positive pregnancy test.
I spent the last few weeks and my first year teaching at Cambio, pregnant. To this day, I refer to my daughter, Riley, as my little Shoshoni baby. She is now 4.5 but has been singing the Ganesh chant since she was 2. At 4.5, she is extremely aware of her body and has a significantly strong body/mind connection.
YTT at Cambio afforded me the opportunity to learn to teach yoga but it went so much deeper than that for me. It afforded me to get my body and mind ready to be a mother and when I was the most down, I was comforted and chosen by the spirit of my child. YTT opened me up to having this experience, understanding it, and believing it.
Join Jen in practice on Friday nights @ 5:45p Vinyasa for Inbetweeners. Jen also mentors new teachers learning to teach Vinyasa and Vinyasa for Beginners.
