In September, Beshka Moore added to her already substantial yoga knowledge by completing an online 300-hour training program with Full Circle Yoga School in Coco Beach, Florida.  Even more impressively, this 30-module program was actually Beshka’s third advanced teacher training!  The curriculum provided training from several different teachers, and Beshka named Jolie Wilson, Nina Chin, Megan Mulrine, and Stefanie Bobinski as some of the most helpful.

Regarding the content of the training itself, Beshka noted that it provided a valuable complement to her previous study:  it “included Kundalini and Yin yoga, which I was happy to incorporate with the Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar, and Jivamukti yoga styles and philosophies I’ve studied in the past.”  One module reviewed “the history of yoga and how it blended with other things like Hinduism [and] Tantra.  For me, studying yoga in the past, parts of yoga history are a little vague, mostly to be read in books, but one of the teachers presented a timeline from the first cave painting of seated meditation pose all the way to present, explaining how it evolved to become what we know today. It was one of the most illuminating things I’ve learned.”

A contrast between this training and her previous experiences was the depth in which it discussed key yogic texts, including the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras.  Beshka indicated that, in some trainings, those texts “are suggested reading and might include some discussion. This training went chapter by chapter through each book, which I really enjoyed. We also focused in detail and discussion of the siddhis as discussed in the Yoga Sutras. No one ever talks about the siddhis! It was really good to get someone else’s perspective on this.”

Finally, Beshka shared insight into what she discovered as the surprising benefits to completing this program remotely:  

I questioned if virtual training would be beneficial, turns out it was the best thing I could have done during the pandemic.  Doing this training at home, during a pandemic, was cathartic and inspiring. It really helped me heal and grow in areas I needed…it’s easy to go away from home and leave everything behind and immerse myself in yoga class and study and walk away feeling lighter, until I come home and I have a hard time adjusting my bliss with home life. For me it’s far more difficult to stay home, where I can’t run from life and what makes me uncomfortable. In this virtual program I reacquainted with yoga history while learning/practicing new tools which helped me shift my energy dramatically. It helped me create much deeper depth and more dimensions while solidifying who I am as a yogi. I can’t wait to take another training with Full Circle Yoga School.

Congratulations to Beshka for completing a major training during a pandemic!  We look forward to learning more about this experience’s influences on her teaching in the months ahead.