6 Steps To Help You Stay Committed And Inspired To Achieve Your Yoga Teacher Certification.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”– Tony Robbins

Consistency is one of the biggest obstacles people encounter while striving to reach their goals. At the dawn of a new year, we often feel motivated and eager to make significant improvements in our lives. We have great intentions and desire for lasting change; however, life's demands can quickly derail us from achieving them!

Life can be overwhelming, with the need to balance finances, health, relationships and other elements – I’m sure you know what I mean! To make sure you reach your goals whatever they may be, it’s essential to create a plan of action that not only sets objectives but also shows how and when they will be achieved.

Here are a few tips on how to stay motivated during a yoga teacher training course. 

1. Don’t Make Resolutions, Set Goals! 

Instead of making New Year's resolutions, I suggest setting goals. While they may seem similar, there is an essential distinction between the two - wishful thinking versus a deliberate plan. Resolutions lack structure and can be quickly forgotten but when you set achievable objectives with specific steps to attain them, success will surely follow!

2. Make Your Goals Specific and Realistic 

Specific 

To reach your goals, it's important to make them both specific and realistic. Doing so will allow you to measure whether or not those goals have been accomplished. For instance, if you want to eat healthier, aim for something measurable like consuming four servings of fruit and vegetables as well as six glasses of water each day--this way you can easily tell when they've been achieved!

Realistic

In order to succeed, it's important to set realistic goals. For instance, if your goal is to complete the yoga teacher training course in three months but you're only able to commit to 2 hours a week towards that goal, then chances are high that the mark won't be met. You must ensure that your objectives and aspirations align with what can actually be achieved!

3. Write It Down 

It's been said plenty of times I know, I know, but have you REALLY given yourself every chance at succeeding? 

Writing your goals down (pen to paper) and putting them in places where they can be seen is a great way to stay motivated. Create reminders in the form of sticky notes on the fridge or office wall; make a goal-oriented screensaver for your laptop or phone; even slip some money-saving tips inside your purse! I often set reminders and alarms on my phone. That helps me to stay on track. Don't let your goals become forgotten wishes - it’s time you worked towards your aspirations! 

To keep yourself motivated, break down your goals into categories of short-term, mid-term and long-term (it really doesn’t take long). For instance, when it comes to completing the yoga teacher training, set a timeline for when you'd like to accomplish the goal in each respective category. This will help guide you through the process while keeping track of progress made throughout all stages!

Here are some examples specifically to yoga teacher training if you’d like to take a full year to  complete; 

Short Term Goals 

These are goals that are to be established/ accomplished in 1-3 months.

• Start and complete at least 2 modules of the yoga teacher training course
• Practice Yoga 2-3 days a week
• Meditate for 5-10 minutes every morning 
• Save a specific amount of money for an emergency fund
• Begin your yoga journals and logging your class attendance hours
• Check-in with a yoga course mentor. 
• Try a new class
• Go on monthly dates with your special someone (it's important to have something external to look forward to as well). 

Mid Term Goals

These goals might take 3-6 months to accomplish.

• Complete half of the yoga teacher training course
• Have regular check-ins with a yoga teacher mentor
• Create solid connections within the community. 
• Start saving towards other yoga training courses (continuing education) 
• Practice teaching yoga to friends and family 1-2 times a week

Long Term Goals 

Long-term goals will likely take up to a year.

• Complete all journals and hand them in
• Register with Yoga Alliance International
• Complete the yoga teacher training course (and celebrate!)
• Reach out to local yoga studios offering your services to them
• Start building your community in the area you'd like to teach (if you would) 
• Ask friends and family to help spread the word
• Sign up for another teacher training whilst momentum is high

4. How To Set Short, Mid and Long-Term Goals for a Yoga Teacher Training Course

Ask yourself, “What will my life look like in a month, 5 months or 12 months?” Envision your future self situated where you want to be. Setting goals based on who you aspire to become will drive motivation and will help to propel you towards success. I created a vision board when I first began my yoga teacher training and it really worked. I placed it in the most prominent position in my bedroom so every day I saw it, it re-energised me. Everything that was on my board came true. I think they’re incredibly powerful.  

Remember; Setting goals will not be enough. Action must follow!

Simply expressing your desire to form a regular yoga practice won't make it come true. To ensure you reach this goal, outline when (day/time), for how long (duration) and where you will practice each day (location) - eliminating any possibility of excuses. If you are looking to change careers, gain the knowledge required by determining what qualifications and experience are necessary- maybe even start to make those connections by reaching out to people who are already in the place you want to be. For example, visit your local yoga studio and introduce yourself, make friends, visit regularly, take classes. Then when the time comes, you’ll have your feet in the door (so to speak). 

5. Be Accountable To Someone

Working with an accountability partner is a surefire way to reach your goals. This partnership involves you both encouraging and supporting each other on all levels, like offering constructive feedback in the form of daily or weekly calls, voice notes or text messages about accomplishments and current tribulations. Having someone (perhaps another student on the yoga teacher training course) who truly understands what you are striving for by your side will be motivating and you’ll be cheering each other on right to the end. 

At Yoga Course Teacher Training, we have yoga student mentors who will act as your accountability partner. Just reach out!

6. Create positive habits 

Have you read the book Atomic Habits? If you haven’t, I highly recommend that you do!

If you recognise yourself picking up bad habits such as browsing the web aimlessly or scrolling through Instagram for hours (don’t worry your human, everybody does this), then try to replace these habits with more positive ones. Acknowledge that what you’re really doing by engaging in these time-consuming tasks is buying time away from the real task – essentially, you’re distracting yourself. To prevent this, you could consider turning off your internet connection or putting your phone into flight mode so that all of your attention and energy can be directed toward achieving what it is that you want most (even just for a short period of time- set a timer.) With each redirect back onto the right track and towards success comes another step closer to making a new habit stick - one which will override any old bad habits!  Every time we perform a habit, we execute a four-step pattern: cue, craving, response and reward. If we want to form new habits, we should make them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Read (or listen to) Atomic Habits for more info on this.  

Remember, Goals + Action = Creation. You can do it !!!

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