AM ALUMNI
Victoria Boast | @sidayoga
AM V300 - FEB 2022
Weymouth, Dorset, UK 🌎
The main thing you need to know about me is I like to laugh and have fun in my practice.
I am based in Dorset, UK and teach in-person and online like most of my beautiful friends here.
My teaching journey began in 2015 in Shanghai, China where I completed my first 200YTT course in Therapeutic Alignment Vinyasa (TAV). This was very heavily influenced in Iyengar yoga and traditional alignment of asanas. From there, I’ve completed another 200YTT in Rocket Yoga, and my 300YTT with Authentic Movements. As someone who clearly can’t sit still for five minutes, I’ve also gone on to complete an Aerial YTT as well as my Barre qualification with BarreConcept in the UK.
Reflecting on the AM YTT Experience
| Why did you choose Authentic Movements for your YTT? | |
| I’d been fangirling Steph and Erin for a while ever since my first online course with the both of them. Probably the best double act since Mulder and Scully (or insert other epic duo here). Like many yoga teachers, all of my in-person classes had to stop for the pandemic so I took myself off to study and build up my teaching hours that way. I realised if I wanted to run teacher trainings one day, I’d need my 300YTT and I wanted to learn from teachers who I knew and loved and took me out of my comfort zone. Discovering the wisdom Bianca and Anthony offered in restorative and strength training was the extra nudge I needed to book onto the course. Learning how to be more creative with my sequencing was a big take away for me and being my true self when I guide others was a huge step in maturing as a teacher and developing that extra layer of confidence that was missing before. | |
| How did the online training platform work for you? | |
| Superbly. I didn’t feel I lacked motivation and managed to stay on top of everything despite the intensity. It was actually the reading that delayed me completing the course sooner as I found one of the books very heavy going. I loved the accountability weekends and it was wonderful to connect with others and develop friendships despite not being together in the same room. This was something I’d found lacking in online courses before Authentic Movements. I also love the fact that we have access to everything after the course for a period of time. Often there is so much information it can be hard to record everything so having that to go back to is priceless. |
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| How has your teaching changed since completing the AM YTT? | |
| I think I half answered this above. Through the wisdom and teachings of Steph, Erin, B and Anthony, it felt like I could be more ‘authentic’ – forgive the pun. I guess after my first 200YTT I felt a bit ‘scripted’ as a teacher. I’d give the standard cues and while I injected an element of my personality into my classes, Authentic Movements brought my true self out a bit more. I think the creative classes and the ‘nuance in everything’ really helped me here. I try to have fun with my students and encourage them to not take things so seriously. I also try to offer more creative classes to keep things varied and interesting. It’s certainly made me even more passionate about the practice. I’ve had such positive feedback from my groups saying how much they love my classes and how people have made close friends and it really makes me smile as that is what Authentic Movements did for me 🙂 |
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| How have you engaged with the AM community of alums and students during and after the training? | |
| I am in a group on Instagram with those I am close to and also speak regularly to a handful of individuals who I have developed strong bonds with. I’ve really tried to act as cheerleader with a few of my fellow classmates as I know it can be hard to keep the momentum going with online learning. One of my dear AM friends is in the UK and we check in regularly about the course and I try to set her mini goals as I know she has so much on and just needs that extra accountability. That’s been lovely to be there for someone. I’ve even been lucky to meet one lovely alumni when I was in San Diego recently. That was super special and I now have my AM bucket list – it’s gonna cost a fortune 😀 I try to make office hours when I can and when time zones allow and I’d love to do a retreat soon now things are opening up. I’m doing a BLC in a few weeks and hope to connect with more people and offer my support. I’ve received lots of help from Dia and Lilo with my practice as well so it’s really lovely we are all there for each other. |
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| What was your favorite part of the course content? | |
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Creative Sequencing and Office hours. Oh and some of those late night restoratives were just delicious. |
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