Who are they today?
Brian Chick
“I was not anticipating moving to Mexico, but Ashtanga turned out to be the best practice to move abroad with...”
Brian graduated from the 200 hour teacher training program on April 19, 2019. He completed his training in Montpelier, Vermont, attending mostly local weekend studio trainings + classes in-person. This blog features our recent interview with Brian as a lot has changed since then… And of course, he’s still practicing yoga!
Can you reflect a bit on the format of your training and why it worked for you? And maybe also why/if it challenged you?
The flexibility; having full weekends and getting to pick and choose courses is light years more convenient for me than having a rigid schedule. And it did challenge me! You’d think that with a “choose-your-own adventure” learning situation you would dodge the courses that seemed too difficult, but I found the opposite: the things I looked forward to most were the ones that were the most stimulating and challenging.
Tell a little about having multiple trainers during the YTT program…
Having a team of teachers was great; all of the teachers put so much of themselves into their teaching, taught to their strengths and polished up another facet of the big jewel that is yoga. Of course, I was only learning to learn, but for those who were learning to teach I can see the added benefit of having all these teaching styles modeled.
Where has your life taken you since then?
I live in Mexico, and work remotely part-time instead of full time at the office. I have a better relationship with time and money, but my relationship with yoga and meditation have only changed in that I don’t get to practice them with others (I can’t wait for the pandemia to be over!). That’s not true: transitioning to yoga by myself, I also follow a routine instead of taking lead classes, and that has provided a bit of security in these uncertain times.
What I remember most from YTT is the community; the people I learned from and studied with are all vividly in my mind, it’s like they are still here with me sometimes.
What does an average day in your life look like currently?
I have more time to do the things I love, and sometimes nothing much at all. I write and study my spanish a bit in the morning, then do some work, and in mid-afternoon I have time to take a siesta, read, clean, exercise, etc. It’s no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn, hurrying to work to occupy a desk for 8 hours, having yoga to destress and getting ready for the next day. I hope I never have to go back to that life full-time.
Are you practicing yoga or meditation?
Yes, of course! I still take 15 minutes every day to meditate.
And I'm practicing Ashtanga primary series about 3 times a week. I was not anticipating moving to Mexico, but Ashtanga turned out to be the best practice to move abroad with. It’s practiced and taught all over the world, is a fixed routine, and perhaps most importantly is taught mostly in sanskrit.
I made sure to find a place near an ashtanga studio, it was easy enough to continue my practice in a culture whose language I was only just beginning to learn. Of course, my teachers here are bilingual, so they still give me assists and pointers in English, but it’s easy enough to follow a class when you know the routine and understand the Sanskrit. Of course after adapting to a mixed Spanish/Sanskrit routine, COVID happened, and I have not been taking many classes since. Now, as mentioned before, I practice ashtanga primary series 3 times a week in the comfort of my own home.
Would you recommend this training to others? Why?
Of course! You will only get out of it what you put in, and some days will be more challenging and rewarding than others, but you have an excellent and varied team of folks to work with, everyone brings their best to their mat and to the classroom.
What's next? Any plans for the rest of 2021?
I’m buying a house here in Mexico, and looking forward to returning to Vermont for a few months now that everything’s back to some semblance of normal. Then coming back to my new place in the magical city of Guanajuato, and seeing what 2022 brings me.
FOLLOW BRIAN’S JOURNEY on INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/fiercelyawkward