Exhale Venice

04/14/08

Intensive Teacher Training with Shiva Rea

by PhDinLA at Citysearch

Shiva?s Yoga Shakti DVD is one that I?ve enjoyed for years. So when I found out I could do an intensive teacher training with Shiva, I signed up. Bad choice.

Exhale was filled to capacity elevating the daily room temperature to upwards of 95 degrees. AC was forbidden. I was told after my third day of headaches to get electrolytes to add to my water, which did help, but I did not appreciate being crammed into a room with no air, people sweating on me, and growing a new appreciation for claustrophobia during last summer?s heat wave.

When we were not crammed into the sweatbox, we worked outside in the blistering sun in the public park nearby cheerfully dubbed ?The Grassy Knoll? to practice poses that were never explained to us save for the best part of the workshop: the spiral bound books that included photos and helpful body cues for poses. The teacher training neither gives the students a basis for understanding body mechanics in poses nor offers augmentations for bodies with limited mobility. You DO get taught Shiva?s way of sequencing a class.

Communication is the worst part of how Shiva and her staff operate. I paid $108 for a mentor whose duty it is to check in with me; this has yet to happen in spite of my making several attempts and we?re now going on 8 months. The education coordinator takes over a month to get back to me regarding anything. An example, I submitted my final test a month ago, I have not received my certification of completion nor feedback. Shiva emailed me in February to ask if she could phone me, I affirmed and have yet to receive a phone call - it's April.

If you are looking for a comprehensive yoga teacher training program, enjoy personal attention, desire a foundation of body mechanics and understanding goals of poses, need room to grow in and out of the education setting, require clear support in your learning process, and expect efficient business practices ? do not go to Shiva Rea for your teacher training.

• Pros: 21 days to spend away from home to earn teaching certification is compact
• Cons: bad business practices, you pay for mentoring you don't recieve, little to no personal attention from Shiva