Continuing their journey east around the planet, John and Stef spent two weeks in Ukraine, Sept 23–Oct 7. The focus of the trip was a 10-day, 55-hour Level 2 teacher training in Kiev—the first Level 2 teacher certification training conducted in Russian, and the first training to use the new Russian-language Level 2 manual. There were 16-20 students in class each day, including a group of 6 who traveled from Russia. Congratulations to the 13 new Level 2 teachers!
John and Stef began teaching Level 2 in Kiev during their first visit in 2010, and have included Level 2 during every visit since. During visits to Moscow and the TriYoga Retreat in Crimea, John and Stef met with Level 2 interns to answer questions and practice the flow.
The dedication and diligence of the Russian-speaking interns is very inspiring. The Level 2 teachers demonstrate the flow beautifully and have developed their teaching skills to a very high level. It was truly a pleasure for John and Stef to work with such a fantastic group!
During teaching practice, a group of interns discover a great new prop for Pelican.
The training was organized and translated by Level 2 teachers Kateryna and Priya.
The nearby city of Brovary has a TriYoga Center and a large and flourishing TriYoga Community. Senior Teacher Eva-Maria has been there for teacher training, and will return in March. Four of the Level 2 interns at the training were from Brovary TYC, and after class on October 27 John, Stef, the Brovary group, the Russia group, and Priya traveled to Brovary for a workshop.
John and Stef were very familiar with the Brovary teachers, but had never experienced the entire Brovary family together. They arrived to a gym filled with nearly 40 excited students! The class began with Level 1, but quickly progressed to Level 2 and Level 3. The entire class flowed along beautifully, showing how well they had been trained by Brovary TYC. It was a great experience!
After class, the teacher training group visited the TriYoga center to enjoy a meal prepared by Level 2 teacher Natalia. The mat held by Moscow teacher Irina belonged to Yogini Kaliji, and was given to the daughter of Brovary teacher Alla. The mat hangs proudly on the TYC wall!
Kiev teacher Natalia Kulbashna is a talented artist, and created this original work for Brovary TYC.
Over the weekend of October 28–29, John and Stef taught open workshops and Partner Stretch.
The Ukraine visit completed with John and Stef’s second trip to Odessa, home to Priya who hosted them during their stay. The programs were well attended, and with 5 TriYoga teachers currently in Odessa the TriYoga buzz is increasing!
