Celebrating my life as a Full-Time Yoga Teacher
– by Ali Hale Tilley
Today, I celebrate 20 incredible years of teaching yoga. I’d love to share with you my wisdom and experiences from two decades of teaching, practicing, and living a yoga lifestyle. Yoga is the gift that keeps on giving. It is a lifestyle that has brought me balance, strength, and wisdom.
Bending, Breathing, and Blessings: lessons learned along the way
Having taught over 8500 yoga classes… met my Guru at an Indian Goddess Temple… visited sacred places across India, Nepal and Tibet… run two yoga centres, taken 5 yoga groups to India (next one due, November 2024)… run numerous workshops and spiritual events… completed a Masters focused on Yoga communities in Aotearoa … and presented at yoga conferences… you think I would have learnt a thing or two about yoga right? Well, the answer is yes, absolutely. Yoga is an incredible teacher. But I’m still grateful to be learning every day as well.
The amazing thing for me right now is that a number of people who I taught yoga to over the years have gone on to qualify as yoga teachers. Also, previous students are not only still joining me for yoga pilgrimages to India and attending the retreats I run across the lower North Island, some of them have also become my closest friends. The yoga community is one of the most profound gifts yoga has given me. Yoga’s other special gift is is the incredible health benefits it brings. At 60 years old I feel fantastic and hope to for many more years to come. All of this is thanks to yoga!
Here’s a link to my MA thesis:
My colorful life in India
My two Gurus
I met my Guruji – Ravananda Saraswati – at a Goddess Temple in Haridwar – a holy town in northern India. Guruji and I travelled all over India together. I was also blessed to be able to live with him at his humble ashram in Barsana before he died in 2016.
I learned you don’t need a guru to practice yoga, or to even to be a genuine yogi. But having a guru is very beneficial if you want to flourish spiritually. Having a guru is like growing a great garden. You don’t need anyone to help you grow your garden, but if you want your garden to flourish and grow abundant fruit then it helps to find people who have successfully gardened before you and learn from them.
Guruji taught me that to sit in silence is one of life’s greatest joys. Also, that to give with an open heart helps you the temper the materialistic drive that spins the wheels of Western culture. While there is safety and comfort staying within our individual identity, Guruji taught me it is much more exciting and expansive being part of a tribe, living life as a fully conscious being within the Universal matrix. Om Namo Narayan!
My other guru was my godmother and Aunty Pauline (see B&W picture below). Aunty Pauline taught me that if you have a calling to teach yoga then you should your listen to that call, even if it means getting old first. Although teaching yoga has kept in me in ‘genteel poverty’ for 20 years, it has also made be wealthy beyond measure. I thank Aunty Paul for planting that initial seed and showing me what it takes to be a fierce yogini.
Kailash Yatra – Tibet (2005)
The Mount Kailash Yatra is not for the fainthearted! Yet, for serious yogis it is one of the most significant pilgrimages you can do. Standing in front of the north face of Mount Kailash is both awe inspiring and breathtaking. And, when I say breathtaking, I mean that at 14,500 feet the oxygen is so rare that it’s often hard to put one foot in front of the other without panting. Furthermore, traversing the Dolma-La pass at 18,000 feet alone without a guide was without doubt the most difficult thing I have ever done. Nonetheless, this pilgrimage taught me to listen to the path because the earth and the rocks hold the songs of the yak-men and will keep you on course. This pilgrimage also reminded me to always invite the ancestors on every journey, because you never know when you might need their support. I ended up doing part of this 4-day walk solo though a snow blizzard. This taught me that even when things seem tough at the time, in 20 years from then they’ll become your fondest memories. Hardship is good! It builds tapasya.
Wisdom gained from taking people to India
I have learned so many lessons from taking people to India. Here are just some of them:
- You can’t carry people’s baggage for them…
- If people are carrying lots of unresolved issues or addictive habits then India inevitably brings them to the surface, often on Day One!
- The biggest two obstacles to taking Westerners to India are their habits and their unconscious egos: drinking barista coffee, drinking alcohol, and eating meat on a weekly basis is the antithesis of a yoga lifestyle. So, when we land in India’s holy places it is strict vegetarian and teetotal and some people have a visceral reaction to having to adapt to the yoga lifestyle… even though they have been encouraged to adapt to a yoga lifestyle weeks before. However, we each grow at our own pace.
- Moreover, some people are so entrenched in their egoistic behaviours (I, me, mine) they cannot see themselves or are able to reflect on their own behaviours. On previous trips one or two people have acted as if they deserve better than everyone else. Yet, being able to go without luxury and home comforts for a few weeks gives people with Western lifestyles a chance to reset and grow from it. Many insights can be gained from such experiences.
- I have learnt you can never be fully prepared for what India has to offer, but it pays to be as prepared as possible.
- Fun people are naturally good humoured …
- Fun people generally bring lots of laughs and good times with them on the trip. Find the fun people and invite them on your trip, they make it all worthwhile!
- When you go with the flow magic happens…
- When you go against the flow you may end up slipping over in cow dung and getting metal filings in your shoes. So, it’s best to surrender to moment and go with the flow. Trust that the Universe has a plan for you.
- You may not be able to teach all people how to feel gratitude, but you can coach most people on what it takes to be thankful
- An old saying goes, you can’t feel resentful and thankful at the same time. People who appreciate the experience and have no problems being gracious and self-aware provide a real blessing. The area outside comfort zones is where magic exists … keep going and you will eventually be able to look back and see all of your experiences as beads on the mala of life.
- You might not be able to teach people how to feel gratitude, but you can hold Gratitude Circles and encourage people to find things and situations they are thankful for.
Wisdom gained from running a Yoga Centre
I have learned so many amazing lessons from running a yoga centre. Here are just a few:
- People Skills: People are the most important part of running a yoga business. I know everyone who comes to my centre on a first name basis and I always try to take an interest in how they are feeling and what they want each time they come to class. The classes I teach are collaborative and I always try to incorporate my students needs and wants. This input from my clients and students provides diversity, a sense of community and brings joy and good humour to our classes.
- Running a company: I set up Sadhana Yoga Ltd as a limited company back in 2006. Having a company is great because you can offset business expenses like study and travel, as well as all the business running costs. Registering a company is easy and I recommend it for any teachers who want to make yoga their full-time job. https://companies-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/help-centre/starting-a-company/
- Property – to buy or rent? I rented my old studio in Miramar for 11 years and it was very difficult trying to make ends meet. I was lucky enough to buy a humble freehold property in Marton 7 years ago and was able develop the property into both a working yoga centre with gardens and creative space for my various community art projects and exhibitions. While rates on the property in Marton have recently gone up, owning a commercial property is a much better option than renting. Also, setting up a small yoga centre in a rural town allows you to meet some amazing Kiwis and benefit from interactions with local people who know what it means to be part of a community.
- Running retreats: Retreats are an amazing way to help people expand on their self-care, meditation, healthy eating, and group adventure. I have been privileged enough to take yoga groups on yearly pilgrimages to the hot pools, conducting workshops and yoga challenges, weekend retreats to beautiful locations around the lower North Island, and of course to India. Retreats and group events are a great way to build community and keep excitement and adventure alive for your community.
All I can say in closing is thank you Yoga for the last 20 years and I looking forward to the next 20 years!
Ali
May we all keep on growing wiser with yoga.
If you would like to come on one of our retreats, need professional advice on how to run a yoga business, or want me to give a talk at your next yoga conference please don’t hesitate to ask. I am so grateful for all the lessons and insights I have gained from being a studio owner, teacher, and retreat leader for the last 20 years
You can contact me by email at nzyogacentre@gmail.com or phone and leave a message on my business line on 06 327 4108.
Many thanks Ali
NZ Yoga Centre - AOTEAROA 