Testimonial from a Rockstar Student in Last Year's Online Training {Guest Post}

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Heather Delia! She is a super smart yoga teacher and studio owner from Louisiana, who took my online teacher training last year. She was a rockstar student! She always had thoughtful questions about the content she was learning, and was quick to offer insights to her fellow teachers in the program. As a result of her engaged participation, she got so much out of the program and I was honored to support her on her path.Now let me turn it over to Heather...Fresh out of my 200-hr yoga teacher training, I opened a yoga studio in May 2014.Although I’ve been a student of yoga since 2001, being a teacher and studio owner is a different ball game. I live in northwest Louisiana and there was only one other yoga studio in town before I opened, so felt that I could make a difference in helping to grow our yoga community.

I certainly didn’t feel prepared or adequate, but knew I needed to start somewhere.

Within the first month of being open, I received an inquiry for a private class. I had never had a private yoga session myself and scoured the web to get information on how to teach in this way.I came across Francesca Cervero through a webinar she did with someone I follow online. She shared so much terrific information and I tried to soak up as much of that information as possible. I then hopped onto Francesca’s website, read her blog, signed up to receive her emails and followed her on social media.The first and subsequent private sessions I taught were completely nerve racking. Looking back on them makes me cringe, but have learned that nobody is an amazing teacher right out of the gate. It really takes time to develop and hone these skills.I kept doing research online about teaching private yoga sessions and all roads kept pointing back to Francesca. She offered a free mini-training with a look inside an actual private yoga session as a precursor to the Science of the Private Lesson online training.Francesca provided so much valuable free content that helped me to develop as a private yoga teacher. But deep down, I knew there was more to it all. Which is how I came to registering for her 30-hour online training course.This was the first time I've done an online training like this and was super skeptical of the investment. Since it wasn't a live training, I was afraid that I wasn’t going to get my money’s worth.I am happy to say that my fears were not justified. It really was a terrific training! In fact, I think because I was able to go at my pace, take notes and review parts that I didn’t quite grasp the first time, it made it even more valuable.

Most notably I learned through the training how to:

• Meet students where they are and what that really means.

• Structure private sessions with the specific goals and needs of the student in mind.

• Teach in a more meaningful way by bringing greater awareness and presence to teaching, which has translated into transformational changes both on and off them mat for students.

• Be more confident in my skills as a teacher and charge what I’m worth.

• Market my skills as a private yoga teacher and gain referrals from current clients.

There was also a private Facebook group with those who were part of the training and that community has been so supportive. It has been priceless to learn from others who are in the same place or a few steps ahead of where I am right now.That said, I've made back the money I invested in the Science of the Private Lesson training within months of completing the training and my private client base continues to grow! I attribute this to Francesca's training and applying what I've learned.

And just this last week I started working with another private client. That brings me to 7 REGULAR private clients; one is doing two sessions a week!

In addition to being a yoga teacher and studio owner, I have been working a full-time job at an advertising agency. A job that I also love! But my schedule has gotten so full with teaching private sessions, that in January I’ll be moving to part-time at that job so I’ll have more availability to serve yoga students in private sessions!Oh, and not only have my skills as a private teacher improved, but I’ve also seen a shift in the way I teach group classes. This has resulted in more people attending the classes I teach.My gratitude to Francesca for providing this training is deep. And I’m not just some nameless plant writing this. If you want to discuss my experience with Francesca and her training, I’d be happy to talk with you. Just shoot me an email at heather (at) aspireyogacenter (dot) comHeather DeliaOwner and Yoga Teacher, Aspire Yoga Center in Shreveport, LAwww.aspireyogacenter.comSince her first Sun Salutation in September 2001, Heather has experienced tremendous benefits from yoga — physically, mentally and spiritually. She has a deep desire to help others experience transformational benefits from yoga and is excited to spread her knowledge and passion for the practice with her students. Heather is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) through Yoga Alliance and is currently completing her 500-hour certification. She specializes in private, one-on-one yoga instruction.