Bre | Guatemala 200hr YTT Testimonial

Before arriving at the lake, I felt myself standing on the edge of who I was becoming. The version of me shaped by old patterns, wounds, and ways of being, and the version of me who was ready to soften, expand, and step into something more aligned. Yoga had already been in my life for years, a tool to use whenever I needed grounding, clarity, or a reminder to breathe. It’s been a dream of mine for years to go through yoga teacher training. I didn’t just want to show up and practice yoga in class, I wanted to understand it, embody it, and offer it.

I chose School Yoga Institute because it felt like the most soul-aligned option. The moment I read about the Peruvian Medicine Wheel, the shamanic influences, and the emphasis on ceremony, self-inquiry, and transformation, something in me lit up. I wasn’t looking for a training solely focused on perfecting asana or memorising cues. I was longing for a deeper initiation. A space where I could remember who I am, heal parts of myself I had abandoned, and learn how to hold others through that same process. SYI felt like a mystical portal, and I trusted the instinct.

As soon as training began and I met my teachers and peers, I knew I was in the exact place I was meant to be. Every day was filled with learning, unraveling, laughter, tears, breakthroughs, conversations that cracked me open, and moments of stillness that stitched me back together. Our days of meditation, pranayama, anatomy, philosophy, asana breakdowns, and teachings from the Medicine Wheel helped me understand myself in a new, elemental way. Earth, Water, Fire, and Air weren’t just concepts; they became mirrors. As we cycled through the elemental energies represented through the Serpent, Jaguar, Hummingbird and Eagle cycles I witnessed the ways that each element lived inside me. I watched parts of myself dissolve, re-form, and come into balance.

Some of the most powerful moments for me came during silent mornings, after morning practice while the Mystical Yoga Farm was still in noble silence hours. The lake was a perfect mirror to the sky above, the mountains wrapped in mist, and I could feel the energy of the land holding all of us. That environment, raw, alive, and ancient, became a second teacher. It taught me how to listen to my intuition more deeply, how to ground into the Earth, and how to trust the unknown. It reminded me of my own cyclic nature and invited me to slow down enough to hear myself fully again.

What I will take away from this training goes far beyond the poses or the structure of a class. This experience gave me tools to understand my own mind, to regulate my emotions, and to return to presence over and over again. It helped me to become aware of my patterns, to hold compassion for the parts of me I used to resist, and to trust the wisdom that lives in my body. I learned that yoga isn’t something we do; it’s something we remember. It’s a way of walking through the world with awareness, reverence, and intention.

Receiving my 200-hour certification feels like both an accomplishment and a responsibility. With this training, I hope to create spaces that feel welcoming, safe, and nourishing where people can show up exactly as they are and feel held. I want to share yoga as a practice of embodiment, embodiment of the yogic lifestyle and of the elements from the Peruvian medicine wheel. A practice of connecting with our inner selves and the world around us. A practice that embraces the whole human experience light and shadow, joy and grief, softness and strength.

In my life moving forward, I aspire to keep choosing paths that feel aligned with my purpose. I want to empower others with my gifts, especially those who feel disconnected from themselves or unsure of their place in the world. Yoga helped me find clarity, courage, and inner steadiness, and I want to extend that to others. Whether through classes, workshops, retreats, or community events, I hope to create offerings that help people reconnect to their bodies, their breath, and most importantly their inner knowing.

One of the biggest ways my training with SYI influenced my current path was by showing me the importance of living my life as a ceremony. Everything becomes sacred when done with awareness eating, breathing, speaking, moving, resting, creating, even the moments of stillness. This shift changed the way I relate to myself and the world around me. I feel more present, more connected, and more intentional. I carry the teachings of my mentors, the energy of the land, and the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel with me in everything I do.

My favorite memories from training were the ceremonies. Especially our cacao ceremony to end the jaguar cycle and the Mayan fire ceremony to end our hummingbird cycle. The cacao ceremony really connected us as a group, getting to play, sing, dance, share and open our hearts. The Mayan fire ceremony connected us as a group so strongly to each other and to the land which we were being held by. I remember looking around and feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of human connection. These people who had just been strangers before had become mirrors, support systems, teachers, and friends. At that moment, I felt the truth of yoga not as a shape or alignment but as a union. As belonging. As love.

Completing my training in Guatemala made the experience even more powerful. Lake Atitlán is a sacred container for transformation. The community on the Mystical Yoga Farm, the land, the culture, the simplicity of life there, it all supported the work we were doing internally. It reminded me that healing doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens when we allow ourselves to be held by something bigger than us.
Looking back, this training didn’t just teach me how to guide others through a yoga class. It taught me how to guide myself through life with more grace, awareness, and authenticity. It helped me remember my purpose, my voice, and my gifts. And now, as I step into this new chapter, I feel ready to share what I’ve learned not from perfection, but from presence. Not from knowing everything, but from being willing to listen, learn, and continue growing.

I’m deeply grateful for every moment of this journey, every challenge, every insight, every breath. SYI didn’t just train me. It transformed me. And I know that the ripple effects of this experience will continue to shape the way I move, teach, connect, and serve in the world.