When I signed up for the 100-hour yoga teacher training, I didn’t know what I was truly stepping into. I had envisioned slow, peaceful mornings and graceful movements. But what I experienced was far more profound, a journey inward. It wasn’t just about touching my toes or holding a pose. It was about breathing through discomfort, finding my center, and becoming someone, I never thought I could be.

The Call to Yoga

Like many, I came to yoga looking for relief, relief from stress, restlessness, and a feeling that something in my life was missing. I had dabbled in a few yoga classes before, but they were mostly physical, stretch here, breathe there, and leave with a slightly calmer mind. But somewhere deep inside, I craved more. I wanted to understand yoga beyond the mat, beyond the poses. I wanted to know the “why,” not just the “how.”

The idea of a 100 Hour Yoga Teacher Training came as a suggestion from a friend. I hesitated at first. I wasn’t aiming to teach, nor did I consider myself particularly flexible or spiritual. But something about it felt right, a nudge from the universe that this was a path I needed to explore.

Stepping Into the Unknown

The first day of training felt like the first day of school. I entered the space with nervous energy, scanning the room filled with strangers who would soon become my fellow travelers on this journey. Our teacher greeted us with a gentle smile and a grounding presence. Her words that morning still echo in my mind: “Yoga is not about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you already are.”

From that point on, I knew this training would go deeper than anything I’d imagined.

Our daily schedule was structured, morning meditation, asana practice, philosophy discussions, anatomy lessons, and self-reflection. Each session built upon the next, guiding us through the eight limbs of yoga. We weren’t just learning poses; we were learning principles for living.

Breath as the Foundation

Pranayama, the practice of controlling the breath, became a turning point in my journey. I had always underestimated the power of breath. It seemed too simple to be transformational. But once I committed to it, everything began to shift.

Breathing deeply, with awareness, brought me into the present moment more than anything else. It helped me face the discomfort of long-held poses, quiet the storm of thoughts in my mind, and release old tensions I didn’t know I was holding.

I started to see breath as a bridge, a connection between body and mind, between external noise and inner silence. With every inhale and exhale, I was learning to be with myself.

Finding Balance On and Off the Mat

Balance in yoga is not just physical, it’s emotional, mental, and spiritual. Learning to stand steady in tree pose was one thing, but learning to stay centered in the chaos of life was something else entirely.

During the training, we explored how balance isn’t about perfection. It's about the ability to fall and return, to wobble and still choose to rise. In those moments when my muscles trembled, or when my thoughts screamed louder than the instructor’s voice, I realized that balance comes from within.

Yoga taught me that I didn’t need to control everything around me to feel stable. I just needed to come back to my breath, to the moment, to myself.

Becoming: The Inner Journey

Perhaps the most unexpected gift of the 100-hour training was the inner transformation. I thought I was going in to learn yoga techniques, but what I found was a deeper understanding of who I am.

Through the teachings of the Yoga Sutras, our philosophy classes, and hours of self-reflection, I started peeling back the layers of my identity. The doubts, the insecurities, the roles I had been playing, they began to dissolve. In their place, I found stillness, clarity, and strength.

We were often encouraged to journal our thoughts, and through those pages, I confronted emotions I had buried for years. I cried during savasana more than once, not because of sadness, but because of release. It was as if my body was letting go of years of tension I had accepted as normal.

This becoming wasn’t a grand, dramatic shift. It was quiet. Gentle. Like a whisper from the soul reminding me of my own light.

The Community That Held Me

Yoga is often seen as a solo practice, but my training reminded me of the beauty of community. The group of people I trained with came from different backgrounds, ages, and experiences. And yet, on the mat, we were equals. We struggled together, learned together, and supported one another in ways that words can’t fully capture.

There was something sacred about sharing vulnerability with others, seeing someone else break down during a meditation and knowing you weren’t alone in your own inner battles. We laughed, we cried, we healed together.

The sense of belonging that formed during those 100 hours has stayed with me. Even now, months later, I feel connected to each person I trained with in a way that goes beyond friendship. It's a shared journey that binds us.

Beyond the Training

When the 100 hours came to an end, there was a bittersweet feeling in the air. We had grown, we had transformed, and now we were stepping back into the world, forever changed.

I didn’t walk away with just a certificate. I walked away with tools for life. I learned how to breathe through stress, how to move with intention, and how to connect with something greater than myself. I learned that yoga doesn’t end when you roll up your mat. It continues in how you speak, how you listen, how you love.

Since completing the training, my yoga practice has deepened. But more importantly, my relationship with myself has changed. I approach life with more patience, more compassion, and more presence.

Final Reflections

“Breath, Balance, and Becoming” isn’t just a title. It’s a path I continue to walk every day.

Yoga didn’t make my life perfect. It didn’t erase the challenges or remove the chaos. But it gave me a foundation, a way to return to myself when things feel unsteady.

This journey of 100 hours was just the beginning. It opened a door to a lifelong exploration of body, mind, and soul. It reminded me that healing doesn’t have to be loud, and transformation doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes, it’s as simple and powerful as taking one conscious breath.

If you’re considering yoga teacher training, whether to teach or just to deepen your own practice, know this: it will change you. Not in the way you expect, but in the way you need.

Yoga is not about becoming someone else. It’s about becoming more of who you already are. And that, I’ve learned, is the most beautiful journey of all.

Set perfectly in the Sayan district of Bali's art and culture capital, Ubud, Maa Shakti Yog is an impressive 100 hour yoga teacher training course. The school is located just a few km away from Ubud Monkey Forest, Blanco Museum, and Saraswati Temple. The rooms and yoga hall at the school are clean and spacious, with all the necessary facilities and amenities. Apart from this, there is a swimming pool and a lavish garden. The Wi-Fi facility is available on the whole premise. The school is providing a chance for students to learn yoga from its core to peripheral aspects with a wide range of yoga courses, suitable for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners.