When I decided to study at IOYU, I didn’t have any clue what was waiting for me. We are familiar with the main approaches in the educational process from the early days of school and barely anything changes at a later stage. “Learning is just learning” – but this is so only at the first glance. So, what have I discovered since I started studying at International Open Yoga University (IOYU)?
Academic load
First, I believed that studying to become a yoga teacher is a hobby and is for leisure. The enrollment at IOYU broke this stereotype. I could not understand, that the subject of yoga and self-development, which seems to be simple, easy and pleasant, requires hard work. This work assumed strict discipline towards myself, honesty, organization, continuous self-development, at times some routine and so on.
The educational system at Open Yoga University turned out to be a kind of filter that outcasts “unwanted” people from the university. If you are not interested in devoting all your free time to Yoga, to reading and listening to lectures, watching videos, passing tests, writing reviews and reports on every occasion (i.e., sharing knowledge further), sooner or later, you will get tired of it and will be expulsed. The worst case is that you come up with excuses why you and Yoga don’t get along, trying to justify your unwillingness to work hard on yourself.
Interpersonal relationships
Secondly, at Open Yoga University you learn to learn again. Therefore, everyone, without exceptions, takes the course Yoga of Learning, where you find recommendations for any seemingly trifle thing, such as: “Do not judge Teachers, do not discuss your personal life with your peers”, etc. Such instructions seemed to me to come out of thin air driven by the rules of a role-play game. I wasn’t sure I wanted to play this game. However, later I saw in this a very deep meaning, which now I try to apply in other areas of my life.
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These provisions are pillars and principles that you should take as a guideline in maintaining relationships with people around you. I think such an approach would help solve many problems in our society. By following these simple recommendations, I enjoy life, even when discussing work-related issues with peers. I have not encountered a more sound approach before.
Design and organization of all processes
Thirdly, the learning process at first seemed muddled and unorganized. It can be compared with a broken orchestra or a cart from a popular children’s fairy tale with wheels of different diameters. My first thoughts were: “Why is everything so wrong? Is there no one here to restore order? Why is no one working on design, texts, video? Do people really have no time? ”
However, a year later, moving to the second year, I began to understand that our school is a living organism that is developing very quickly. Growing at any higher speed is unimaginable! This happens because everything in the University is done by students and graduates. How many are they? One thousand? Two? Everything that you can find in IOYU is the fruit of the students’ work: their achievements, their perfection and imperfection are in one bottle. Moreover, this mechanism works and it is beautiful! I admire what has already been done! It is simply breathtaking what will be done in the near future!
It is worth noting that everything that is done at IOYU is NOT the students’ priority. Most likely, each student dedicates their time to OpenYoga extracurricular activities after work, studies or household chores. Yet, everyone contributes to the development and organization of the university.
Studying at IOYU, being inside this system, I saw more than I expected. Here, each participant is a cog in the IOYU machine, oriented and motivated to do more than they used to do, to apply their efforts to the maximum. Even in this situation, it seems that a well-defined organization doesn’t exist; a lack of coherence is in everything.
Yet, in my opinion, this is a wonderful scenario, which is a continuous learning process. Realizing this, I am sure that sooner or later, streaming lectures will get better; each class will be honed to such an extent that it will be like a rough diamond which, after faceting, turns into a magnificent gemstone.
After realizing the above misconceptions, I stopped judging and complaining about our country, the world, our city. I look at our roads and understand that it could have been worse or nothing at all, but the roads exist. After all, someone once laid these roads. It does not matter if they are paved ideally or not. Now I don’t think: “Oh, look at the country we have, why is this and that not done?”
Everything follows a certain order. The whole mechanism is inseparable from its parts. I want to contribute and I see where I can help. The areas that I cannot influence, I leave to those who have the skills and abilities to manage them.
Thus, I realized that studying at International Open Yoga University is not an idle pastime, not a hobby, not an activity dependent on the mood, but is real work and self-transformation. Having graduated from this university, you will certainly be in a winning position, since IOYU will give you the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in the most appropriate way for the benefit of all beings. In addition, in the study process, you will learn to be more efficient and consequent, you will discover you have a lot of other talents and will certainly become happier yourself and make everyone around you happy!
At IOYU you will get the results you are ready to invest in!
Authors: Axinia Vilinyar
Photo from IOYU archive
Editors: Maria Gayatri, Alla Ravi, Evgenia Agni, Olga Belous
Chief editor: Mirra
Project curator: Kerigona
Translators: Nat Satcitananda, Teya Sweet, Alexander OpenYoga
