Training never stops for yoga teacher

HEY, TEACHER: Melissa Eades is now registered as an experienced yoga teacher

Commitment has paid dividends for Whanganui's Melissa Eades who can now say she's an ERYT 500.

As far as an acronym and a collection of numbers go, it's indecipherable to all but those in the yoga world because it signals that Ms Eades is now an experienced registered yoga teacher with 500 hours of training.

"It means that I've registered my training and teaching hours with a globally recognised yoga body, the Yoga Alliance," she said.

She sought the recognition because the Yoga Alliance said there was a potential move toward the regulation of yoga teachers, yoga teacher training programmes and/or yoga studios in New Zealand.

Ms Eades said the ERYT500 designation acknowledges that she has been trained in yoga schools that have met set the Yoga Alliance's study guidelines and also recognises she has completed 2000 hours of teaching yoga classes.

She said while yoga had been around for over 5000 years it had been only in the 100 years that it had been accepted for yoga to be done by women.

As a registered teacher she said she was continually developing her skills and took part in continued training.

"That allows me to continually hone my skills in postural alignment (asana), breath work (pranayama), philosophy and meditation," she said.

Ms Eades attended one of the oldest yoga schools in Australasia based in Byron Bay and there she attained her level 200 and level 300 hour certificates in 2012. She then completed certification as a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher the following year.

"My passion for teaching yoga gives me the motivation to expand and extend myself in my practice and as a teacher. Being an ERYT500 also gives me the opportunity to become a teacher of teachers."

She teaches classes from Monday through to Saturday each week at her studio on Taupo Quay offering private sessions to those wanting one on one, or one-off group sessions.

She also provides yoga classes for those with mobility issues in a chair yoga class and a restore and meditate class for those yogis wanting to deepen their experience of yoga.