I just got back from Baron Baptiste's Level 2 Teacher Training program in Tulum, Mexico. It was an amazing week of yoga, meditation, inquiry and community.

Each day began with 30 minutes of guided meditation, followed by an in-depth discussion and inquiry into our experience. Baron would start by asking us "what came up" during the meditation and then lead us on a journey of self-discovery and self-awareness as we tried to articulate our insight. Noticing our recurring stories and tendencies to describe the past over and over again, he repeatedly coached us back into the present moment.

At some point during each day we got in a strong 2-3 hour asana practice, but this was not the focus of the training. Everybody at the training was already teaching yoga and had a good handle on the physical practice. That's not to say we weren't challenged, but the week certainly was not about doing lots of yoga asana

For me, Level 2 was about learning how to tap into my own self-cultivation practices, like yoga and meditation, and transform them into practices for serving others. By learning to see myself as I truly am through observation and inquiry, I am more able to step out of the psychological traps that keep me from connecting with others and sharing the human experience.

The practice teaching involves an intense community process that requires the participants to empower and lift each other up AND hold each other accountable when we slip into fear, doubt, or complacency. During the practice teaching, we engage in a process called the Magic Carpet Ride. During this "game" we have an opportunity to see ourselves in each other - through the breakdowns and the victories. While I got some great feedback when I was teaching my Magic Carpet Ride, the feedback the rest of the teachers received during their rides was just as valuable. Being able to see how our defense mechanisms come up and stop us from teaching from a place without pretense, was eye-opening. When each of us was able to step out of our head and teach from "nothing," that is when the real teaching started to happen.

The program is really about learning to empower ourselves and everybody around us so that we can step out of our small self-centered world and see that the secret of happiness comes from serving others without a concern for looking good.