By Phil (Krishna) Milgrom

I have never been disappointed by an Ashram training.  I am always amazed how much every training exceeds my expectations.  But of all the many Svaroopa^® trainings I have taken, none compares to the Meditation Teacher Training (MTT).  It transformed my practice, my life, my teaching and even my students. 

After MTT, my own meditation and yoga practice grew by leaps and bounds.  I had already known the importance of meditation.  But I was not drawn to sitting for any extended time.  I could sit to watch sports or a movie for hours, but not to meditate.  That was too much for my mercurial mind. 

Taking “Meditation Made Easy” helped.  But I still usually sat only for 10 or 20 minutes at most, and not every day.  When the first MTT was offered, I considered it but then balked.  I regretted that.  Fellow teachers who took MTT raved about the training.  So I vowed to take the next offering.  Pre-pandemic, I didn’t have to wait long.

MTT was profound and enlightening for me.  I learned about the philosophical and mystical basis of Svaroopa^® yoga and meditation.  I gained a greater understanding of why meditation is so important.  Learning how to work with my mind, I could get beyond it and to dive deeper inward.  Instead of fighting with my mind, I made it an ally.  I could then settle more easily into a deeper meditative state.  Now I meditate every morning for a full hour, sometimes longer. 

The training also taught me how to work with my students’ minds: how to motivate them, how to help them overcome their own difficulties and obstacles, and how to help them develop a steady, rewarding practice. 

During the MTT, I enjoyed the daily meditation immersions led by Gurudevi.  I especially appreciated Gurudevi’s in-depth discourses on the teachings.  These deep meditation immersions and discourses helped me both as a practitioner and a teacher of meditation.

MTT was challenging as well as rewarding.  For homework each evening, we wrote a discourse.  Basically, we were doing work that would have to be done after completing MTT, as our talks get incorporated in the meditation class we later teach.  The next morning, we divided into small groups.  We presented our discourses to our group and received valuable feedback.  The writing helped me gain more clarity about teaching meditation.  The feedback helped me become a better and more confident communicator. 

Given meditation is the ultimate practice, so teaching meditation has become for me the ultimate profession.  My students have benefited immensely.  My teaching comes from a deeper place now – from my Self.  The Grace pours in, from Guru, and pours out, to my students. 

MTT is offered less frequently nowadays.  So don’t balk at this next one as I once did!  Jump right in.  You will be grateful – as I always will be.