Khrissy Marshall
March 17, 2020 01:59
I'm very disappointed in Gaia Flow yoga teacher training. I was a monthly draft member for a few years, I never felt the community feel as they claim but I also didn't join the studio for that reason so that part didn't bother me. The classes are good, the neck rub at the end is always a cherry on top. My passion for yoga grew over the years so I decided to sign up for their yoga teacher training (YTT). I didn't do research on studios in the area that offered YTT (hindsight big mistake on my part) since I was already a member, I figured why not. I was excited and driven to become a yoga teacher, that is until about week 2 of the 10 week program. Inconsistencies and lack of training were noticed by the yoga teacher trainees. We didn't learn much about sequencing a class which is the foundation, we were told that if we sign up (and pay) for the 300 hour program, we will learn it there (huh?!). I felt lost and confused causing my drive to go down. In addition, Chrystal made offensive racial comments, she would also make comments on how she wouldn't come back to trainees classes (during test out which is your very first class to teach). There's a difference between constructive criticism (tangible advice) and straight up criticism. It felt negative and I couldn't possibly see what could be taken away and learned from such feedback. I got my certification eventually but still felt lost with minimal knowledge on how to teach. I sent a heart felt email explaining my higher self desired to teach so I wanted to go to another YTT program to re-learn everything as I didn't feel equipped by Gaia Flow to teach and asked for half of a refund (or even additional learning materials/sessions), after a week I didn't hear back, I finally did after a follow up . The email read " We are sorry that you feel that way and you are entitled to your opinion about our program. However, you are not eligible for a refund." For a company that claims they love you as much as they do and are a "love based community", their response and actions tell a different story. This studio is good if you're only a member that doesn't realize the behind the scenes of the obvious burned out owners but as a YTT trainee, buyer be aware! If you come out of training ready to go (shout out to those that do!), then you'll be fine but if you require any extra love, training or time, you'll be thrown out to the wolves to figure it out for yourself. It's obvious their YTT programs are a big source of funds for the studio, it's a mill factory of teachers, it's clear they don't care about the development of their teachers-- just the tuition fees $$. Do yourself a favor and look into other YTT programs as Dallas has several to choose from. This is just my experience, I'm writing this review in response to their lack of basic human care (the short email response says everything) and to warn hopeful yoga teacher trainees.