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Yoga class, yoga course, yoga instruction,
yoga lesson, yoga teacher training, yoga retreats, yoga school, yoga
teaching, yoga teacher, yoga teacher certification
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One of the questions
I have heard a lot from
people interested in yoga is
I would like to know how I
can find a good yoga
teacher?
And if your ready to
begin practicing yoga
and asking that
question yourself, your
smart to do so.
Having a good yoga
teacher
is very important to
your growth and progress on
your yoga path. There are
lots of things that occur
along the way, changes
associated with physical,
energetic, and spiritual
growth, and sometimes
obstacles emerge.
All of these things
make a student of yoga
curious,
sometimes anxious, other
times maybe even susceptible
to a false sense of power
(ego.) Having a teacher that
can answer questions and
provide reassurance at
crucial moments, and the
ability to help balance and
adjust a student's
perspective when necessary,
is crucial.
Since I truly
believe I have one of the
very best teachers of Hatha
yoga
on the planet, the
most straightforward way I
can think of to help answer
the question above is to
speak from experience about
the qualities I have seen in
my teacher, Shashi Pottatil.
1. Background and
Training:
Shashi is a man in
his 50's
(although he could
pass for late 30's) who has
been a teacher of yoga for
more than 30 years. He is
from Kerala in the South of
India, where he hails from
what is known their as a |
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yoga family. This
means that for generations
upon generations, his direct
ancestors, including several
of his uncles other current
family members, were yoga
teachers. In a sense, yoga
is in his blood perhaps
literally. Currently he is
one of the highest ranking
certified teachers of the
Yoga Alliance, the most
prestigious yoga
certification organization
based here in the states. He
regularly volunteers as a
teacher at churches, synagogs, retirement homes,
and works with cancer
patients to help them
harness the health-giving
power of yoga to fight their
disease. His studio in Mira
Mesa, CA ?Yoga and
Meditation Center? is a
thriving yoga practice that
he started a few years ago ?
with no marketing budget.
99% of his student base was
built upon word of mouth,
and the other 1% came by way
of walk-ins or the yellow
pages. (Here is a great hint
in your search for a teacher
? talk to that person's
students and find out how
enthusiastic they are about
the training and guidance
they are receiving.)
Besides his
experience and credentials
in traditional Hatha yoga,
he has degrees in science
and business, and was an
executive for pharmaceutical
company based in India. From
this connection to the
scientific community, he
participated in scientific
research studies of the
affects of yoga on the body
and immune system. This
experience gives him a
unique perspective, one
based on both the
traditional Eastern
philosophy of Ayurveda and
Yoga, and the science based
Western philosophy of 'show
us proof and we will
believe.?
Admittedly, it may
be very hard to find a
yoga teacher
that happens to have
this unique combination of
experience, background, and
credentials. And to begin
studying yoga, you don't
necessarily need someone as
qualified as my teacher.
The important thing
is that the yoga teacher has
some verifiable training or
certification
that can vouch for
the fact that they know both
the theory and application
of what they are teaching.
Ideally, this will be
someone that has valid
certification as a teacher.
Whether your teacher
attended free classes at the
local community center for
long enough to absorb a good
foundation, or paid lots of
money to attend every
certification program and
yoga retreat available, they
both are valid paths to
teaching. How qualified they
are depends on the
individual's natural talent,
the time they spent
training, and how qualified
their teachers were.
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2. Character and
Motivation
This might be even
more important than point 1
above. With the very best of
credentials, if the person
you are considering as a
yoga teacher has alterior motives
outside of helping people
advance both as students of
yoga, and on their journey
towards (yes, I am going to
say it) enlightenment, then
it could be a red flag.
Now, I am not
claiming that yoga teachers
should only teach from the
goodness of their heart
with no eye towards
creating a viable business
and livelihood for
themselves with their
teaching endeavors. What I
am saying is, if their
motivation is
inappropriately slanted
towards personal gain
(whether financial, sexual,
or otherwise) or if they are
overly obsessed with a power
dynamic associated with
being in the role of a yoga teacher, then you would have
a problem.
As ironic and unfortunate as
it is, although yoga is a
spiritual as well as
physical path towards health
and well-being, by its very
nature, it is susceptible to
misuse or even abuse. We
have all heard stories of
organizations that seemingly
start out with the best
intentions and then end up
in the news being accused of
cult-like practices.
As much as I am not
trying to scare anyone with
this discussion,
I am simply saying,
take your time and do your
research. Talk to some
students, and attend at
least one class just to
observe (if possible.) What
is the dynamic between the
yoga students and yoga teachers? What
does your intuition tell you
about both the
qualifications and character
of the yoga teacher or studio you
are considering?
Lets return to my
model yoga teacher, Shashi.
His yoga studio is truly
thriving - and this includes
financially. Ironically,
this appears to be the case
because of how focused he is
on helping people, not
taking from them. To put it
another way, it is what he
gives away, every single day
and week, that brings him
such a successful school of
yoga.
What I mean by gives
away is everything from the
time he volunteers to
various community
organizations (i.e. he
teaches
for free wherever he
can find a need for yoga in
the community) to being
available to students
outside of classes to help
them with any challenge they
may be facing.
He is a natural
therapist,
and people talk to him about
everything from health
problems to marital
problems, crisis in
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business or professional
life, or whatever.
He does this because he
truly believes that human
beings
in our times are in
desperate need of the wisdom
contained in yoga, on both
spiritual and physical
levels. His most prominent
motivation, both in his
words and in his deeds, is
to ?help people.? This
quality of his character is
very apparent, and I am
certain it explains the
success of his yoga
practice.
Although there is no
perfect formula or even
perfect yoga teacher, I
hope that by using my yoga teacher as a model, I have
given you a useful frame of
reference as you set out to
find your yoga teacher.
Just do some homework and
trust your intuition,
and as always, enjoy each
moment.
-Namaste.
Author Douglas Gargaro
studies yoga in San Diego,
CA. For more information
about Hatha yoga visit his
website.
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One of the most
popular forms of relaxation and fitness sessions today
is
yoga. Nowadays yoga training
centers with excellent yoga teachers are almost as prevalent as fitness gyms and spas. Considering all the
wonders - both in the realms of body and mind wellness - yoga brings to its
practitioner, it's really not surprising why we're witnessing this trend. In
case you're interested in learning yoga, one of the most important factors to
consider is picking a yoga teacher.
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