Being A Yoga Teacher |
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First of all this article is my personal opinion. As a Hindu and Asian I have strong opinion about yoga! From an early age I saw my father, my grandfather and very old relatives practising yoga. So I have a good understanding of yoga from my childhood. Maybe I am an old fashioned yoga teacher believing in the old fashion teaching way!!! If you disagree with my article please write to this magazine!! In Indian tradition your teacher is the third most important person in your life, after your mother and father. He/she is the person you look up to, respect, and ask for guidance. It is true whether your teacher is a yoga teacher or music teacher. |
Yoga means union of the individual soul becoming one with the absolute. Whether you are teaching the physically demanding Ashtanga or gentle and spiritual Kundalini yoga, deep down yoga is about self-realisation and transformation to enable a person to reach their full potential. The student may not realise that, but as a teacher you should know what the end goal of yoga is! It is very important that the teacher constantly reminds the student of this final goal and encourages them to practise pranayama and meditation, not just asanas! A Teacher him/her self should be spiritual, because yoga is a spiritual journey. If you are not spiritual your students never will be! Spiritual does not mean changing your name to an Indian name like Sakthi or Nataraja and saying some fancy Sanskrit words like “namaste” every time you meet with some one!! Believe me I have seen it so many times!!! A teacher in a class should look like a yoga teacher not like a disco dancer! She/he should look modest and respectable!! One day I attended a yoga class in a famous fitness club and was horrified to see the teacher, who had a bright red lipstick, all her nails were polished in different colours and her clothes were more appropriate to disco dancing than a yoga class (I love the white trousers and the yellow top uniform the Sivananda Teachers wears!). The most controversial, but for me the most natural and important rule is that a yoga teacher should be a strict vegetarian!! I cannot comprehend, that a teacher talks about love and peace to his/her students and goes home to eat meat/fish. A teacher should never drink alcohol or smoke! A Teacher should introduce at least the basic yogic philosophy to his/her students, explaining the meaning of chakras, mudras etc... I have seen so many students sitting in lotus, their hands in ‘GYAN MUDRA’ without knowing the meaning of that mudra. I personally know teachers who do not know the basic yogic philosophy including ‘Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras’! The teacher should explain the principles and benefits of Pranayama, and make sure each student does it properly. I cannot see the benefit in a yoga class without teaching at least the basic pranayama. Yoga is life of self discipline! A Yoga teacher should practise regularly, not only asanas, but also pranayama and meditation, if you don’t practise regularly you cannot ask your students to practise regularly! We as Yoga teachers choose to become teachers, because we love yoga, the spiritual path it shows and its discipline, not because being a yoga teacher is cool or trendy. We want to share this path and discipline with others, it is our choice, nobody forces us to become a yoga teacher and once we have made the choice we should live as a yoga teacher… Remember, doing wonderful postures does not make you a better yogi, if it is, then all gymnasts would be yogis!!! |
