A Little Known Fact Concerning Yoga Instructors

Among the questions I already know a whole lot from people thinking about yoga is "I would like to know how I can locate 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 teacher can be very vital that you your growth and progress on your yoga path. There are lots of issues which occur along the way, changes related to 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 experience of power (ego.) Having a teacher that may respond to questions and provide reassurance at crucial moments, and the ability to help balance and adjust a student's perspective when necessary, is essential.

Since I truly believe I have one of the very best teachers of Hatha yoga on the planet, the most straight forward 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.

Shashi is a man within his 50's (although he could pass for late 30's) that has been a teacher of yoga for more than thirty years. He is from Kerala within the South of India, where he hails from what is known their as a "yoga family." Consequently for generations upon generations, his direct ancestors, including several of his uncles other current close family, were yoga teachers. In a sense, yoga is "in his blood" perhaps literally.

Currently he is just 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 enable them to 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 several years ago - with no marketing budget. 99% of his student base was built upon word of mouth, as well as the other 1% came by way of walk-ins or perhaps the yellow pages. (Here is a great hint in your look for a teacher - speak to that person's students and find out how enthusiastic they are about the training and guidance they may be 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 took part in scientific research studies of the affects of yoga on the human 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're going to believe."

Admittedly, it may be very hard to find a teacher that happens to have this unique combination of expertise, background, and credentials. And to begin studying yoga, you do not necessarily need someone as qualified as my teacher.

The significant point is the fact that the yoga teacher has some verifiable training or certification that may vouch for the fact that they know both the theory and application of what they are teaching. Ideally, this may be somebody that has valid certification as a teacher. Whether your teacher attended free classes at the local area center for long enough to absorb a good foundation, or paid a lot of money to attend every certification program and yoga retreat available, they both are valid paths to teaching. How qualified they're relies upon the person's natural talent, the time they spent training, and the way qualified their teachers were.

This might be even more important than point 1 above. With the very best of credentials, if the person you are considering as a teacher has "alterior" motives outside of helping people advance both as students of yoga, as well as on their journey towards (yes, I am going to say it) enlightenment, then it could possibly be a red flag.

Simply, 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 else) or if perhaps they're overly obsessed with a "power dynamic" connected with being in the role of a teacher, in which case you would have an issue.

As ironic and unfortunate because it is, although yoga is a spiritual and additionally physical path towards well being as well as well-being, because of its nature, it is vulnerable to "misuse" as well as abuse. We have all heard stories of organizations that seemingly start out with the best intentions and then wind up in the news being accused of cult-like practices.

Around I am not trying to scare anyone with this discussion, I am simply saying, take your time and do your investigation. Speak to some students, and attend at least one class just to observe (if possible.) What will be the dynamic between the students and teachers? What does your intuition tell you about both the qualifications and character of the teacher or studio you are considering?

Lets return to my model yoga teacher, Shashi. His yoga studio is really "thriving" - and this includes financially. Ironically, this appears to be click through the up coming webpage situation as a result of how focused he is on helping people, not taking from them. To put it another way, it really is what he gives away, almost every 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 requirement for yoga within 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 anything from health conditions to marital problems, crisis in business or career, or what ever.

He does this because he truly believes that human beings in our times are within desperate need of the wisdom contained in yoga, on both spiritual and physical levels. His most prominent motivation, both within his words as well as in his deeds, is to "help people." This quality of his character is extremely 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 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.