Questions For about Certified Yoga Instructors

One of the questions I already know a whole lot from people interested in yoga is "I would want to know how I can locate a good yoga teacher?" And if your ready to start practicing yoga and asking that question yourself, your smart to do so.

Having the best teacher is quite essential to your growth and progress on your yoga path. There are lots of issues that 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 sense of power (ego.) Having a teacher that will respond to questions and provide reassurance at crucial moments, as well as the capability to help balance and adjust a student's perspective when necessary, is vital.

Since I truly believe I have among the very best teachers of Hatha yoga on the earth, the most straight forward way I can think of to help answer the question above is to talk from experience about the qualities I have seen in my teacher, Shashi Pottatil.

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 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 members of the family, 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, as well as the other 1% came by way of walk-ins or perhaps the yellow pages. (Here is a great hint within your look for a teacher - speak to that person's students and find out how enthusiastic they are about the training and guidance they can 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 participated in scientific research studies of the affects of yoga on one's body and immune system. This experience gives him a unique perspective, one based upon both the traditional Eastern philosophy of Ayurveda and Yoga, and the science based Western philosophy of "show us proof and we are 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 also to begin studying yoga, you don't necessarily need someone as qualified as my teacher.

The important factor is that the yoga teacher has some verifiable training or certification that can vouch for the truth that they know both the theory and application of what they are teaching. Ideally, this will be somebody that has valid certification as a teacher. Whether your teacher attended free classes at the neighborhood center for long enough to absorb a great foundation, or paid lots of money to attend every certification program and yoga retreat available, both of them are valid paths to teaching. How qualified they are depends on the individual's natural talent, the time they spent training, and the way qualified their teachers were.

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

In essence, 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 may be overly obsessed with a "power dynamic" linked to being in the role of a teacher, in which case you could have an issue.

As ironic and unfortunate because it is, although yoga is a spiritual as well as physical path towards health and well-being, because of its demands, it's susceptible to "misuse" or perhaps abuse. We have all heard stories of organizations that seemingly start out with the top intentions and after that end up within 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 research. Speak to some students, and attend at least one class only 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 actually "thriving" - and this includes financially. Ironically, this appears to be the case as a result of how focused he is on helping people, not taking from them. To put it one other way, it really 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 anything from the time he volunteers to various community organizations (i.e. he teaches for free wherever he can find a requirement for yoga in the community) to being available to students outside of classes to help them with any challenge they might be facing. He is a natural "therapist", and people speak to him about everything from medical problems to marital problems, crisis in business or professional fitness trainer life, or whatever.

He does this because he truly believes that human beings in our times will be in desperate need of the wisdom contained in yoga, on both spiritual and physical levels. His most prominent motivation, both within his words and in his deeds, is to "help people." This quality of his character is quite apparent, and I am certain it explains the success of his yoga practice.

Although there isn't any perfect formula as well as "perfect" yoga teacher, I hope that by utilizing my teacher as a model, I have given you a useful frame of reference when you set out to locate your yoga teacher. Just do some homework and trust your intuition, and simply, enjoy each moment.