What An Expert In Yoga Trainers Has To Say

One of the questions I have often heard a great deal from people interested in yoga is "I would want 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 the best teacher is quite very important to your growth and progress on your yoga path. There are many 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 vulnerable to a false sense of power (ego.) Having a teacher that will respond to questions and provide reassurance at crucial moments, and also 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 yoga instructor teachers of Hatha yoga on the planet, the most clear-cut 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 within 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 "yoga family." Consequently for generations upon generations, his direct ancestors, including several of his uncles other current loved ones, 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 also the other 1% came by way of walk-ins or perhaps the yellow pages. (Here is a good hint within your search for a teacher - talk to that person's students and find out how enthusiastic they are about the training and guidance they're 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 according to both the traditional Eastern philosophy of Ayurveda and Yoga, as well as the science based Western philosophy of "show us proof and we shall believe."

Admittedly, it may be quite hard to search out a teacher that happens to have this unique combination of experience, background, and credentials. And also to begin studying yoga, you don't necessarily need someone as qualified as my teacher.

The significant thing is that the yoga teacher has some verifiable training or certification that may vouch for the very fact that they know both the theory and application of what they can be teaching. Ideally, this is going to be someone who has valid certification as a teacher. Whether your teacher attended free classes at the local area center for long enough to absorb a great foundation, or paid many money to attend every certification program and yoga retreat available, both of them are valid paths to teaching. How qualified they may be depends upon the person's natural talent, the time they spent training, and just how qualified their teachers were.

This might 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 could be a red flag.

Generally, 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 they are overly obsessed with a "power dynamic" linked to being within the role of a teacher, in which case you might have an issue.

As ironic and unfortunate since it is, although yoga is a spiritual and additionally physical path towards well being as well as well-being, because of its nature, it's vulnerable to "misuse" or even abuse. We have all heard stories of organizations that seemingly start out with the best intentions and then find yourself within 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 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 situation due to how focused he is on helping people, not taking from them. To put it another way, it's 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 requirement for yoga in the community) to being available to students outside of classes to help them to with any challenge they may be facing. He is a natural "therapist", and people speak to him about everything from medical conditions to marital problems, crisis in business or professional life, or whatever.

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 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's no perfect formula or maybe "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 search out your yoga teacher. Just do some homework and trust your intuition, and remember, enjoy each moment.