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How do you choose a yoga teacher?

The question how do you choose a yoga teacher came up in a workshop that I recently attended. At the time my response to this was that it is an intuitive feeling you have when you come across a teacher that you seem to connect with. Having pondered over this some more, I looked at what has attracted me to the yoga teachers, that I still look to for guidance, and why I have let go of some teachers along the way.

My thoughts on this are:
  • The yoga teachers that I really connect with are the ones who have something that I would like to learn myself.
  • They display all elements of yoga, not just the physical asana practice. They teach with kindness and compassion,
  • I trust them to adjust me in postures, especially poses that I am fearful of.
  • My trusted yoga teachers have enabled me to work through some of these poses and move on when I was ready… They don’t look to hold me back.
  • A good teacher for me is someone who wants to share their knowledge and growth with their students and is able to admit that they do not have all the answers.
My yoga teacher recently said “do not put your teacher on a pedestal, we are all human with human failings”. This to me says we do not need to be perfect; the honesty in that statement is very freeing.

I don’t think I need to say what I don’t like in a teacher. It is pretty clear what works for me and I can only speak from my own experience. I do, however, think that people looking for a yoga teacher should try a few different ones before deciding which path they want to take. You may be lucky enough to find the one for you in your first class. Whatever you find, it will be the start of your yogic journey
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Comments

  1. Anonymous13 November, 2009 10:31

    This piece is a refreshing antedote to the prevailing dominant culture in Yoga instruction generally - although if you are at all fearful of a posture my view is that you should just take note of the fear and avoid it altogether until you understand the root of it. My experience is that there is no enlightenment in undertaking a crusade against emotions held in the body or mind. Namaste

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  2. Anonymous15 November, 2010 19:23

    my favorite teacher (she's nothing short of brilliant) has this amazing ability to help me be present. it's a gift i have a helluva time giving to myself, but her aura, her presence, and her way with all aspects of yoga helps me be here, now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yoga Mama26 November, 2010 21:11

    What a lovely discription of your yoga teacher..How great that you found each other, as i reckon she learns from you too. :-)

    ReplyDelete

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