Am I too old?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

After years of taking care of my family, my students, and all the stress that goes with kids and largely ignoring me, I sort of woke up from a pharmaceutical ‘la-la land’ this past spring and realized I was in a pretty bad state in both my health and emotions. Since then, I’ve joined a gym, lost 50 pounds (with another 30-40 to go), and discovered yoga. My external and internal transformation has been such a blessing and for once in my life, I see a path to peace.

Here’s the thought that sits at the back of my mind though. I’m almost 51. There’s a lot of living ahead of me, I get that. I see wonderful possible paths in my future, especially with yoga, but there is this small concern that many of those paths will close quickly every year that I age and I fight being frantic to learn everything I can before I ‘age out.’ On my worst days I want to be angry that I wasted so much of my life. On my best days, I look ahead with joy.

How old is too old to think about continuing to learn? To investigate the branches? To think about deepening my practice with teacher training? To maybe one day teach, if my path leads me there. Visiting ashrams both in the states and abroad?

I read posts of people who say you shouldn’t even think of teacher training until you’ve practiced 2 years, 3 years, or 5 years - but what if you feel like you don’t have that much time?

I have been a teacher of special needs children for years, so I know I start with a clear mind of what it is to be an effective teacher and why I want to teach. Mostly, I think I have a pretty good perspective in what it is like to start a yogic life from a dark place and move forward.

Is there a time limit that I’m just not aware of that I need to keep in the back of my mind?

#2

First of all - congrats on your changes! I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to make those changes.

I can’t answer for the ‘am I too old for teacher training question’ - but I think the only time you are truly too old to learn anything is when you move from this earth. I know that sounds kinda wooooo-wooooo - - - but I truly believe it.

I am a quilter and sometimes I think to myself…oh, why bother…I’m too old to do, say, art quilting, or learn an organic dying process. But one day - I realized that I am ONLY 52, my grandmother lived to 94 (with full control of her mind and life until 92) so it’s conceivable that I have another 40 years left to walk this earth. With that amount of time ahead of me, why would I want to limit myself and my learning?

I think teacher training is a great idea…I’ve thought of it myself. Not so much because I want to teach (I don’t think I do) but because I think it would be a wonderful way to deepen my knowledge and practice.

Maybe you could start by doing some workshops or seminars until you’ve hit the 2-3 year point? Or work one-on-one with a teacher for awhile to deepen your practice and perhaps become clear on what path you want to follow?

Best wishes with whatever path you choose!

#3

BeHereNow: It doesn’t matter what age you are, you’re always going to look back and feel like you are running out of time. As humans we are always in a rush, lamenting what we could have done if we started just a little bit earlier - but all things happen in their own time. Without your life experience, perhaps it wouldn’t have unlocked these transformations for you, and perhaps it wouldn’t make your future path as amazing as it will be now. So don’t worry too much about what happened before,or what will come. Everything is, and will be, just as it should be.

I do know several people in their late fourties/early fifties who have only recently undergone teacher training, and they have actually started to teach (and they are amazing teachers, by the way). You said you are first interested in going through a program to deepen your own practice, and[B] there is not a better reason on this earth to take a teacher training course. [/B] Whether it leads you to teach in the future or not, it’s a worthwhile endeavor just for the self. Some say that one should not undergo the process until they have practiced some time, but if you are honest with yourself, you will see that it is not the certificate that prepares you. So take the course, and ask your teachers to be honest with you about whether or not you are ready to teach, and reflect on what they say. You will know what is right when the time comes.

It may also behoove you to find teachers in traditions that inspire you and take retreats, workshops, or private study with them. I highly recommend visiting ashrams in your own country and abroad. The experience, the people, and the devotion you show to yourself are worth every moment of investment. You are absolutely never too old to crack open the world and let the amazing light of creation spill out. I had a friend who once told me that staying young is an art, and it comes from being open to the process of being reborn, again and again, all throughout your life.

I should add that traditionally householders waited until their children were grown up and all moved away before they really started to retreat from their previous responsibilities and delve into their own spiritual practices. Based on this, I’d say that you are right on time. :slight_smile:

#4

You are never too old to be a yoga teacher but you do seem to be in rather a hurry if you think a requirement to have practised for even 2 years is too much.

How long did it take you to acquire all the knowledge to be a special needs teacher? Not the skills but the sheer volume of knowledge? If you practised/attended lessons every day for two years you would still just be scratching the surface of the science of yoga.

You can train to be a teacher in as little as 28 days or even by correspondence course, lots of people do. Are they effective teachers? I couldn’t say, I’ve never worked with one but I would be very surprised if they could teach more than asana in set sequences. If that’s all you want to do then go for it. But if you really want to learn about yoga then give yourself plenty of time. It’s not going away.

#5

BeHereNow… look this up! She is 80yo! you have plenty of time!

#6

Awesome pics! thanks for sharing!

And thanks to all who responded for the good advice - I guess if you look at it from the perspective of time, 20, 30 years is a long way away - and getting there healthy inside and out is worth the journey.

My life experiences make me a more interesting and deeper person in many ways. Perhaps being a teacher already gives me a different perspective in what a good teacher, of any discipline, looks like. The TT is an idea to look into. I think Ill know when I’m ready, when I don’t feel like I have to ask if I’m ready.

peace…

#7

Hi there

I just wanted to say that I can completely identify with what you are saying. I too am a Special Needs teacher in the UK and I’ve just turned 58 and am hoping to retire in a couple of years. I’ve practised yoga on and off over the years but have really got 'into’it in the last 6 months. I go to classes twice a week and practise at home about 4 times weekly. I’m not very fit and certainly not at all flexible. I also have arthritis and sometimes feel that yoga is very challenging but something inside me keeps me going and I do feel that overall it is benefitting me on many levels. I was very inspired by a book called ‘The New Yoga for People over 50’ by Suza Francina. It has many inspirational stories and photos of people in their 70s, 80s and beyond who practise yoga daily and of the benefits they have reaped from it. So in answer to your question - no, I certainly don’t think you’re too old to think about training as a yoga teacher - all that experience of teaching is bound to stand you in good stead too.

Good luck!

Gill

#8

I found this thread very enlightening since I can relate in many thins to the OP, with the exception of wanting to teach.

#9

I have to say I’m touched by the support of the yogis here.

Perhaps the best thing for me, and others to focus on, are the years ahead, rather than the years behind. Any energy used for regrets is energy wasted that is better focused on the here and now.

Life is such an awesome journey, especially when you have a clue as to how good it could be

#10

Regret is the process of tossing something negative on a pile of something negative. Yoga itself is a path of being able to die without regret. It is through a robust Yoga practice that we are able to expel our last breath with joy, knowing we’ve lived fully and cared for our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with the cosmos.

There is no rushing in the practice of yoga. In fact rushing and forcing are polar opposites of feeling. And, of course, yoga by definition is a process of feeling more. More feeling and more sensitivity is the aspiration from barbarian to evolved (a bit past “enlightened”).

Whatever you do, find the joy in the doing. Whether that is balancing on your pinkies or teaching special needs children really doesn’t matter.

#11

Yes Gordon - I’m finding that a life well lived with care and love actually is a life filled with yoga whether one does a single asana or not.