Bad teachers?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I?m not a yoga teacher, but I am interested to find out what you think makes a good yoga teacher? I have a yoga teacher who I go to regularly and in my opinion she is great. Sometimes for a bit of variance I try out different studios or teachers. I am surprised to find many ?bad? teachers, but I am also wondering if I think they are bad because they don?t meet my personal preferences or whether yoga is so diluted that there just are more bad teachers around.

What are your top 3 prerequisites for good yoga teacher?

For me it is:

  1. Hands-on assistance and correction of my asanas
  2. A calming/ peaceful manner, no ego
  3. Spirituality or a spiritual element to the class
#2

As a teacher who so seldom ever gets to be the student here are mine:

  1. Hands on assistance and correction/interaction with students
    This is something that so rarely occurs and it’s a shame.

  2. Mood. Tranquil, safe and welcoming environment

  3. And yes, I do like spiritual elements and discussion

Much the same Omanama!

Nice food for thought!

#3
  1. Discipline.
  2. Discipline.
  3. More Discipline.
#4

I would say:

  1. knowledgeability
  2. personality
  3. assistance and correction

I think there are a lot of yoga teachers out there who have too little experience. It could also just be your preference in the teacher’s personality. It’s a good idea to check out a few classes and decide who you are comfortable with.

#5

I believe the responsibility to convey yoga runs so deep that listing three things can send not only an incomplete message but perhaps a distorted one.
If only there were just three, or just three important ones.

But since three is the number of the counting, not two nor four, here are mine:

A “good” yoga teacher must

  • possess an expert knowledge of the subject, maintain that level of understanding, and in so doing have a personal practice.

  • Have a foundation in integrity such that they only teach what they know (rather than teaching what they do not or not teaching what they do)

  • be adept at conveying the teachings such that they are able to modify their methods in order to reach each student and have a command of the language of the conveyance.

#6

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;42986]I believe the responsibility to convey yoga runs so deep that listing three things can send not only an incomplete message but perhaps a distorted one.
If only there were just three, or just three important ones. [/QUOTE]

In order of priority one might list your top 3. You can of course list as many as you want as I am sure I would enjoy reading them all.

#7

[QUOTE=Pandara;42933]1. Discipline.
2. Discipline.
3. More Discipline.[/QUOTE]

Can you elaborate…? Do you mean discipline by practicing?

#8

[QUOTE=lotusgirl;42928]As a teacher who so seldom ever gets to be the student here are mine:

  1. Hands on assistance and correction/interaction with students
    This is something that so rarely occurs and it’s a shame.

  2. Mood. Tranquil, safe and welcoming environment

  3. And yes, I do like spiritual elements and discussion

Much the same Omanama!

Nice food for thought![/QUOTE]

It’s a shame you live so far away from me :frowning:

#9

What is a guru ?

This is the name of a thread where I posted extensive quotes from Yogananda.

It looks like a guru is much more than we think.

#10

[QUOTE=oak333;43078]What is a guru ?

This is the name of a thread where I posted extensive quotes from Yogananda.

It looks like a guru is much more than we think.[/QUOTE]

The thread “what is a guru ?” is on 06-30-09.

That might help with eventual searches.

#11

a teacher with the necessary discipline in life to cultivate all of above.

a teacher who has the necesaary discipline in his/her sadhana to bring this element to your class.

And so i can go on with each of the replies here and show how discipline is needed. Perhaps this stems from my own teacher who was and still is very disciplined and that has rubbed off I guess. I belief that discipline is the foundation for all that most mentioned here, something like personality, well that you don’t need discipline for, but a good birth under good zodiac signs.

#12

Omamana, you hit the nail on the head with your top 3. That’s what I look for. I used to do yoga quite a bit, then stopped now looking to start again.

Oddly enough I’m having trouble finding people that meet the three criteria:

The yoga studios around my house now seem to have:

  1. Loud, scream at you while you pose, teachers
  2. Pop music. I love music, but please don’t blare Kid Rock while I’m trying to maintain my breath.
  3. The ego is scarily there. One teacher actually pointed one guy out to the class and said “don’t do what he’s doing.”

There are some great teachers out there, I’m trying to find them again, they make the whole class worthwhile. But a bad teacher will ruin your experience.

#13

Of course each person is duly entitled to their “list” however they see fit. But I must ask, with the following list, do these three trump someone actually knowing what they are doing, having appropriate training and a personal practice from which to teach???

  1. Hands-on assistance and correction of my asanas
  2. A calming/ peaceful manner, no ego
  3. Spirituality or a spiritual element to the class
#14

Ah Gordon an interesting question. I guess one could be quite knowledgeable,with appropriate training and a personal practice from which to teach, but if they don’t incorporate:

  1. Hands-on assistance and correction of my asanas
  2. A calming/ peaceful manner, no ego
  3. Spirituality or a spiritual element to the class
    I wouldn’t take the class.

On the flip side, they could provide the 3 listed, but have little or no knowledge. Again, I wouldn’t take the class. Finding a teacher who is both knowledgeable and appropriately trained and can incorporate the 3 listed would be ideal. Maybe we should assume the teacher is knowledgeable and then list how we would like the class to be taught?

I have had the misfortune of going to a class where the teacher dresses the part, is quite knowledgeable, owns the studio and appears to be mystically spiritual. But during Shavasana she was texting. Kind of blew that image! Never went back.

#15

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;43235]Of course each person is duly entitled to their “list” however they see fit. But I must ask, with the following list, do these three trump someone actually knowing what they are doing, having appropriate training and a personal practice from which to teach???

  1. Hands-on assistance and correction of my asanas
    [/QUOTE]

I have recently been lucky to observe some fantastic teachers who have both the extensive training, personal experience and awareness of their pupil to give clear and precise verbal instructions, rarely ever touching their students. When I discussed with these teachers the role of hands-on-assistance in their sessions, they almost unanimously cited that they wanted their students to remain in their own experience, allowing the breath to guide how far they went into the posture or movement; and that it wasn’t the physical posture they were working towards but the full concentration through each moment, regardless of the premise/flow/intensity of the class.

The individual instructions were always spoken quietly to each student, and you could see physically the effect of the instruction and that it was clearly understood. Alignment, balance, breathing and the signals of pain or tension recognized and adjustments made with words. I took like… 30 pages of notes during these observations, recording everything they said. So simple, so clear! I saw a teacher touch a student only once in 20 sessions - a finger laid gently on spine (with her permission) to show her where to extend from when inhaling during a posture.

IA - What you said earlier is absolutely correct to me : -

be adept at conveying the teachings such that they are able to modify their methods in order to reach each student and have a command of the language of the conveyance.

While I understand that some instances may call for a more hands-on approach, I can’t help but be floored by how careful these teachers were in their verbal execution of adjustment; the well from which they spoke was deep in understanding. It set a new benchmark in my studies to become a teacher, and I hope to continuously reform my own communication abilities and clarity of mind to meet my students at the level they have shown me is possible. Now that I have seen it, I also feel that it is a firm pre-requisite for teaching, in any realm at all.

#16

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;43235]Of course each person is duly entitled to their “list” however they see fit. But I must ask, with the following list, do these three trump someone actually knowing what they are doing, having appropriate training and a personal practice from which to teach???[/QUOTE]

To achieve my three preferences as a teacher one needs to have knowledge, wisdom and experience…it goes without saying.

#17

Ive only had one bad experience in a yoga class. The teacher was perfectly knowledgeable, but his personality made me uncomfortable. At one point he led us into an asana and then picked up a clipboard and started taking notes. That may not sound so terrible, but Ive never forgotten it. And when he corrected me, his tone of voice was critical, not supportive. So I think while knowledgeability is important, other aspects such as personality may be equally important.

#18

I think you guys are talking about tolerance here.

Authenticity will always shatter your expectations, including everything posted here. It’s not something we already know. What makes you think a teacher should suit you anyway: that yoga should suit you? Since when?

We know that often times we won’t recognize a real master until we are no longer with them. What does that say? Mood, tone, warm personality? Who cares? Expert knowledge? How do you know the difference between an expert and a fake: they’ve done 200 hours, or 500 hours, they know all the sanskrit? Do you think that matters? Spiritual? What’s that? Do you know? Discipline? You can’t know that from what a teacher does in class. You have to live with someone to know that.

Authentic teachers come in every shape and color, every walk of life, every tone, every demeanor, some speak softly and sweetly, and some wiil cuss you out on the floor and have a beer after class. SO WHAT! I have been lucky to know some of the finest to do just that and it didn’t hurt me one bit. You have to look past all of that and ask…HAVE THEY BEEN THERE? Are they willing to share it, and why? Why does someone want to teach ME?

I don’t care one bit about delivery, only the content, because I know I can take that and leave the rest.

peace out,
siva

#19

Siva sounds good I would like to say better I care only about results and leave the rest.I totally agree with your concept.By the way anybody here want to comment more about asanas for meditation and expose some ideas of their practice?

#20

[QUOTE=siva;43621]Authenticity will always shatter your expectations, including everything posted here. It’s not something we already know. What makes you think a teacher should suit you anyway: that yoga should suit you? Since when?[/QUOTE]

Hey Siva. Valid reply, which is why I posed the question in the first place, to find out if it is about ME!?

[QUOTE=omamana;42927]…but I am also wondering if I think they are bad because they don’t meet my personal preferences or whether yoga is so diluted that there just are more bad teachers around.[/QUOTE]

To add to what you have said…another side of me thinks that it is about me to a certain extent. I pay for the class to be taught and if there are certain ‘qualities’ that a teacher does not have then why would I pay and spend 90mins in a class that I don’t enjoy or develop from? Just as in life, you get on with some people and you don’t get on with others, I guess yoga teachers are the same?

As a student I have the luxury of choosing my teachers and I have been lucky to find some great teachers…well at least in my eyes they are great.

I do however also agree to some of what you have said and so I always question myself when I don’t enjoy a teacher’s class…sometimes it’s because of my own ‘projection’ and other times it because the teacher is crap! :wink: