Choosing a teacher

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello all!

Please can you help me resolve a discussion that I was having with a friend today?: When discussing choosing yoga teachers to practice with he said that for him it’s really important to know how long the teacher has been teaching for, as that will determine whether or not he/she is a good teacher. So he’d prefer somebody with a lot of years of teaching experience rather than a relatively new teacher. I said that I don’t care how long they have been teaching for as long as they teach well.

How do you all feel about that? Do you care about how long a teacher has been teaching for? Would that influence your choice of teacher (if you were trying out a brand new teacher?)

thanks!

Namaste
Alex

#2

There are some very good Yoga teachers on the forum; lotusgirl, InnerAthlete to name a few. They will certainly guide you in finding the right teacher.

But, in Yoga, that is only half the story. The other half is your own self. How are you becoming eligible to be taught? With what earnrest are you seeking to be taught? How desparately are you seeking to know your own self?

#3

Greetings Alex. A wonderful question and you do seem to have the answer!

My thoughts:
Experience is a good teacher, so to a point, I can see your friends viewpoint. However, experience doesn’t automatically make you a good teacher. There is so much more. Knowing what you are teaching, listening to your students, teaching from your heart are just a few others. When I look at myself as a newbie, I can honestly say my teaching has evolved and continues to.
Experience does play a role.

But… you can have a yoga teacher who has taught for years and knows nothing about yoga. And likewise you can have a brand new teacher embody the whole of yoga and be a wonderful teacher. In addition, someone who has never taught a yoga class could be the best teacher you’ve ever had. Much depends on what it is YOU seek. If it is just asana, then the criterion your friend mentioned (longevity) might be appropriate, as long as it was being taught correctly. But if it is more about peeling off the layers to find your real self, I believe you can learn from many different teachers. Good or bad. Each experience is a learning experience. Uncovering more and more, bit by bit. I’ve gone to many a class where the teacher was quite popular, with many years experience but had no spirit. I never returned to those classes.

Be a sponge. Absorb as much as you can. Explore. Your teacher will find you, hopefully in this lifetime! And you will know it.

#4

Alex,

Neither of you is “right” and neither of you is “wrong”.
The primary “rule of thumb” in the practice is to find, determine or “discern” what is appropriate for you. This determining is completely free of the determining going on right next to you with your friend.

By this I mean what is appropriate for you only has to do with your life, your path, your svadharma (life mission). In the yoga context the soul has come into the physical body to fulfill a purpose (or purposes). No two are alike. Some are here to rest in the gutter while others are here to run a large software company. The key is to be able to find your own unique purpose for being AND not be deceived by your ego along the way.

Speaking more to the point of your post, I have found some teachers that are “new” and “young” to not have any idea what it is like living in an older carcass. I’m in my late 40s and can completely understand what a young body feels like, having had one a short while ago. However I would not presume a new teacher was a poor teacher due to this. It just requires a bit more on their part to be “good”.

Older teachers DO know the body but can become rigid in their thinking, stuck in their teaching, and loose sight of the larger picture thus burning out. But I would not presume an older teacher had this perspective, it would just require a bit more on their part to be “good”.

The resolution to your discussion is this:
Your friend is well served by a teacher with ten years of teaching. Fine. Good for him. He should seek a teacher that serves him, as his needs change, so too should the teacher.

You are well served by a sound teacher with no regard for their tenure. You should find a sound teacher and continue to learn from that teacher as YOUR needs change - so too should the teacher.

#5

Hi!

As far as choosing a teaching, I think that is as personal as art. For me I want someone that is good at what they do. I have a couple of very good friend that became yoga masters and to do that you have to really be good at your craft. So I guess it really comes down to the teaching style and does that work with your personality.

Janis

#6

Hello again,

Thank you for sharing your wonderful insights with me; it was really interesting to read your thoughts and experiences. Of course, that’s true, there’s no right or wrong, and it’s up to each individual to find what is best for them. Your answers helped my friend and me come to a consensus, and we’ll definitely be comparing our experiences further, I’m sure.

Thanks again for taking the time to write.

Namaste,

Alex

#7

You’re welcome Alex.

Namaste.

gordon

#8

Alex,
Glad you were able come to a consensus with your friend!
And you are quite welcome!

Shanti

#9

Last time when I posted on a similar thread, someone said I was confused. What we have out there are instructors, teachers and gurus. So, I imagine all the above discussion was about “instructors”. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, whenever I have reacted to evaluating the teachers, and mentioned responsibilities of the students or making oneself eligible to be taught or how to be a better student, that has drawn a complete blank - no response whatsoever. Is this such an outlandish idea? Or all that is expected of a Yoga student is to pay the fees regularly? I am amused.

#10

Hello Suhas Tambe,

I was indeed asking about what you call an instructors. Personally, I don’t know how to distinguish between the categories you mention, and I’m not sure I need to at this stage in my experience in yoga… (not very long)

As for being a better student, I think that it’s a nice point to keep in mind. I go to my classes with respect towards the people who teach me and the other students around me. And I want to learn. Maybe that’s not enough to be a good student but I don’t know how else to be. Having said that there is an undeniable commercial aspect to all the yoga classes I’ve ever attended so I guess I do expect an extra step in my direction if I’m not getting what I pay for. Trivial considerations, probably, from the point of view of a Western yoga consumer.

But thanks for making me think about the other side of the coin.
Alex