Eligibility for being a Yoga teacher

Yoga Teacher Training
#21

i also have only been doing yoga for 6 weeks but i will be doing a TTC course in 3 months time. Initially i was concerned about my ability to teach after that, if lets say, for example, i can’t do some of the asanas myself , then how could i teach? Well, my teacher said that my own practice and my teaching are two entirely separate things and being a good teacher is primarily about knowing what yoga is. (which he said alot of yoga teachers dont know).

It is not about me performing my own asanas infront of the class, but rather how i actually teach.I could have been doing yoga for ten years , but if i dont explain well,or have other qualitites of a good teacher, patience etc or if my ego is out of control then my teaching will be poor. It is not hypocritical to teach headstand when one hasnt mastered it oneself for example. If you have a commitment to your own practice and are working as best you can towards improving that then its fine.

one of my favourite yoga teachers sometimes shows us asanas that she cant do herself, as she started the practice late at age 40, so there are physical limitations but as she explains so beautifully and has a wonderful nature and excellent manner it doesnt matter at all.

#22

However it may lack integrity to teach something one has not or is not bringing into their own body/lungs/life/living/consciousness.

I would not wait until the pose is mastered (as that day likely will not arrive in this lifetime) but I would not teach a pose I was not also doing in my own practice.

I personally began teaching too soon. I had not brought enough yoga into my body and I opted to select a training without fully understanding yoga, its importance, its requirements, and its risks. I was fortunate to find my current teacher or I’d likely just be a choreographer.

#23

My 200-hour ttc had a requirement that you had to be practicing yoga for at least a year before you could apply, but every ttc is different. My group had on average 5 years yoga experience. If you do plan to take a ttc course so soon after discovering yoga, I recommend choosing one where the training is spread out over 6 months to a year, as opposed to a 4-week intensive, to give you more time to learn.

One benefit of waiting longer before taking a TTC is that you’ll have the time to explore more styles and discover the one you want to study seriously.

#24

Having just returned from my second trip to a yoga ashram(india) i see more clearly than the first time i went and it does appear atleast 50% of the teachers have very little rapport with what they teach and they also seem to be lacking knowledge on the finer points that are required to make yoga safe to the individual depending on their needs/limitations. It did seem like some were just barking out instructions in a military manner and although they knew what the asana should look like, their knowledge appeared to go no further.

This has worried me considerably that anybody can pay the money and be a teacher and people can be seriously injured, especially when the teacher can be forceful and without appropraite knowledge of people’s differences. So while i am happy to do the TTC in 3months time i see this as a tiny step towards teaching, and one that is no where near sufficient if i want to teach asanas conscientiously (bad spelling;)).

i have some physical limitations myself, tilted pelvis, slight lack of curvature of thoracic spine, and i have never been asked about any of these when being introduced to new and very challenging asanas, during either visit to the ashram even by people teaching for 15 years or more. i actually think some of the teachers have not even been taught about modifications for individual differences. Suffice to say it may take many many years before i would feel happy teaching as it simply is not enough in my opinion to teach yoga without this knowledge. im sure many people do though.:grin:

#25

anula – it sounds like you have a good beginning, here: you appreciate the difference between what a teacher can be and what some of your teachers have been. I hope you eventually find a teacher who can help you with the knowledge you seek.

#26

geez i’m sorry but i have to say, 1 1/2 months doing Yoga with no teacher and only books and DVD to learn from and you want to teach Yoga to other people ???

man, do you even care with other people life dude ? what if you severely injured them with your lack of knowledge ?? Yoga is not gymnastic, i think you should consider being gymnastic instructor than Yoga ??

if you ever read Tree of Yoga, Iyengar does said something on people like you, try to be a good student first ( with real teacher beside you NOT DVD !! ) before you step on being an instructor or even a teacher ( instructor and teacher got different meanings, do you know ? ), Yoga is not the same for every individual, every person has his own condition and problem, and to think that you with the knowledge of DVD want to try to teach other person !!! do not explore or experiment with other person body, but try to do it on your body first.

seeing all of your post, specially your rude reply to lashannasmall, i think you got a enormous ego issues dude.

sorry just my cents, if it felt harsh, i meant to do that but not to start a conflict with you, just my concern with people like you.

o yeah Yoga teacher training requirement is at least 2-3 years on practicing Yoga with teacher beside not DVD ! and after that 2 years of TT program, than maybe later at that time you can start thinking of being a teacher ok bro.

#27

The teacher is but the finger pointing out to the Moon.

And I imagine it is not that glamorous … to have such a tight schedule, and the responsability for those who depend on you. It is work, and service. As a selfish being, I shy from such activities. If others do not, they must be saints … or have some hidden agenda. :slight_smile:

#28

Dear Yalgaar,
Wow, I Feel you! I remember wanting to be a Yoga teacher almost as soon as I started practicing. I agree that there is no rule on when you can become a teacher. I do encourage you to enjoy your practice. Yoga becomes a lifestyle so I think it’s important to explore the practice and include it in your life so you can use your experience to teach to others. Yoga practice is a process, an ongoing one that never ends and through a Yoga training you learn so much about yourself and yoga that in a way I do encourage you to do it if you feel ready because you will learn so much through your training and maybe actually build a regular practice for yourself and get more depth because of your training. That is what happened for me, I all of a sudden committed so much more to my practice because I felt that I was able to go further in my learning. Don’t be scared to take risks…do you what you feel you want to do!

Namaste

Jennifer Young - Hatha Yoga teacher - Montreal
yogalife.info@gmail.com