More than one teacher?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I’ve been studying with one particular teacher for about 6 years now. While she was away having her babies I would attend class with another teacher. They both have a lot to offer, and now they are both offering classes that I can attend.

Am I doing myself a disservice by having two teachers? Does it split my focus?

I feel they are very different. One is more specific and exacting in her asana work, and I feel that I focus more physically in her class. The other is less specific and I find I can free my mind more in her class.

I wonder though if I am able to be more free in that class because I retain muscle memory from the first class? Ah mysteries.

Just looking for some opinions about whether I should focus on one class or if two is OK.

#2

Alix, I also attend 2 different classes and I feel a bit more enriched by them. One is very traditional ashtanga primary series, which keeps me grounded in the practice. The other varies her classes quite a bit based on her ‘intuition’ on the class, which allows me to be a bit freer.

#3

I don’t think there is anything wrong with going to both classes. I usually attend a class at my yoga studio taught by the same teacher but I wouldn’t be opposed to taking another teacher’s class if the time slot/type of yoga suited me just as well. Its great that you’ve found two different teachers that you really like as sometimes its hard to find just one :slight_smile: Its also great tha tyou can learn different things from different people.

#4

Every teacher can learn you something new so I see no problem in having two teachers.

#5

In my opinion it is more then fine to try different teachers. I like to try different classes. There are always something to learn even from a cookie - cutter class. I was practicing with one teacher for about 6 years, but I moved to the Florida.
Actually, in my class I always mention local teachers that I think are good and dont mind my student attending others’ classes.

#6

Thanks folks. I guess I was just pondering about senseis and gurus etc and realized that I’ve not really attached myself to only one teacher.

I am grateful for your responses, and I will continue with both teachers.

#7

Hi Alix,

Having more than one teacher is “okay” but like all things on this path it can either help you toward or move you away from the Self, light, evolution, spirit, source.

It is completely possible to have two teachers guide in complementary ways. I have found this most often in a studio where there is a sutra or thread to the teaching. I have not found this to be the case in studios where the class offerings are a potpourri catering to whim and popularity rather than the commitment to a lineage or method of conveying the practice.

My larger concern, when going outside a lineage or thread of teachers, would be the propensity for the student to become muddled by conflicting and perhaps harmful inconsistencies. For example I periodically encounter students who are very confused about the action of the arms in adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog). This isn’t exclusively due to multiple teachers, though it is often due to poorly trained one. However if that student is muddled with only one teacher it isn’t very likely that adding another teacher to the pot will clear up the fog.

It is nice to have some diversity and this is especially true when the student isn’t fortunate enough to have a well trained teacher. In the case where well trained teachers are scarce then of course one might have to take one concept from Teacher A and another from Teacher B to inch toward a complete practice.

#8

As we are talking about teachers here and not gurus there is no problem in having many teachers. In my life I have probably had several dozens of teachers.

Do not treat the Yoga teachers like a guru.

#9

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;38310]Hi Alix,

Having more than one teacher is “okay” but like all things on this path it can either help you toward or move you away from the Self, light, evolution, spirit, source.

It is completely possible to have two teachers guide in complementary ways. I have found this most often in a studio where there is a sutra or thread to the teaching. I have not found this to be the case in studios where the class offerings are a potpourri catering to whim and popularity rather than the commitment to a lineage or method of conveying the practice.

My larger concern, when going outside a lineage or thread of teachers, would be the propensity for the student to become muddled by conflicting and perhaps harmful inconsistencies. For example I periodically encounter students who are very confused about the action of the arms in adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog). This isn’t exclusively due to multiple teachers, though it is often due to poorly trained one. However if that student is muddled with only one teacher it isn’t very likely that adding another teacher to the pot will clear up the fog.

It is nice to have some diversity and this is especially true when the student isn’t fortunate enough to have a well trained teacher. In the case where well trained teachers are scarce then of course one might have to take one concept from Teacher A and another from Teacher B to inch toward a complete practice.[/QUOTE]

InnerAthlete, thank you. I follow your point. I am beginning to feel as though if I could combine my two teachers I would have the best of both worlds. As I mentioned, the one teacher is very exacting physically and I find that she really informs me about what I need to correct and how to breathe etc. I attempt to carry these things with me to the next class. The second teacher is far more holistic and is more about becoming a whole person and living yogicly (Sp?). I find myself feeling “freer” in her class and my meditations there are more meaningful.

I don’t believe there is any scarcity of well trained teachers here, but I do believe I search for something more complete than I currently have. I believe that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear” and so, I suspect this is what I am currently ready for.

#10

@Alix:
That makes perfect sense Alix and sounds like you’ve pieced together a more robust and fulfilling practice - though it’s too bad multiple teachers are required to do so.

@Surya Deva
Agreed, though in re-reading the thread I’m not getting the sense anyone is alluding to anything more than a teacher.

#11

In the past, the student (Classical Yoga was taught mainly to boys) used to live for years with the guru in gurukula before entering the grihastha life or choosing sannyasa. I think that today if one wants to engage oneself seriously in Yoga it is useful to have a main teacher, a mentor because of the technical and holistic aspects of the discipline. Moreover a principle of Yoga is to tailor Yoga according to the individual needs. It is also good to deepen our study in a serious tradition because of its coherency. On the spiritual level, there is no absolute rule, I think that it depends on the path, in some paths such as some Tantric sadhanas it is advised to stick to one guru.

Philippe