Teacher variety vs one teacher

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,

I’ve mentioned this before but I love my studio. Maybe it’s not a fair assessment as this is the only one at which I’ve ever practiced . However, I know what friendly and caring are. And also concern. It probably starts from the top with the owner who is also a teacher.
One thing I also like is the variety of teachers that are used. Now it’s not that many. In 8 months I’ve probably experienced 10 teachers. With 4 main ones being very regular on the their respective day of the week. Each of their flows is different from week to week also.So each week I am exposed to 5 different teachers.Class size can be anywhere from 4-12 people.
So while it feels great to go through the poses I know and love at the same time I like the challenging ones that are offered up constantly by the different instructors. It certainly keeps me humble.
But what are the thoughts out there as to teacher variety verses studying under one specific teacher?

#2

It’s an interesting question. For me it didn’t matter so much the first couple of years of yoga practice. As a beginner I was sensitive to the personalities of the different teachers on a superficial level, the way I would be sensitive to the personality of anyone I interacted with socially in daily life. Regarding their teaching style I thought they were all equally good teachers.

Then as I gradually became more sincere about my yoga practice, I started to practice more frequently and also meditate and reflect on all aspects of my life from a yoga perspective. I also started to lean towards following one particular teacher. It is difficult to describe exactly what happened, but it was a clear shift in my mental and spiritual focus. The teacher I follow is the one whose teaching is always to the point of what I need to learn, always just deep enough for me to grasp but slightly ahead of me so that I must make an effort to reach an understanding. She is also one who, as InnerAthlete put it in another discussion, lives fully what she teaches. I still go to classes led by other teachers, but her (my main teacher’s) instructions are the ones I follow.

Recently I have started to follow a second teacher, but I see him much less frequently and he cannot be my teacher on a daily basis. I actually brought up a similar question about different teachers with him, and we discussed it a little. Problems may arise if different teachers give different instructions. I have given this some thought, mulling over in my mind what to do if my first teacher says something different from the second one. Then, thankfully, I realized that this very rarely happens. But in any case I think that two teachers is the maximum I can handle.

#3

Variety is important, trying things, sampling, diversifying.

However to deepen your practice without having it become muddled that variety should be whittled down to a teacher you’d like to study with consistently over time. It is difficult to take students deeper when the teacher does not know their body, their practice, their mind because they drop in here and there.

And since dogma and yoga cannot coexist, periodically taking a class elsewhere or with another is a good barometer for what and how your practice is progressing or growing.

#4

I think variety is good. When you are new, if you stick with only one teacher you have nothing to compare and it’s rather hard to know if what you’re getting is right for you. Or even if the teacher is any good.

Once you have more experience, you’ll probably/hopefully find yourself in a position of knowing if sticking mostly with one teacher is helpful (and which teacher) or more of a variety is right. You may find this changes back and forth over time.

#5

My teacher is my teacher
she has brought me from darkness
,she sees me everyday she knows my yoga better than I do ,
I get pravite practice ,group practice and t.t. With her .
If I go to another studio for practice I ask her permission
I owe her a great deal .
We are one
Cheers

#6

We are ALL one, my friend.

#7

A good question as we have seen a great deal of interest in both at our yoga retreats in Bali. Some instructors bring a group of students and use our facility to teach yoga themselves while others like us to provide guest instructors for some of the sessions. The guest instructors are local Balinese yogis and more popular than one might think.

I can see the advantage of both, but not sure which is better. Like I said, we have experienced a great deal of satisfaction either way.