I've long noticed that the facade of placid inner-peace so many yoga teachers affect is often pierced by the natural, negative human emotions bubbling inside. This comes in many forms: outbursts, sudden coldness, rudeness, condescension, etc. It's funny to witness once you're aware of the phenomenon, but at the same time, can be annoying and even detrimental to new students, which is why I recommend people new to yoga practice on their own until they're ready to deal with the behavior of those who purport to be teachers. Anyhow, here's a great article on this phenomenon that, I think, offers a very cogent explanation for it's existence.
Here’s a good example, btw, of the anger lurking just below the surface of many yoga teachers. (taken from the following thread:
http://www.yogaforums.com/forums/f16/hot-yoga-bad-for-environment-11695.html)
[QUOTE=daves007;87233]I’m not one to let someone tell me where to set my thermostat. What’s next? I can’t fly to Florida for vacation? And you are welcome to call me anything you want, “energy waster”, you don’t know anything about me! Why don’t you do what you want to do and let people do what they want. It’s called freedom. [B][U]F’off[/U][/B][/QUOTE]
to be clear, “F’off” = “Fuck off”
Oh puulllleeezzzz. You’re such belly acher. Crawl back into your black cloud of life. If someone is trampleing on our freedom it is a necessary reaction.
Dave, no one is trampling on your freedom but you. Freedom is a state of mind, not a state of being. Freedom means freedom from anger; freedom from want. If you were free, you wouldn’t need to use vulgarities and say hurtful things to other people. You wouldn’t need to heat your yoga room to 95 degrees. You would see that it is never “necessary” to be angry.
As for me, I’m just pointing out something I see as unnecessarily hurtful to our planet, which I love. There’s nothing wrong with that. My life is joyful, not a black cloud. The only black clouds in it come from the coal-fired power plants that Hot Yoga practitioners are so enthusiastically helping to keep in business.
Don’t forget where electricity comes from.
Do you judge your friends and family too or just complete strangers?
Just people who do bad things, like flagrantly waste energy, whether I know them or not. Everyone judges others based on their personal code of ethics. I’m sure you judge people too. But that’s not the issue. The issue is how you and other Hot Yoga people justify wasting energy. So, how do you?
Today I’m going to open the windows while I heat my studio, in your honor. Whatcha gonna do about it? The guilt trip isn’t working, I love hot
Send you a silent message of love.
Wow. Haven’t seen a yoga feud for awhile. I think this is a spillover from the Hot Yoga/Environmental discussion. Take a deep breath guys.
For me I guess I have been very blessed. I have been attending the same yoga studio for over 3 years and I have not felt any anger or meanness from my instructors. Only concern and carefully teaching.
I have heard of what you speak of Yogandy from others in my classes. Instructors that get cranky or demanding.
From what I have heard it seems that the owner/head of the studio sets the tone for the instructors. My owner is a very serene calm lady who seems to only want to impart yogic teachings to her students. I do not believe she would tolerate an angry teacher in her midst.
No feud here, brother. Only love. Love for the environment, love for planet earth, and love for Daves007. (Please see my final reply to him above.) All the same, I have to call it like I see it. Hot Yoga is wasteful. If that’s not obvious, there’s nothing I can say to make it so. Practitioners of yoga both hot and cold have to open their eyes. The King has no clothing on. It’s not a feud. It’s a fact.
[QUOTE=shumanfoo;87285]I do not believe she would tolerate an angry teacher in her midst.[/QUOTE]
So, what you’re saying is that your yoga teacher is intolerant. You, see? That’s my point. 
Intolerance of anger would be acceptable to me. But yikes don’t draw me into this too.
Relax, Shu. It was a joke. Just a joke.
Yoga teachers are just humans. Some of them have mastered anger, and some not. That’s why. Anger is a strong emotion as you might have noticed;) Even a little of irritation is a rasa of anger. Some people are born naturally kind and with very little anger in their heart. Very rare.
[QUOTE=CityMonk;87294]Yoga teachers are just humans. Some of them have mastered anger, and some not. That’s why. Anger is a strong emotion as you might have noticed;) Even a little of irritation is a rasa of anger. Some people are born naturally kind and with very little anger in their heart. Very rare.[/QUOTE]
I totally agree. But I think the point of the article in my original post (did you read it?) and my point is that many yoga teachers pretend to be free of anger because it suits the yogic image they feel it necessary to project; they sometimes even condescend to students who dare to exhibit anger in their classes while they are full of repressed anger themselves. As a student, I have experienced this countless times. Much better just to be yourself, a natural human, warts and all, than to pose as an enlightened being.
[QUOTE=yogandy;87295]I totally agree. But I think the point of the article in my original post (did you read it?) and my point is that many yoga teachers pretend to be free of anger because it suits the yogic image they feel it necessary to project; they sometimes even condescend to students who dare to exhibit anger in their classes while they are full of repressed anger themselves. As a student, I have experienced this countless times. Much better just to be yourself, a natural human, warts and all, than to pose as an enlightened being.[/QUOTE]
Humiliation is a big step toward enlightement