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| why are some yoga teachers total nazis in the classroom?
what does it matter if i wipe off the sweat that stings my eyes?
why does every instructor feel that the need to tell me that running is bad for me?
why can't i move my towel for triangle pose?
i'm cranky. i like to take care of my body. lately i've left my classes feeling angry rather than happy because the instructors have basically been too controlling. in the beginning i really liked bikram and then all the instructors i liked left. now i'm not sure what to do.
any suggestions?
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Location: London, England | Hi there,
I know this is obvious and therefore unhelpful, but what about the other studios. Ialso sometimes find that in a studio, teachers toe the line, and if the line is harsh, then there's bound to be a number of people like yourself who rebel. Sometimes it's the teachers who set up their own classes who do so because they don't agree with the existing philosophy or drive of the type of yoga that they love-guess you could say they have evolved a new system based upon the good stuff from the original. This is almost autobiographical 
Take care, have fun,
Nick |
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| ms.tiff - 2007-03-13 5:33 AM
why are some yoga teachers total nazis in the classroom?
what does it matter if i wipe off the sweat that stings my eyes?
why does every instructor feel that the need to tell me that running is bad for me?
why can't i move my towel for triangle pose?
i'm cranky. i like to take care of my body. lately i've left my classes feeling angry rather than happy because the instructors have basically been too controlling. in the beginning i really liked bikram and then all the instructors i liked left. now i'm not sure what to do.
any suggestions?
Be happy with what you have, if the instructor knows more than you. If you know more than instructor, do not take class. If you are happy with instruction, but not with mannerism, then find a class of whatever kind available with good instruction and mannerism both. |
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| Tiff, been there, know what you mean. As Nick advised, move on. While you're a yoga student, you're also a customer so let your checkbook support yoga that's benificial to you and doesn't leave you pi$$ed off. |
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Regular
Posts: 90
| ms.tiff - 2007-03-13 5:33 AM
why are some yoga teachers total nazis in the classroom?
what does it matter if i wipe off the sweat that stings my eyes?
why does every instructor feel that the need to tell me that running is bad for me?
why can't i move my towel for triangle pose?
i'm cranky. i like to take care of my body. lately i've left my classes feeling angry rather than happy because the instructors have basically been too controlling. in the beginning i really liked bikram and then all the instructors i liked left. now i'm not sure what to do.
any suggestions?
If somehting (like sweat stinging your eyes) causes you pain and someone discourages you form getting away from that pain, then I would suggest getting away from that person.
If the postures work better for you without your towel, then you should be able to do your postures without the towel. There is nothing that requires use of the towel in triangle.
If you enjoy running and someone tells you not to tun, I would suggest getting away form that person.
i don't understand why some people, like this teacher, insist on trying to make you rdecisions for you. Teaching the series is one thing...trying to be a lifestyle coach that forces you to endure unneccessary pain while keeping you from beneficial pleasure is wrong.
I echo the ohter pposters...move on. There are good Bikram teachers out there...and there are other types of yoga. |
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Regular
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| I totally understand where you are coming from. I did Bikram for almost three years and I feel its a great concept and exercise. Unfortunately I got tired of the arrogance and idiocy of the instructors. Talking to most of them is impossible and most of the time they will spout "Bikram Dogma" at you instead of listening. The instructors are not well trained, tend to be incompetent and will get you injured unless you stand up for yourself and get in their face. I don't know what Bikram Choudhury does to these people during training but a lot of them tend to graduate as Bikram drones.
I think Bikram only requires his students to have 6 months of Bikram Yoga experience as one of his school entrance requirements. This would explain a lot, in my opinion it takes years to get a perspective on a yoga practice and I think you have to feel it in your heart in addition to knowing it in your head.
I am in San Diego, there are a number of schools here, I did switch to a different one for about a year but found the problems to be the same and sometimes wose. I remember several incidents in which a student went to the front of the class, got in the instructors face and gave them the finger. Thats just crazy, I don't think yoga is supposed to piss people off. I then switched to Ashtanga yoga for another year, which I enjoyed, the instructor was wonderful, she had twenty years of experience and respected each student's individuality. However, the poses are very difficult and I am a bit musclebound.
So why am I even posting here if I am not doing Bikram anymore? Because I miss the benefits but I also hate leaving the class in a pissed off mood because of some instructor. I may try it out again, I know that my original instructor was concerned about losing most of her long time students. Maybe she has finally listened to feedback and is connecting the dots? That might be expecting too much, its been my observation that the instructors are stubborn about changing their style of teaching. I guess there are a lot of "wannabe Bikram Choudhury's" out there. I guess I will just have to wait for another "hot" type of yoga to come to San Diego that is independent for Bikram's influence.
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Location: London, England | Hi there,
I'm glad to report that in nearly twenty years of teaching, no one has ever given me the finger Maybe it's because I'm in England, where two fingers is the cultural norm, but i've never had that either Does that mean I pass?
Nick |
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Regular
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| Hi Nick
Yes you pass. Now please come to San Diego and open up a studio here. 
Edited by jaybird123 2007-03-13 12:07 PM
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| Man--I've seen worse than the middle finger here in Texas--actually have seen fist fights between instructors and customers (OK, I was only in one of them). |
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Location: London, England | Hi Jaybird,
Horray! haven't passed anything in years From what Bruce is saying, I think if i taught in America, I'd have to have a tasar gun at the very least for unruly students. Probably come in handy for the hordes of females ready to drop their mats for an English accent I like my dream world, everyone's invited, but they have to abide by my rules
Nick |
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| As long as you don't get Biramitis Nick, you'll have no problems teaching here. I went to an Anna Forest workshop this past weekend and one of her instructors was shoving me all over the place to get into her directed poses--the middle aged beared guy got all kinds of special treatment--I didn't fight her  |
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| Interesting. I took a couple of Bikram classes in Austin, Texas.
They had articles of athletes who do yoga; they certainly didn't discourage other athletic activity.
True, the instructors stuck to the script, but I also saw them doing their own routines.
They indeed gave me feedback and told me how to correct what I was doing wrong, but they didn't hassle folks who dropped out of poses.
So, I am wondering if your experience with THAT studio says more about that studio than Bikram?
Fights: nah, I am too wimpy to get in those; though I am an ex football player and wrestler and stand 6 feet tall and weigh 190 pounds, one of my punches wouldn't smush a ripe tomato. I am "mr. slow twitch" when it comes to muscle.
I'd be more like the gladiator in Life of Brian who "won" his match by making the other gladiator run after him, thereby giving his opponent a heart attack.
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| The Bikram place in Austin is owned/run by a good guy who has been a pratitioner for quite awhile--he's "seen the light." |
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| Ms. Tiff, I feel your pain, have been practicing Bikram regularly for 1.5 years and on/off for 13 years. Everything about this practice is hard, including being bossed around for 90 minutes while you're in there working your buns off trying to something good for you. If this instructor is just too much to deal with, avoid his/her classes if possible, but also think about this - there can be something very liberating about surrendering to the dialog. If you can turn your brain off and just follow the dialog word by word, sometimes the class will just fly by and can't believe it's over. Sure, I want to kick my teachers' ass sometimes if they hold Awkward/Half-Moon/Triange/Locust, etc. for too long, but if I don't count, or seethe, or complain in my brain, but just breathe and focus and listen to the dialog and let my body follow the words, somehow it makes it easier! They always say, don't let anyone steal your peace - not even me. Hope that helps. |
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I did have one class where I felt like having it out with my instructor afterward. She was so unfriendly when I came in - I hadn't taken her class before... she was really rude and snapped "uhm, it's really full in there" (turns out there was plenty of space). Then she didn't remember my name, but I could feel her barking at me specifically in certain poses. By the end of class, she had screwed up the dialogue at least twice (I mean actually announced poses out of order).
I have refused to take her class for months now, until I heard she recently moved far away! ahh. It's nice when things like this work themselves out
I do have to admit, Nick, I wouldn't have felt quite as cranky if "she" had been a "he" who had done the bossing around with an English accent. |
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| I don't think Bikram instructors are very well trained. I think this makes them scared of anyone who veers slightly away from the dialogue as this is all they know. Many instructors I've taken class with are such drones that they forget where they are in class, as if their mind is somewhere else while their mouth churns out the words. I don't mind Bikram in small doses, but best to tune out the instructor and focus on yourself, especially if you've been going for a while, you know about as much as the instructor. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | This all sounds soooo familiar to me. I never saw any fights in my two years of Bikram, but I certainly saw some big time disagreements between the instructors and the students. Bikram simply doesn't prepare folks for the human side of teaching. It just doesn't work to hand people the same words and routine over and over again, especially if you have been taught to "be tough" with those who don't follow the script. I've been toying with the idea of doing a Bikram class -- I miss the heat, although not the sequence -- but this does remind me of why I quit going. .. bg |
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Location: London, England | Hi Natalie,
Ha! Success for the man with the Knobby accent I'll be on the afternoon flight, practicing saying 'the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain' and other phrases. I nearly typed something rude then, thought I'd better backtrack-you what it's like.
Nick |
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| hey everyone, thanks for your advice.
perhaps i should also add that i am currently living in seoul, where there are 2 bikram studios in the entire city, both sharing the same instructors (it's a franchise gym, that imports their teachers form abroad). i think i am going to try speaking to the teacher, because of my schedule, i have to take his class. it's either take his class or no bikram at all. if that doesn't work i'm going to take to the manager... for the price i've paid for the year, i don't think he should be so mean.
i should also say that i prefer to do ashtanga, but their are no teachers in this city (at least not that i can find).
hope everyone is doing well! |
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| Ms. Tiff,
Have you tried not wiping? Have you tried not moving towel? Will it kill you if you don't do these things? If so, that's probably something you should have discussed with your instructor before class.
Kidding aside..guess what happens when you wipe? The sweat comes back! It's supposed to be there, being the body's natural a/c and everything. I bet you can still do triangle w/o moving your towel too (though I'm not sure why you would ever need to).
The Bikram series is hard enough...use your mind to focus and meditate rather than resist and I'm sure you'll have a much better time. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
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In my approximatley 4 years of Bikram, I have been annoyed, and estatic. I have found the major factors to be the teacher, my weight, and my coffee, sugar consumption.
My weight being high, and my consumption of coffee and sugar makes the practice harder, sometimes VERY VERY hard. This leads to frustration and sadness (sometimes) not always.
Some teachers just bug me, I don't always know why. I think its a voice tone, holding poses longer, not giving good visualizations. Sometimes a little waiting room chit chat will alleviate my attitude towards a particular teacher. All in all, if I can't feel comfortable, I don't go to that class. I've gone as far as walking in, seeing who was teaching, and walking out ( that was sooo uncomfortable)
I have found for me though, that alleviating sugar and coffee does wonders for the difficulty with the heat, and therefore my attitude.
I keep myself from slipping by whatever means i need to. If I want to turn my towel, no one has ever stopped me. I have had teachers say not to do so, but I figured they didn't want an injury, so I just turned the towel.
If might help that I am all white in my hair, and overweight, so they have sympathy, or fear. |
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Veteran
Posts: 243
| I think that's good advice from gogirl- talking to the teacher, either informally or a direct "why can't I move my towel" outside of class can ease the cranky feeling. Especially as there might be a good reason for it that you don't know. And if the reasoning still doesn't suit you- I'd say do it anyway, regardless of what the teacher wants or says- they may insist that you not drink water or wipe your face- but they can't really stop you doing it.
Edited by yoga-addict 2007-03-15 11:55 AM
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| i just had a good laugh. i can't believe people actually have gotten into fist fights and have given the instructor the finger! it's funny, because i can picture it happening to a couple of teachers at my studio. there are many different personality types that get hooked on this type of yoga. thankfully, i'm pretty easy going and only stay focused on the positive. when i get corrected, i'm grateful. also, when i'm doing a pose beautifully, the particular teacher will compliment as well. |
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| While there's the old adage "those who can't do teach," the opposite is also true. Often in sports the superstar player is a poor coach, as s/he can't relate to ordinary talent. At my studio we have one particular teacher who has an extraordinary, championship-caliper practice. She's inspiring to watch. However, she's a demanding, judgmental teacher who cannot relate to the middle-aged, out of shape student, who is often just trying to survive the class. She has had a number of confrontations with students, during and after class. Her problems certainly have nothing to do with poor training. She just can't relate to those of lesser talents and lesser commitment to Bikram and she lets them know in no uncertain terms that they are just not up to snuff. I haven't confronted her (it's not my nature) but I've thought about it.
Dave |
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| davewe - 2007-03-15 11:51 AM
While there's the old adage "those who can't do teach," the opposite is also true. Often in sports the superstar player is a poor coach, as s/he can't relate to ordinary talent. At my studio we have one particular teacher who has an extraordinary, championship-caliper practice. She's inspiring to watch. However, she's a demanding, judgmental teacher who cannot relate to the middle-aged, out of shape student, who is often just trying to survive the class. She has had a number of confrontations with students, during and after class. Her problems certainly have nothing to do with poor training. She just can't relate to those of lesser talents and lesser commitment to Bikram and she lets them know in no uncertain terms that they are just not up to snuff. I haven't confronted her (it's not my nature) but I've thought about it.
Dave
Hmmm, she sounds like the type of teacher I'd want!
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getting annoyed with bikram
