|
|
| Hello! I am new to this forum. I found it when looking for a resource to talk to to yoga teachers. I have been practicing yoga for about 8 years now, and have recently been asked to start teaching a class. I'd like to get some insight on my situation. Here's my story:
I am from a a very rural community. I've moved around some over the past several years and have been blessed to practice with amazing teachers in several big cities. About a year ago I moved back home. Our local YMCA (15 miles away) offers a few yoga classes that are OK, but honestly I think my own practice is beyond the teachers they have there. These are people who I would guess took a weekend workshop and got a piece of paper and added Yoga to their repertoire of aerobics and pilates classes. Very few classes are offered - like 1 or 2 a week, and these all during daytime hours. So I have sought out a teacher I like about 50 miles away and I'm practicing with her 2-3 times a month. In addition, I have a little "yoga club" which consists of my mom and cousin and occasionally others, that meets once a week at my house. I lead this group, but it's always been informal, and they certainly don't pay me to teach them. Then I also have my own (almost) daily practice which I do alone.
Recently, a friend of mine who teaches martial arts asked me to teach yoga at her studio. She wants to get more use out of the facility (she rents 2 rooms in a former school) and offer more classes. I've been thinking of getting certification and learning to teach for quite some time, and I have subbed for a couple of my former teachers in the cities I used to live in, and of course have the experience of leading the group in my basement.
So... how do you "real" yoga teachers feel about a person with a pretty good deal of yoga training, but no teacher training starting a class? I certainly won't be competing with any existing teachers, as this will be the only class in town, and the only one in the county that happens during evening houres. And a second question... will I be able to get liability insurance (which my friend's facility requires) if I don't have teacher certification?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts. |
|
| |
|
| i think that, in this situation, it's really no problem. afterall, you are probably the most qualified person in the area, and beyond that, you do have experience teaching. also, your previous teachers have asked you to sub, and they would be a good judge of your ability to do so safely and effectively.
so, i would go for it. and then, if/when you have the opportunity, seek some educational programming that is specific. perhaps an immersion week somewhere, or a month if possible--but only as you feel you need/want it. |
|
| |
|
| Also HB--liability insurance is no problem--anybody will be happy to take your money. Rates are normally comparable among the companies that offer it--around $150/year. |
|
| |
|
| Thank you for your advice! I'm enjoying reading your forum. Have a wonderful day! |
|
| |
|
| Hello Cindy.
The question is "teaching yoga without being trained to teach yoga"?
Any sincere seeker sees that the skill set for being a yoga student is not the skill set for being a yoga teacher. However, being a yoga teacher DOES require that the teacher have a thriving practice, otherwise the teaching lacks integrity.
A student does not need communication skills, visual skills, assessment skills, knowledge of sequencing, contraindications, economy of language, diction, presentation, et al. Students can be muddled in class and, for the most part effect only one person. A teacher who is muddled will hurt others.
A good teacher training is important. How does a teacher protect their energy from that of the class? How will you modify trikonasana for a man with a hip replacement? What inversions are "okay" for a pregnant woman in the first trimester? In what way(s) do the Yoga Sutras have significance in asana? Does a student with inner knee pain in standing poses need to stop or merely be modified?
You've sen the fruit of weekend trainings (local classes) and I would agree that shows a certain lack of commitment to be fully trained as a teacher. The state of yoga teacher training these days is sad - very little transmitted, very little demanded, very little expected.
Since you mention the local teachers likely got their training over a weekend merely to add to their "arsenal" of exercise instruction competencies, I presume you agree. Ergo I would encourage you to embrace what you've seen as a sign and feel carefully about your commitment to be a well-steeped cup of yoga tea.
Yoga needs more teachers with open hearts and you may be one, and destined to teach. How deeply though do we serve students when we can only offer them our own practice?
If you are as deeply connected to the sharing of yoga as you seem to be, then beginning to teach AND getting into a sound teacher training would go hand in hand, no?
Edited by purnayoga 2009-03-16 11:43 PM
|
|
| |
|
| i think that a different standard applies for areas where yoga is a rare thing.
it is likely that she is the most qualified person in her area to teach, regardless of whether or not she has training. therefore, i would prefer that she spread the many benefits of yoga than the community continue to not have quality yoga at all, and then she can get the training as time and money allows.
also, i have no doubt that she will be inspired in general to extend beyond her practice. many of the things that i come across in my daily teaching is not stuff that i learned in my training. I didn't learn, for example, in my training how to handle hip replacements. instead, once i was teaching, people with hip replacements came to class. in dialogue with them, with research from the internet and library, in discussion with other teachers, and in my own study and practice, i learned how to work with different hip replacement scenarios.
i have no doubt that anyone who is sincere in teaching, trained or not, will make a great teacher. |
|
| |
|
| Then, my dear, we shall have to agree to disagree agreeably.
The steeping of the tea does not depend on the lay of the land nor the people dwelling on it. It depends on the nature of tea.
Edited by purnayoga 2009-03-17 12:54 PM
|
|
| |
|
| I think that there are several issues here and each of your respondents already dealt with one or more of them. The first issue is if you want to teach a particular style (Iyengar, Astanga, Bikram, Anusara etc) of yoga, you really need to be specifically trained in teaching that style as each has a particular method of practice and a particular method of teaching. The second issue is whether or not you have enough knowledge to teach safely and understand that you can only teach that which you personally understand. If you are teaching your "own" yoga and know enough about anatomy to do so safely, why not go for it? Although a good teacher never stops learning, you learn to teach by doing it not by taking teacher trainings. Teacher trainings are great (and you should try to take some as soon as you can) but as long as you stick to what you know and have a good idea how the body works and how to practice yoga safely, I'm sure that you will do fine and are already becoming a wonderful teacher.
PS You can take anatomy and physiology classes at your local community college if you want to know more about the body. |
|
| |
|
| IF your teachers have asked you to substitute for them, that is some indication. ALSO, listen to your inner promptings.
if you feel called to teach, then do begin. teach what you know. do not take on students with conditions that are beyond you or your understanding of how to teach them safely.
consider teacher training. go for QUALITY rather than speed or proximity. quality teacher training may or may not result in a certificate.
the best teachers rely on their personal practice AND continue to study with teachers they can learn from.
as has been mentioned, many "teacher trainings" offer little (including many of the RYT yoga alliance ones--NOT ALL, but WIDE spectrum as far as quality).
|
|
| |
|
| also, as a primer, i like Anatomy of Movement. it's a really nice book to get the basics. and i think that there are a number of books in the library that offer modifications for different poses--i know that the very large iyengar book (coffee table sized) light on yoga has great illustrations for modifying with props, and i think there is one called "cool yoga tricks" and another for yoga for people over 50 that has a lot of great modifications for various needs.
definitely worth checking out. |
|
| |
Introduction/Question
