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Regular
Posts: 86
Location: Jacksonville, Florida | How do you decide on a teacher? I am a yoga teacher and have taken ashtanga from about 4 teachers over the past 4 years. They are all equally convenient to commute to, and pricing is not an issue.
I only mention that I teach yoga (as a sub now, taking a break) because it is a bit difficult politically, you could say, to pick the right one.
Is there a tradition where it should be the first person to teach you ashtanga? Being asked? Is there a sutra/mishnah?
And I am truly grateful that I live in such a great town for yoga that I actually have this myriad of choices  |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Uppsala, Sweden | I think many basic criteria are important in choosing a teacher, but it also depends on where you are in your practice, and what you want to learn, since different teachers tend to be good at different things.
First of all, there needs to be some rapport, a functional personal chemistry; you need to be able to trust the teacher, and if the teacher does not like you as a student — or if you don't respect the teacher — then you should find another teacher. And even if the teacher-student relationship ideally should be on of “love, trust, and the constant willingness to be tested and go beyond one's imagined limitations” [p. xvi, from Preface, v.i.], it should never be a romantic/erotic relationship, and maybe not too close a friendship either. Traditionally, the teacher-student relationship is sacred, since the guru is thought to be someone who can impart all necessary (divine) yoga knowledge to transform and liberate the student, but tradition also distinguishes between different types of teachers... yet still those who «wandered from teacher to teacher were derogatorily called “crows at a sacred place” (tirthakaka).» (p. 10, The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice; by Georg Feuerstein, 1998; third edition 2008)
So, your best teacher is someone who has walked all of the path before you, who has your best interest at heart, and who is very good at teaching you at whatever stage you are at. And once you have learned all you can from that teacher, it's time to move on.
If you read the first Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, it is implicitly obvious that there needs to be someone (a teacher), giving the instruction on yoga, and especially considering that the Yoga Sutras, like most ancient scriptures, are pretty hard to understand by yourself (even in our times with translations and commentaries readily available), I think we still need teachers. And if you read the pages 8-14 (Feuerstein, chapter 1: IV. Guiding Light — the Teacher) in the book mentioned above, you will find plenty of references to scriptural sources on the matter, as on other pages in that great book. And don't skip the preface!
«So long as enlightenment is not attained, the ego is not transcended, and there is the ever-present possibility of abusing one's yogic abilities for egoic puposes rather than for the spiritual upliftment of others.» -- «I accepted long ago that spiritual life is a never-ending path of discovery that continues until we draw our last breath, and beyond. It is wonderful to know that for the dedicated aspirant there is always timely help in taking the next step»... (Ibid., p. xvi-xvii, Preface) |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
I want to work with teachers who:
a) ideally, can teach me something that I don't already know or who can give me useful adjustments in things that I already do, or otherwise who at least don't try to make me do things that are liable to cause strain/injury.
b) are not excessively dogmatic (I mean, almost all yoga teachers engage in some philosophical or spiritual monologues which is great; but I want to go to yoga class, not church)
c) make yoga classes enjoyable (as in keeping it light hearted)
d) do not play head games with their students
... bg
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| Yoga Bear, Which one do you resonate with the most? Do you feel a strong draw to any one of them? I have had different Ashtanga Teachers and there were always some that I really just felt drawn to and others I studied with strictly out of convenience.
If you feel the need to chose one, I would chose that one that resonates with your style the most.
Figure out what you want you need to grow in your practice and look for that in a teacher.
I personally am drawn to the "tough love" type. They kick your butt but they do it with love!! They know when I really just need to chill out and when I am just being lazy and making excuses. They inspire me to do more with them then I would ever do alone. They give good firm adjustments that are never violent and that always take into account my current day to day state.
What are you looking for? Figure it out and then you will have your teacher!
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New User
Posts: 1
| It is very interesting to hear the question, 'how do you decide on a teacher?', especially in Yoga. To learn the 'technique' of asana one can go to a teacher one is comfortable with. But, to learn Yoga on the spiritual path, it is exactly other way round, the teacher chooses you. Yoga, the "union" happens on many planes and in many ways. Meeting your teacher and he/she finding you eligible is one such 'union'. You can't rush it, in Yoga you need patience for everything. Shanna is right.
Right teacher would not only find you, but keep you challenged, protect you from wrong practices; and most importantly leave you alone to find your own answers. That is "self-realization", the central theme of Ashtanga Yoga of Sage Patanjali. Once you are anchored firmly within, a need for external teacher fades away. Then, in that most subtle domain, Ishvara, your soul becomes your teacher, in fact, the ultimate teacher. So, that's one more of Yoga paradoxes, you look for a teacher everywhere, only to realize that the best one has always been with you, right inside!
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Regular
Posts: 86
Location: Jacksonville, Florida | This makes total sense and I know exactly the person you have described. |
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: Germany |
A friend of us is a very good Ashtanga teacher, he is an doctor also, here ist his Website:
http://www.ashtangayoga.info/
He can come to America to teach you some days.
Namaste
Esther |
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Choosing a teacher
