What makes a good yoga teacher?

Image: Lululemon Athletica

Some thoughts:

• Receptivity and responsiveness to where their students are
• One who teaches to all levels of a class
• Compassion for their students
• Enthusiasm for transmitting the subject
• Technical knowledge and experience
• Flexibility to alter a class when necessary
• Skill and thought behind their explanations and teaching
• Creativity in their lesson plan to excite learning
• Constant growth and building of knowledge in the subject area
• Attention to when a student is out of alignment or just needs a loving touch

We discussed this question in small groups on the opening day of Yoga Teacher Training Level 2 at Tranquil Space. It was unanimously agreed that while some yoga teachers can have enviable technical knowledge, their classes can at times lack heart - that special "fairy dust" a great teacher knows how to sprinkle throughout the class which contributes to you leaving on cloud nine, and feeling in love with the world. John Friend, in his Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual, puts it this way:

"... it is possible for a teacher to have minimal yoga experience or knowledge of postural technique and still be effective in inspiring students about their divine greatness."

He further describes the three interpersonal qualities he feels are essential in a great yoga teacher: soft heart, sharp mind, and vibrant body.

"The teacher's soft heart quality encompasses compassion, sensitivity to others' feelings, friendliness, kindness, patience, and respect. Sharp mind includes being articulate, creative and innovative, while vibrant body includes being enthusiastic, charismatic, positive, humorous, and inspiring. These three categories represent the most important qualities of a good yoga teacher - they form the soil in which the seeds of technical knowledge and teaching experience can root and grow vigorously, bearing fruit for a lifetime."

An encouraging idea to contemplate as we begin our journey as yoga teachers-in-training - the notion that the vast amount of theory and philosophy we don't yet know isn't as important as the qualities we intrinsically bring to teaching.

Siobhan also shared a few thoughts of note:

• You can teach a pose even if you can't do it (a relief for those of us who thought we needed a stronger practice before entering teacher training)
• Think of all the skills and jobs you have done throughout your life; you bring all of those to yoga teaching
• You can still weave yoga philosophy into your classes without using the Sanskrit words and frightening students off 

Yoga teacher training level 1

Last night I graduated from Tranquil Space's 3-and-a-half day level 1 yoga teacher training intensive, a transformative experience. There's so much to digest from the process and all that I learned. Suffering a little from withdrawal today - I want my 8 hours of yoga asana and discussion! - mixed with euphoria from teaching a class practice and, of course, an aching body.

So, what did I learn about yoga and yoga teaching? Here are some thoughts, in no particular order:

Happy little yoga vegemites. Image courtesy of Tranquil Space Yoga

• Teaching yoga is as enjoyable and fulfilling as I thought it might be
• It's also physically and mentally demanding. It requires a strong presence; intuition to read the energy of your students; anatomical knowledge; focus to remember your sequence as well as assist students, notice when one needs a bit of help, count the breath of each asana hold, etc.; creativity to design a stimulating practice and playlist; wisdom and life experience so you can share something of value each class
• Giving physical assists to students is very rewarding
• Yoga teaching language is an entirely different method of communication
• Cueing an action before you announce it is vital. On the mat you need a few seconds to prepare before a movement
• There's a fine art to vinyasa sequencing. The precise order of poses elicit particular energies and emotions
• Some of the less-confident students were confident teachers, and vice versa
• I got injured! A freak accident where a fellow student stepped too close to my wrist during a chataranga assist and sliced my skin with her toenail (yes, eww)
• Yoga while pregnant seems impossible. We performed one surya namaskar with bundled-up blankets strapped to our bellies and couldn't believe the difficulty 
• I learned a lot about my own practice. Corrected alignment problems, learned the focus and foundation of many poses, and know which areas I need to work on
• Shoulderstand can be performed correctly and safely without a chair. I even enjoyed it
• There has to be a little pressure applied in all learning and growth
• Think of your intention behind your teaching. It pervades everything, from each utterance to your tone to the energy you give off, and it's very evident to your students
• Intention and a specific dedication, even if it's just mindfulness in the movement, are what makes it yoga
• To apply compassion to your students - relating to their pain or struggle - you first must understand your own, and how you fall into your own patterns. Darkness is hopefully something you burn off in asana practice
• Inhalations remind us to step forward into action, exhalations remind us to be present
• All yoga poses need both ease and a steadiness
• My love affair with yoga deepened over the long weekend. It's giving me a lot more back now

I have so far to go with my yoga teaching education. I feel as though I want to read widely and internalise volumes of wisdom before I undertake Level 2 training, as keen as I am to jump in boots and all. Or is this just my perfectionism standing in the way?

Yoga can wreck your body, and the NYT can wreck yoga

Last week's story in The New York Times magazine titled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body" spent a week on their most-emailed list and has the US yoga community in a flap.

Some of the more hysterical commentary failed to mention the article was excerpted from an upcoming book by the NYT science writer, and therefore can't help but be a simplified and over-generalised version of the narrative, lacking full context and, just possibly, balance. And, as a journalist, I recognise the technique of provocation to appear fresh and new as well as attracting readers and debate.

Other reactions published this week point out a number of inaccuracies in the story and instances where interviewees claim to be misquoted (that old chestnut!).

Nevertheless there are some important issues lurking behind the anecdotes and accusations of ego.