How to find The One (yoga teacher)
In a dime-a-dozen world of yoga teachers, how do you find “the one”?
Yoga as fitness found fertile ground in the West, but yoga as an artistic discipline, a path of knowledge, is harder to come by. Traditional Indian wisdom says that when the student is ready, the teacher will come.
These days, when the student is ready, thousands of teachers appear: on google, on youtube, and of course, our favorite scrollable news feeds. Insta-famous and discover-worthy yoga instructors are live streaming at you right now, building video empires, and accessible through the same companies that make your yoga clothing.
With so many teachers “appearing”, how do we find “the one”?
Just that question feels foreign from my US perspective. Studio schedules were designed for convenience and range of offerings, and now that studios are closed, we’re all online, where videos and tutorials and photos can feel like “the more the merrier”, which really turns into a lot of confusion: different teachers have different backgrounds and perspectives, so will present information that you will find conflicting. It’s easier to learn when you trust the teacher, respect the knowledge, and are enabled to progress efficiently towards your goals.
So, find the one:
Know thyself
This is one of the core tenants of ancient yoga philosophy: svadyaya, or self study, comes before learning postures (asana; exercises) and breathing (pranayama) in Patanjali’s eightfold path.
Are you looking for education? A spa experience? Therapy?
Are you more interested in the physical or the psychological benefits of yoga?
Know the system.
Yoga studios rely on teacher training programs to pay their rent: workshops and trainings generate far more revenue than the inexpensive drop in classes you know them for. And because below the billboards of peace-love-yoga, yoga studios are businesses with bottom lines and bills, there is little to no barrier to who can enter the teacher training program, and who graduates with a certificate. If you can sign the check and show up to class, you can earn the certificate. If you can sign many checks and show up to many classes, you can collect certificates.
Of course education and training are important. But look beyond the list of hours earned. How many years has the teacher been teaching? Full time? Where?
Know the teacher
There is so much you can see from a simple photo and bio. Do they emphasize the points that resonate with you?
Personally, these are the qualities that I respect in my fellow teachers:
Daily Devotion to Practice
Many shiny new teachers, or overworked successful teachers, spend so much time teaching and running the business aspect of their profession that their personal practice is lost or rusty. Would you hire a piano teacher who doesn’t play the piano without you? No. Teachings are only meaningful when rooted in personal experience, which needs to be renewed. Plus, why would you practice, if your teacher doesn’t practice?
Connection to Lineage
A connected teacher will share generations of experience with you, and you will feel how yoga is a living, evolving art. The current certification system is very new; traditionally, teachers began teaching when their guru bestowed a blessing and students came to the teacher. Teachers and students were a part of a “family tree” of knowledge, similar to what you still see in academia, Ashtanga yoga, and Iyengar Yoga today.
Studies the Whole Package
Personally, I need to know the “why”, the “how”, and the “why not” underlying everything that comes my way, so I connect best with teachers who are passionate, curious, and articulate not just in yoga but in other areas of knowledge as well.
Independently, I spend my off-the-mat hours studying philosophy, anatomy, and alternative medicine/healing, as well as stay in touch with psychology and neuroscience (my academic background). Integrating all of these fields gives me a rich understanding of what I teach as a mind-body art. Usually my students only want to delve into one of these aspects in the beginning, and then open into needing and appreciating the depth that yoga can have today.
Teaching Full Time for a Long Time
So often, new students find inexpensive, inexperienced teachers and the practice ends up creating more difficulty than benefits. Let the inexperienced teachers get their experience somewhere other than you! Find someone who loves yoga enough to devote life to teaching with expertise.
Lives a Life You Admire
We call it “practice”, but what are we practicing for? Everything that happens off the mat. If you love the life your teacher lives, and the way she lives it, you’ll naturally learn how to embody those elements into your own life.
Someone Who Can really See
Every body, mind, life is unique. With experience and practiced acuity, the best teachers will be able to see the details of your movements and make tiny corrections that blow your body-mind. You should feel that you can ask questions, and that your teacher will turn confusion into clarity.
Committed
Like any relationship, you need someone who is not just great on paper but someone who has the time and heart to genuinely care for you as she guides you towards your goals. The best teachers elevate their students, and inspire by example.
My students and my teachers are the people I love like family. I hope that you, too, find the teacher who enriches your life!
