SO...YOU WANT TO BE A YOGA TEACHER
by Val Paape
The popularity of yoga has resulted in many more people being interested in becoming yoga teachers. At Yoga North, we frequently get inquiries into our teacher training program. Interestingly, many of those making the inquiry have never done yoga or have only done yoga from a videotape or a book. Some work in the fitness industry and want to add yoga to the repertoire of what they are able to offer. Often, when we describe our program and stress the importance of being a seasoned yoga practitioner before entering a teacher training program, we never hear from them again.
Yoga is an unregulated profession. Anyone can hang out a "Yoga Teacher" shingle and teach yoga classes. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. But it does mean that the ?buyer? needs to beware. In the case of the Iyengar Method, the standards of teacher training are very high and therefore, certification in this method is a sign of competence. An analogy that comes to mind is horseback riding or skiing. Just because a person has been on a horse a few times or gone down a hill a few times certainly doesn?t make them competent to teach people riding and skiing skills. I would be quite happy to have a friend give me tips on the sport if they had more experience than me but I certainly wouldn?t pay them or expect to learn the required skills in a logical, progressive, comprehensive and safe manner! I would expect them to reach a certain level of skill and expertise in their sport before they would enter a teacher training program.
But, you say, those are potentially dangerous sports and yoga, well, yoga is just stretching?Ah no. Yoga is much more than just stretching. Yoga involves complex postural positions that can cause injury when done incorrectly. Teachers need to be able to teach their students how to go into and get out of these positions safely. They need to know the muscular actions that students need to do while they are in the pose and have the teaching skills to direct their students accordingly. They need to be able to help correct their students if they are at risk of doing damage to their knee or some other part of their body. They need to know how to adjust the yoga postures to suit the great diversity of people who are now interested in and want to try yoga. And, they need to understand the experience of yoga in order to effectively teach classes so that their students have a deeper, more meaningful experience of yoga beyond mere relaxation. These are just some of the things that a qualified, competent yoga teacher must know.
So, if you are interested in becoming a yoga teacher, take classes with a qualified yoga teacher and do a regular, consistent yoga practice. Learn about yoga through your own experience of it. Find out if you like it and ask yourself why you want to teach yoga. Being a good, qualified, competent yoga teacher takes commitment, effort, time, discipline and energy. And, being less than competent is simply not ethical. At Yoga North, we take the training of teachers very seriously. To learn more about our teacher training program, please talk to one of our teachers or visit our Teacher Training page.