Planning to start learning yoga? Been through a number of different yoga teaches over the years? Read on to know how you can choose a good yoga teacher.

No matter what the subject, a good teacher can bring out the best in you. This is especially so when it comes to yoga, where the guru-shishya (teacher-student) relationship plays a vital role. Assessing the abilities of a prospective yoga teacher isn’t always easy. Here are some aspects worth looking at:

• Knowledge

Yoga instructors are not required to be certified, though many now are. A good teacher knows not only what ‘it should ideally be’ but also knows from experience. Yoga cannot be learned by watching videos or reading books. Knowledge in yoga comes from practice.

• Dharma talks and chants

Do you like them? Or do you just want to move ahead with the real exercises? Some teachers integrate the Dharma talks into the class. Some keep the chanting at the end. Which do you prefer? I like it at the end when I can actually concentrate on the chanting and not wonder about the new posture I will learn today.

• Explanation

A good yoga teacher explains about a posture before demonstrating. S/he tells you why you need to form a certain posture, what benefits it provides, and also what its different variations are.

• Demonstration

Does your teacher demonstrate yoga? How often does s/he demonstrate? Ideally, a good yoga teacher should demonstrate each new posture that s/he teaches you.

But would you like your teacher to demonstrate through the class? A teacher performing poses may not be able to watch what you are doing.

• Assistance

I prefer a teacher who assists me with the posture when I am not doing it right. I certainly don’t want someone who tells me about the posture, demonstrates it, and then just sits there waiting to see if I can do it as well as him/her.

But remember, a good teacher will always try verbal instructions before hand-holding and assisting you!

• Time for relaxation

Does your teacher start a class with meditation and end it with relaxation? Good sequencing of the class is important. Meditation prepares your body for even the most difficult pose. A good relaxation technique brings your body back to neutral.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 8:18 am and is filed under Motivation, Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.