Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
People practice yoga for diverse reasons. They may demand to expand their levels of health, fitness, and flexibility. Or develop their muscle tone. Reducing levels of stress and uneasiness are also high on the list, as is personal development, and the desire to follow a more spiritual path. Some may have a particular medical condition or health problem they want to address.
One’s reason for starting yoga may have a behavior on both the kind of yoga that makes a ‘excellent fit’, as well as the specific master chosen within a yoga discipline. Whilst the many varieties of yoga certainly suit some aims better than others, the coach you practice with will also make a difference to achieving what you desire with yoga. Or not.
Foe example, if you have an individual medical condition, it would be greater to informally interview prospective yoga teachers beforehand. First, to find out which classes might be proper, and to see whether that adviser has a real grasp of what the condition or problem implies for a yoga practice. Some people, whether they are yoga masters or not, have a more stiff outlook, and may not be able to appreciate that a flexible approach in such circumstances is consequential. Or, they may not have adequate training or experience. Perchance they are even too busy to be available in a more individual way.
When choosing a yoga trainer, it’s consequential to use your insight. And to realize that we, as individuals, may not find our requirements met by a class even if others do. Some trainers are more nurturing than others, some are more focused on the spiritual aspects of yoga (which may or may not align with our own spiritual outlook). Some perform adjustments – which is where a master will use their body-weight to assist you go further into a position – without really finding out whether a person has any injuries. And some simply do it too over-zealously. A student in that situation may feel that the ‘teacher knows best’. But it’s important to listen to your own body, and comprehend that not all yoga training is equal. And, not all teachers are equal, in all areas, either.
Some other things to consider when choosing a yoga coach are:
- Are they dogmatic? Do they push a certain philosophical or spiritual point of view? Is there a subtle (or not so subtle) manipulation that implies that without their ‘guru’, your spiritual evolvement is on shaky ground. In fact, do they advise that you ‘need’ a guru (their guru) as a ‘guide’ in matters of spirituality because your own connection to Source-God isn’t good enough. In other words, are they suggesting you put your power outside of yourself, or do they reiterate that you in fact are your own guide, and can get their quite well under your own steam.
- Are they (or the notable representatives of their yoga discipline) overly concerned with money, fame, power, the size of their organization, or their degree of influence? If they (the organization) certify yoga trainers, how long do the trainers have to train for? What are they trained in and what aren’t they taught about?
- How well does the master embody the fundamental spiritual qualities of compassion, kindness, peace, joy, and equanimity? Whilst we are all beings at diverse stages of the journey, it helps to look at a coach’s character, and ethics. No-one needs to be perfect, but what qualities, of themselves, are they bringing to class.