By guest author Carmen Howell of The Sadhana Studio The title for this article came from a blog, where the writer shared her "tempest of emotions, regarding the question of whether to take and commit to a teacher'? The advice she received was that window shopping for ceremonies, teachers and/or traditions prevents a situation where one can go deeply into any one tradition, and will only result in a shallow experience and knowledge of a topic. In short, window shopping can be delusional … [Read more...]
Dumped by my Guru
by columnist Gabrielle Harris, The Suburban Yogini My freefall descent happened 6 months ago. It wasn’t gentle zen-like parachute descent, but the type of ungraceful fall where not only was I kicking and screaming, but all the office workers in the building I was sailing by were laughing and poking faces at me. My lesson on non-attachment had publicly arrived. It happened on my level 3 teacher training. I had travelled to Australia to be with the teacher I was attached to. He made me … [Read more...]
Dude, where’s my Guru?
Last week's article, Dude, where's my teacher, totally surprised me. I didn't expect people to resonate with it so much. There were all kinds of comments, as it flitted around the social media sky. The weird thing was, I'd written it on the Sunday night, exhausted, out of time, just wanting to go to bed, and I thought it had sucked. I knew I hadn't captured the most important nuances of my search for a Real Yoga Teacher. So I'm back to dish up those nuances and set the record … [Read more...]
Dude, where’s my teacher?!
I've been totally short-changed on my yoga journey. Never once have I had a Real Yoga Teacher. You know - the kind you have an on-going relationship with.. the kind who supports your yoga journey parsing out morsels of wisdom and insight at the exact moment you need them... the kind who's interested in your development and answers all your questions. Nope, thanks to some cruel twist of fate, I've been left to blunder through the mine field of yoga all by my lonesome. Partly this … [Read more...]
How a Non-certified Yoga Teacher With No Guru Ended Up Teaching (And Should She Be?)
by Kara-Leah, This is a question I have contemplated many times since teaching was first thrust upon me. And it's also one this website has explored extensively in recent weeks. After reading all of the responses from other teachers, I began to wonder... how on earth can I call myself a yoga teacher? I have no qualifications. I've never attended a teacher training of any real length. I've never studied under a guru, nor a teacher for any length of time. I'm a long way from mastering … [Read more...]
How do I go about becoming a yoga teacher? Part V
This is the fifth article in a series which has examined what it takes to become a yoga teacher. This installment is from Melissa Billington, who owns MYOGA in Wellington. Melissa writes: Teaching yoga is a product, or a flowing over, of who you are. Yet Ekhart Tolle writes; If you can be absolutely comfortable with not knowing who you are, then what's left is who you are—the being behind the human. A field of pure potentiality rather than something that is already defined. Give up … [Read more...]