The fundamental contradiction with the philosophy most people follow learning yoga and the true philosophy of yoga is that yoga is a journey to grow greater internal awareness, whereas STILL students look to teachers to tell them the way. Yoga is about learning to listen to your OWN internal senses. Look at the 8 limbs of yoga. Step 5 is withdrawal of the senses before Step 6 concentration and step 7 meditation i.e. quieten yourself to listen to your internal wisedom before you concentrate. Most people are still frantically trying to:
- out perform their neighbour in a yoga-class (rather than turning their thoughts inside themselves)
- wondering if they look good in their sportswear or other vain concerns of how they appear to others
- believe that yoga is about strength and flexibility alone, that the ‘mind’ part of mind-body-soul union is just fluffy nonsense
Most of what happens in yoga happens inside. It’s a feeling. Feelings are experienced. Over time the feeling becomes purer and stronger. With a clutter of noise in a context of competition and fear of failure such experiences can easily be drowned out leaving new students feeling lost or worse.
Teachers should be valued on the knowledge they transfer, not on the knowledge they hold themselves. You might read about ‘celebrity’ yoga teachers. Their biographies always read about where THEY have studied. The basis of their success should be on WHO ELSE they have taught and the success those students have found.
A good teacher should be teaching students to fish, not diving in the water to catch the fish. A good teacher should be training students to be lone yachtsmen at ease on the widest oceans seas, not steering and pulling on ropes with them. A good teacher should be a caring parent trusting their most treasured belonging to go out in the evening and return safe and sound before bedtime.
Posted by ksema 