"I WANT TO BECOME A TEACHER" 

Rajvi Mehta, 
Published in Iyengar Yoga News, the magazine of the Iyengar Yoga Association of the United Kingdom, Spring 2004

In this article she explains that becoming an Iyengar Yoga teacher is not as easy as people think.

"I want to become a yoga teacher. When do you have the next teacher training course?" The questioner is asked, "Are you a student of Iyengar Yoga?" "No, but I want to join your teacher training course." This is the conversation that we have several times a week through different communication media, the phone or electronic mail. 

Such a conversation sounds absurd, amusing, and even annoying. Absurd and amusing that an individual who does not even know a subject expresses a desire not to learn it but start teaching it; annoying that a subject with the depth of yoga is taken so casually. 

Sixty-six years ago when Guruji started teaching yoga, it was difficult to even earn a proper meal a day. Today, yoga has become very popular and accepted worldwide as an alternate therapy, a means of relaxation, a done thing! And, along with the popularity is an increased demand for yoga teachers. So, many individuals are now seriously considering taking up teaching yoga as a profession. It is indeed nice that more and more people will get the benefit of this subject. However, it is very saddening and even distressing when people take to teaching for financial gains and the fame it gives you, where adding the 'adjective' Iyengar to your 'qualification' of yoga teacher is a great help. 

Rather than Critisize these 'wanna-be' teachers for their 'enthusiasm' which may be due to ignorance rather than arrogance, it is our duty as students and teachers of Iyengar Yoga to educate the students about what the art of teaching involves and the kind of commitment it needs. This 'education' should not be through mere words but through action. This is the responsibility of all the longtime students and teachers of Iyengar Yoga. 

Geetaji has often said that teaching is not just the techniques. Repeating the methodology of an asana from Light on Yoga does not make one a teacher. Prashantji has clearly demarcated the modern-day teachers from tutors. The modern-day teachers (from any field, not essentially yoga) feel their job is done once they have covered the syllabus that they have been assigned to teach (which need not relate to what the pupil has understood) while the tutor sees to it that the pupil has understood what has been taught. 

Teaching any subject is a major responsibility, and teaching the art of teaching is a score above the rest. One is not only teaching an individual but is responsible for the transmission of knowledge for the generations to come. In India, students desirous of being teachers of high secondary school need post graduation in the specific subject, which means 5 years of college education after 12 years of schooling. This is the time frame of learning required for teaching an objective subject. How then can one expect to be able to teach a subjective subject like yoga within a few weeks of "learning" and that too after attending one or two classes a week? 

One needs to be a good, regular, sincere student who also practises regularly at home before even dreaming of becoming a teacher. Learn to be students first. An average student needs at least 3 to 5 years of learning before even considering teaching. Yoga is a subjective subject where you are dealing with human life. Medical education requires 5 years of practical and theory education followed by 6 months of intense internship in a hospital before one can start independent practice. Specialization in any field requires another three years i.e. nearly eight and a half years of formal education after 12 years of schooling. The question once again arises whether a few weeks or a few months or even a few years of learning suffices to make one a yoga teacher? The 'wanna-be' teachers need to be made to understand about the kind of time, dedication and effort that will be required to learn yoga. Only if they are prepared and show signs of giving that kind of commitment, should they be encouraged in to the art of teaching. 

In yoga, one deals not only with the body but also the mind of an individual. The teacher needs to have proper understanding of practical anatomy, physiology and psychology of each and every asana (or at least those that he/she is teaching). If not, then there is a great risk of harming a student. Anatomy, physiology and psychology of an asana cannot be learnt from books but from your own practice. And, that can happen only with regular practice reflecting on the effects of each action. Only if you understand your own body, will you be able to understand the bodies of other individuals. At the same time, the teacher needs to realize that not all human beings are identical. S/he needs sharp observation skills to apply the right method for the right student. For example, Guruji may have made me place the sole of my front foot on a block in standing asanas if I have shortened hamstrings and the back of my knees do not open out well. But, to use the same technique on a student who has hyperextension of the calf and the back of the knee, can create more pain and do more harm than good. The student may not even know whether his hamstrings are shortened or inner legs are shortened. The teacher needs to be able to identify the deformities or loss of alignments in the different individuals and have the insight to get the student (or patient) to perform the right modification of the asana for his problem. 

Guruji has said, "asanas are descriptions and not prescriptions." Description requires clear thoughts. One can use words endlessly to describe how to perform a particular asana, but the words could have no meaning and would only add confusion in the mind of a student. While, even a few words generated out of experience are more effective than mechanical repetition of words of your senior teacher if you are unable to articulate and generate the experience from your students. Teaching does not mean mere repetition of instructions. This will make teaching mechanical. Such mechanical teaching results in mere exercising. When the teaching is mechanical, it involves only the body and not the mind, while a yogasana involves the body, mind, emotions, intellect and spirit. A teacher needs to be clear in his/her mind on what needs to be taught on a particular day to a particular group of students to prevent his/her teaching from becoming monotonous and mechanical. At the same time, a teacher should have adaptability. A teacher may come prepared with a set sequence of asanas and set instructions that need to be taught. However, if he/she finds no response from the class then it is unethical to continue on the same note. At the same time, a teacher should see that the student is always learning something new from the class. 

During the Iyengar Yoga Festival in 1998 there were hundreds of students, including many teachers.  Guruji taught so many things and subtle aspects even in the simplest of asana like tadasana. Even students attending classes at RIMYI for 25 years can never state that any two classes by Geetaji or Prashantji have been identical. In each of the class, there is something new that we are always learning. 

One should also understand whether the student is 'not-performing' because of physical limitations or fear, and apply appropriate techniques to get the student to do the asana as desired. Use of brute force can be dangerous but at the same time ignoring a student who is not doing or unable to do is also not yogic. A balance between the two is absolutely essential. The teacher should have the ability to judge the capacity and capability of the students, and teach accordingly. For example, consider a teacher who has returned after attending classes with Geetaji and Prashantji at the Institute and attempts to 'repeat' all that he has newly learnt from them in the class. He however, has to judge the capability of his students as well as his own ability to transmit the same knowledge that he has gained. Mere repetition of 'latest' instructions does not make one a good teacher. A teacher's competence lies in his ability to transmit the experience that he has learnt from his own teacher to his student depending upon the capability of the student. 

Today, Iyengar Yoga is respected worldwide and therefore more and more people want to take to teaching Iyengar Yoga. The respect that Iyengar Yoga commands is because of the very high standards set down by Guruji. Guruji and the Institute has specifically designed a syllabus which is based on the capabilities of the different levels of teachers. This ensures that no teacher teaches beyond his/her capability so that there is no harm done to the student and at the same time the teacher is 'teaching' and the student 'learning'. As long as the teacher sticks to the guidelines laid down, he would be doing justice to the students as well as the subject. Therefore a beginner is given a strict code of conduct and even instructions on how to present oneself, how to talk, what to teach and how to teach. To some extent, the first level of teachers are 'spoon-fed'. This is to ensure that the teachers do no harm to the student and present the subject with the respect that is due to it. 

Teachers need to remember that teaching is the beginning of learning and not the end. Being able to perform many asanas or doing them well does not necessarily make you a good teacher, but the ability to make others perform the asanas with ease and stability are the signs of a good teacher. Technical expertise does not suffice to become a teacher. As Guruji says, "humane and emotional understanding is essential. Good teaching requires clarity of the head and purity of the heart." The attributes required of a teacher are many but a few of the traits that all teachers can work on can be summarized by Guruji's words, "A teacher needs to be clear, clever, confident, challenging, caring, cautious, constructive, courageous, comprehending, creative, completely devoted and dedicated to knowing the subject, considerate, conscientious, critical, committed, cheerful, chaste and calm. They should be strong and positive, affirmative to create confidence in the students and negative on themselves to critically reflect on their own practice and attitude. Teachers must always be learning." 

As teachers of Iyengar Yoga, we have to constantly work towards attaining and retaining these attributes that Guruji has referred to and by example, instill these on the students, some of whom may have the potential to be teachers.