Of course, you practice Yoga with the best of intentions. Now,
your thinking, doesn't everyone practice, learn, and teach Yoga
with the best of intentions? In a few words: No, they do not.
Some Yoga teachers over-step their boundaries. We have Yoga
students who were abused verbally and physically, before they
came here. Some were picked on for being overweight, insulted
for their lack of flexibility, and one of my current students
had her back jumped on by her former Yoga instructor, while
holding Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). By the way,
this student had told this Yoga teacher, she had back problems,
before she took her first Yoga class.
We've all heard stories of different cases of abuse, by anyone
in authority. The problem is not the training - it's the
inherent lack of common sense and compassion. Most people grow
into a Yoga teaching position just fine, while a rare few
develop "petty dictator syndrome."
It's amazing what people will justify, and then, insist their
acts were done with the best of intentions. My Grandfather used
to say, "Hell was made with good intent." Ponder that for a
while, and you will come up with many ideas.
If you think of the worst atrocities known to man, you will find
someone who can justify them. Do you think Idi Amin, Pol Pot,
Hitler, and Stalin thought they were wrong? They would all
justify their intentions. Now, on a much smaller scale, going
into your Yoga class, with a competitive mind-set, is not the
best of intentions. You will eventually injure yourself. All of
us age, and we will not get the same results, from our body,
every day. Your body is not a machine and if it were, a machine
would show signs of wear too.
A competitive mind-set will bolster your ego and that has
nothing to do with Yoga. Your mind, body, and spirit cannot
become healthy, when your ego is in "the driver's seat." There
is no tranquility, harmony, peace, mindfulness, or loving
kindness within the ego. To the ego everything is a perceived
threat, to its existence.
Leave your ego at the door, with your shoes, before going into
Yoga class. When you practice Yoga, savor each lesson, and take
it out into the world, for practice. When you leave the ashram
or Yoga studio, practice is applying what you learn to real
life. So, it does not end, when you roll up your Yoga mat.
Be courteous to everyone all the time. You are projecting loving
kindness and being mindful of life in the present, and
practicing the unity of mind, ody, and spirit.
© Copyright 2005 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
About the author:
Paul Jerard is the director of Yoga teacher training at Aura in
RI. He's a master instructor of martial arts and Yoga. He
teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness. He wrote: Is Running a
Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students wanting to be a
Yoga teacher.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org