As a student and teacher of yoga, I have observed the tendency for students to develop an affinity for a particular guru’s style and to follow that guru faithfully. As a student, I had many teachers over the years for whom I found the guidance I needed at the time, and therefore I attended their classes as often as I could. As a teacher, developing relationships with students who enjoy your classes and attend regularly is a great affirmation. A teacher’s loyalty may serve the student by allowing them to advance in a particular path or improve their practice of a particular style of yoga. However, at some point, could a teacher’s loyalty become constrained, like being caught in a rut?<\/p>\n
There is a theory about students and teachers that says that the teacher receives students who are ready to teach. In the same vein, I believe students can benefit by being responsive to the teachers who come to them. This does not mean that in order to be a good yogi, every student must love every teacher from whom they take a class. I’ve definitely had the experience of finding teachers who didn’t resonate for one reason or another. I have also found that if I allow myself to accept this teacher, no matter what aspect of their teaching style or personality I find challenging, I learn something from them.<\/p>\n
It is important to remember that each yoga instructor brings different influences to his teachings. They may follow different schools of yoga or focus on different aspects of the broad and varied yoga practice. Experimenting with different teachers may broaden the horizon of a student’s yoga practice and introduce them to a new method, practice, or approach that will have a positive impact on their yoga practice and life.<\/p>\n
I’ve seen students drop out of the classroom if there is a substitute teacher, or stop coming to a yoga class altogether if a preferred teacher is no longer teaching. I have to question these kind of responses. Lee suggests that some yoga students believe there is a right or wrong way to teach yoga, or that there is only one way they care to practice yoga. As for my way of thinking, these views are at odds with the philosophy of yoga.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of approaches and methods involved in yoga and its teachings, and they all have value. Perhaps if a new teacher crosses your path, there is something you can learn from them. Try to keep your mind open and see that being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n
What the new teacher has to offer is likely to be exactly what you need at the time. Perhaps you’ve had a recent injury or medical condition, and this new teacher introduces you to a new pose, or mentions the benefits of a familiar pose, that can relieve your pain. You may have been under a lot of stress in recent weeks, and although your usual training with your favorite teacher is fast-paced and challenging, the alternative has a gentle approach that allows you to find some much-needed relaxation. As the song says, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, get what you need.”<\/p>\n
I’m not asking you to break up with your favorite yoga teacher, but give yourself the chance to think that another teacher might also have something to offer you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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