The 3 Greatest Myths of Yoga Teacher Training
Yoga teachers naturally set high standards for themselves based on their experiences with other teachers and society's perceptions about what a yoga teacher is and does.
High standards can, however, easily become unrealistic and self-defeating. They expect the instructor to be an expert yogi, know every pose, and be flexible.
Traditional yoga wasn't designed to be about flexibility or designed to be a workout, so the requirement to be a yoga instructor was to know everything.
Yoga is a path of self-discovery, personal change, and healing. Even after your training, you will always be a student.
When it comes to yoga, these three myths are common make-believe ideas of what a yoga teacher is supposed to be:
Myth 1: You Will Become a Yoga Teacher
It's possible, but perhaps not. Most individuals who seek out teacher training do so because they are certain they want to become teachers, only to change their minds later.
Similarly, the other half often states that they have no desire to learn about themselves but have no wish to teach-and sometimes, they end up enjoying teaching the most.
Teaching yoga skillfully requires effort and a commitment to learning and growing. Developing a good teacher requires years of practice and regular feedback from a mentor who will have their back.
Myth 2: All yoga teachers are medical doctors
Students will ask you various questions regarding their feet, knees, and hips. They will discuss their cancer or heart disease with you as well. Moreover, they will discuss their anxiety and depression with you.
They may even seek advice from you. As long as you do not possess expert knowledge or experience, the best answer to these students is to say that you are unsure how to assist.
Do not injure yourself while doing any of these exercises, but let's try some yoga and see if it helps.' Please work with your students, heed their feedback, and teach only what you know.
Myth 3: Yoga teachers are always incredibly strong and flexible
Yoga practice is not primarily about becoming proficient in postures. Poses in yoga can help you increase self-awareness and decrease suffering by helping you understand and accept yourself.
To perform every asana to magazine cover standards is unrealistic, unlikely, and unnecessary. It is impossible to change everyone's inherent limitations in strength and flexibility. Postures can easily become a fetishized goal for reaching the stage of the advanced practitioner.
Your main goal should be to stay committed to your practice and learn how your body, mind, and heart respond to yoga postures.
You can either not teach poses that don't work for you, or learn how to teach them to others in the best way for you.
Their strength, flexibility, and agility are constantly practiced and improved. Yoga teachers do not become yoga teachers just because they are flexible. There is more to yoga than flexibility!
Furthermore, yoga has also been shown to boost immunity, lower heart disease risk, and reduce stress eating. Yoga has been found to increase joy, energy and improve the quality of life in people who practice it.
This, in turn, allows them to manage stress more effectively. This, in turn, allows them to improve their strength, balance, and flexibility.
As a therapeutic practice that calms the mind and strengthens the body through a variety of types of yoga, as well as yoga instructors and different styles of yoga, there is a yoga practice for everyone, whether you are young or old, flexible or inflexible.
