After all, you can only impart what you understand.
Whether your goal is to enhance your flexibility, build strength, rehabilitate an injury, alleviate stress, or delve into your spirituality, yoga provides various benefits. The level of training and experience of your instructor is what enables them to cater to your unique needs.
Your yoga instructor’s training
In the contemporary landscape, an array of diverse yoga styles exists. Ranging from classical training to modern fusion, yoga encompasses an ancient Indian discipline that, upon its diffusion to the West, has expanded to include dynamic blends of Vinyasa Flow, Tai Chi, Dance, Buddhist and Yogic philosophy, acro yoga, yogalates…you catch my drift.
There are training programs that introduce students to a variety of movements and wisdom, while others stick closely to traditional yogic doctrines.
Your yoga instructor’s education
Still, a greater number of instructors possess backgrounds in fields such as science, nutrition, herbal medicine, meditation, Ayurveda, and more, which shape their teaching methods on the mat.
Self-learning, workshops with certified instructors, and extensive reading deepen a teacher’s anatomical or philosophical understanding.
Your yoga instructor’s practice
Some teachers blend anatomical insights with inventive movement drawn from their personal practice, life experiences, chronic injuries, or former education.
What your instructor practices on the mat, whom they learn from during their studies, the caliber of training they undergo, and their teaching duration will inevitably impact your yoga journey.
An exceptional yoga instructor is perpetually learning, honing, and refining their abilities.
Sometimes they learn from seasoned, more knowledgeable teachers; other times through pertinent online courses.
It’s worthwhile to investigate your yoga instructor’s background and training level. Be inquisitive about who educated your instructor, as this, along with their experience level, will shape what they impart to you.
Which, in turn, will affect your yoga experience.
Namaste!