Finding a New Yoga Teacher

There seems to be a yoga studio on every corner in Seattle. Just in my neighborhood there are three. Then why is it so hard to find a new yoga teacher?

I have slowly started practicing yoga again after having my baby. When looking up the class schedule at my regular studio I discovered that several of my favorite teachers have either moved or taken a break from teaching. Change happens everywhere, I guess :)

I have started looking at different studios in the city to explore new teachers and classes, but so far I have not had much luck. So many classes seem to be taught be recent teacher training graduates. While these classes are often good, I’m looking for someone with more experience. I’m happy that yoga has become more available and that many have been inspired to become teachers, but have we reached a point where too many people are teaching?

To find a teacher that is right for you, ask yourself a few questions when trying out a new class:

  1.  Does the teacher inspire you?
  2. Are they interested in yoga philosophy and tradition and use it in their teaching?
  3. Do they have a solid knowledge of anatomy, injuries, and modifications?
  4. Do they care about the students and tailor the class to the group? For example, teachers who show off advanced poses to a Level 1-2 group, without offering alternatives, might be too caught up in their own ego to see the needs of the students.

For now I haven’t found anyone that has re-inspired my practice, but I’ll keep looking. And I’m excited about the Rod Stryker workshop in November!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Yoga Practice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Finding a New Yoga Teacher”

  1. http://www.troylucero.com/

  2. Thanks for the link, Karen! I’ve been to Troy’s classes before and will definitely try to go again if my schedule permits.

  3. :-) Troy rocks. I practiced with him during a visit to Seattle. I actually daydream about moving there now, just so I could practice with him on a daily basis.

  4. Heidi,

    Have you checked out Theresa Elliott at Taj Yoga in Crown Hill yet? She’s got years of packed yoga wisdom and a wicked sense of humor. And, she’s strictly all about preventing injuries in yoga.

  5. I haven’t been to Taj Yoga, but now I’ll put it on my list of studios to check out!

    Love your blog, added you to my list to help other Seattle yogis find you :)

  6. Hey Heidi,

    Thanks so much for linking to me. I definitely hope to see you at Taj Yoga one of these days. You might be especially interested the Tuesday and Thursday morning classes with Theresa, where most of the students are yoga or movement teachers, and we totally geek out on the poses and anatomy, as Theresa puts it, “slice dice, julienne, and fry” the asanas.

    Also, if you’re interested in a mature teacher with solid anatomy, injuries, and beyond, Donald Moyer of the Yoga Room in Berkeley is coming to Two Dog Yoga in Lake City in November as well. He’s one of those old, old timers who started teaching yoga since way back when, and wrote the book Yoga: Awakening the Inner Body. He also wrote in the Asana column for Yoga Journal for a while.

    See ya around town!

  7. I think finding the right teacher is huge! I just found one for myself! :) He is such an inspiration. It makes a great deal of difference!

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