Tag: study yoga in India

David Frawley’s advice for yoga teachers: “go to India”

by L. Valdez Karl
Sunset, Thanjavur Temple, 2008 (©Metta Yoga)

“A good Yoga teacher should follow Yoga as a sadhana or spiritual practice, not simply as an outer vocation.   The aspiration for Self-realization and God-realization should be the foundation of wanting to be a true Yoga teacher.

Consider bringing in Ayurveda, pranayama, and mantra into what you present as Yoga.  Learn the main yogic types of meditation.  Learn at least some Sanskrit so that you can know what the original terminology of Yoga means.   Try to study the deeper Yogic texts and do not just limit yourself to the Yoga Sutras, which is only one of many great Yoga classics. My favorite is the Yoga Vasishta.

Try to study the life and teachings of the great modern yogis like Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Yogananda, or Ramana Maharshi.

Visit India and its ashrams and holy places to find out more about the spiritual background of Yoga.  Do not be afraid of the devotional or Bhakti side of Yoga but try to understand its relevance.

But above all root your teachings in nature and in your own experience, as Yoga is something that is rooted ultimately in all of life.  Learn the cosmic Yoga if you can, letting the Earth, mountains, wind, stars and waters be your teachers.” [emphasis supplied.]

This post raised some hackles when it was suggested that yoga teachers would benefit by studying in India.  It was even suggested that going to India to study yoga smacked of elitism.  So when I read this post by David Frawley I had to smile.

David Frawley is the Director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies.  Frawley’s article is interesting because his compares yoga in the East and West, something I have also blogged about.  Yes, yoga IS different in India (at least where I study), despite the mainstream commercialization of it here.  I think Frawley’s article is very insightful and he hits the nail on the head when he says things like “some modern asana groups want to avoid the spiritual side of Yoga, or at least the Indian side of that spirituality.  Some spiritual Yoga groups, meanwhile, have no asana component or teaching…” and…

“A true Yoga teacher in the classical sense would be one who could teach all eight limbs of Yoga with integrity, experience, devotion and insight.  They would be able to develop programs at an individual basis and not simply be limited to group or public classes.  That requires much more study and practice than most Yoga teacher’s training programs today.”

You can read the comments in the “Babies Teaching Babies” post from those of us who have gone to India to study.  A comment was made that those who’ve been to India suggested that “those of us who haven’t gone to India aren’t teachers.”  I disagree:  “the experience of being in India changed my whole way of looking at Yoga;  and “yes it is possible to teach without going. but I UNDERSTOOD a a hell of a lot better when I began immersing myself in the culture, I became a much better teacher after I started going.”  I said that my practice and teaching totally changed after learning what I learned in India.  Frankly, I learned things at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram that I never heard anyone talk about in any previous trainings (except the teacher who inspired me to go to India in the first place.)

I am actually a bit dismayed yet amused at the elitist charge (considering that back in the day I was on food stamps and marched in protest with the Farmworkers’ Union) and the defensiveness that speaks once again (as is so common lately in the yoga blogosphere) to the “us v. them” mentality.  Perception is reality which is different for everyone.  The non-dualism of advaita wisdom does not map to North American uber-dualism.

No one suggested that those who do not study in India are not yoga teachers.  David Frawley does not suggest that either.  But what he does is differentiate between someone who teaches asana and someone who teaches more than asana when he is asked what he believes makes a good yoga teacher.  His advice for students who want to become teachers is:  “To be a real Yoga teacher is a great achievement of the human spirit and requires great dedication and commitment of a life-time.”

Of course not every yoga teacher can go to India to study or even wants to go.  India is not for everyone — I wrote about that  here.  There’s a lot fear involved when some people think of going to India.  During my first trip an American yoga student had a mental meltdown 10 days into the month long intensive and had to be sent home.

But I can tell you that you will learn more about the spirituality of the Gita, or Sutras, or whatever your favorite spiritual yoga book is by feeling it wash over you in a temple as the priests chant rather than reading about it in a book.  I guarantee it.

And just because someone goes to India to study, that does not automatically make them a better teacher — just like someone going to the best law school or medical school does not automatically make them a good lawyer or doctor.  There are many other things involved in making a good teacher, it’s individual, it’s not just one thing.  To teach ANYTHING well, one needs the aptitude to teach.  “Good” teaching springs from knowledge and years of practice and experience, including life experience.  Wisdom comes from life experience, not out of books.  It’s been said that there’s a ton of knowledge out there now, but not a lot of wisdom.  Same in the modern yoga world.  Even after 10 years of teaching, I still consider myself a baby teacher.  OK, maybe a toddler by now.

But those who DO decide to study in India will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams.  I can only speak about the school that I attend, I have no idea what happens in Pune (Iyengar yoga) or Mysore (Astanga yoga), but there is a reason that people keep returning to the heart of yoga to study.  It IS different, and paraphrasing what Louis Armstrong said about jazz, “If you have to ask what India is, you’ll never know.”

In order to study in India, yes, it IS hard to find subs for your classes.  It IS hard to be away from families for however long the study takes.  And  yes, there is no guarantee that your yoga job will be waiting for you when you return, given that in certain areas of the country (especially mine), yoga teachers are a dime a dozen and as soon as you leave, 12 more are waiting to take your gig, some who will teach for nothing.  But as the saying goes, if it was easy, everyone would do it.

The bottom line is that if you want to do it, you’ll do it, without hesitation.  You’ll save your money for a year or two years or whatever it takes, find your subs or even give up your classes, maybe even a family, and go.  That’s how important it is to some people to travel to the heart of yoga.  When I made my decision to go the first time I knew in my bones that nothing and no one would stop me.  Is that elitism?  Or commitment of a life-time?  My students are glad when I go because they know they can not drink from an empty cup and what I bring back is not only for me, but for them.

The fact of the matter is that yoga teacher trainings in the United States are much more expensive than it is to go to India for a month to study with the senior teachers of Iyengar, Jois, or Desikachar.

“To be a real Yoga teacher is a great achievement of the human spirit and requires great dedication and commitment of a life-time.” 

What are you willing to give up to become a “real yoga teacher” whether it’s here OR in India?  I asked that question back in 2008.

So go to India to study.  Or not.  I don’t care, just like I don’t care what “your” yoga is.  I know what mine is.

Just keep it real.

my next yoga career move

by L. Valdez Karl


It’s the beginning of 2009 and I’ve pretty much decided that I will not teach in yoga studios anymore. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know why. I should never say never, things can always change, but as of this moment it’s a better idea to run my own workshops and classes and not teach for anyone else. My yoga persona is not conducive to teaching in gyms or health clubs. I’m not saying that there aren’t good teachers in those venues, but it ain’t me, babe. I can’t teach to someone who is looking for a “work out” in yoga. I mean, I can, but I don’t want to. I can kick your yoga ass and leave you dripping with sweat if that’s what you think makes a great yoga class, but I don’t want to. It’s good to know that because knowing who you are in the yoga world saves you a lot of hassle and heartache. Advice to newbie teachers: don’t try to be someone you’re not. Teach what you know, not what you THINK you know. It’s a gift to know who you are.

With the experiences I’ve had in the last two years with studio owners, I’ve paid my dues. I’ve been teaching for 7 years. I’ve studied three times at one of the most prestigious yoga schools in the world and I am an ongoing student of three yoga masters. I’ve been a student of Buddhism for 30+ years. The next logical step for me, as it has been for other long-time teachers I know, is training yoga teachers. Maybe that’s not the next step for some of you reading this, but I have moved on from teaching group classes. I have private students and I only teach two group classes where I teach for other entities. I call the shots in the rest of my classes.

Many yoga studios in the Chicago area run their own teacher trainings. I have no idea where all these new teachers are going to teach because there are more teachers than there are students, but yoga studios keep cranking out the yoga teachers. Any yoga studio that wants to make a buck comes up with a teacher training program. Let’s be honest — the yoga bucks aren’t in teaching group classes. As I was taught in India, personal transformation for a student only begins in a group class; it is accomplished by working one-on-one with a teacher, in the traditional way. At a yoga conference workshop I heard a show-biz yogini say (and I’ve learned better than to name names anymore in this blog) that she’d rather teach to the two students who get it than to the 10 who don’t. I feel the same way. Her statement was honest and real.

For the last six months I’ve been going back and forth about doing my own teacher training. Frankly I think my training would be unique because it would include Buddhism. Not one training in my area includes that subject. Nor does any teacher training include yin yoga. I’ve studied with the two American yin yoga masters for the last 5 years.

But first I have to get it on with the Yoga Alliance. Yee-ha. I’d love to know what the Yoga Alliance does for yoga teachers other than take their money, but this culture being what it is, everyone looks for that seal of approval to study with. Five years ago I registered at the 200 level and I now have enough hours to be an “E-500” level, that is, an “experienced” yoga teacher. I never wanted to play the game of getting a higher registration, the mere thought of filling out their form gave me hives, but now that I’m thinking of training teachers it’s almost a requirement, future students look for it.

I emailed the YA and asked whether I could apply for E-500 instead of being a plain ol’ 500 hour level yoga teacher. The answer was no, I have to be a 500 hour first, for FOUR YEARS (WTF?!?), before I can apply for E-500. I totaled all my teaching hours since 2004 and according to their own rules, I’m already E-500. As far as I’m concerned, this is just a scam to get more of my money. And for what? The Yoga Alliance does nothing for me. As they say in Texas, that ol’ dog won’t hunt.

So what’s the big deal about being registered with Yoga Alliance in order to train teachers? Unfortunately, for the sole reason that people think Yoga Alliance registration really means something. It’s all about marketing, nothing more, nothing less.

The master teacher I trained with 7 years ago was not, at that time, registered with the Yoga Alliance, but he trained with Pattabhi Jois twice and at an Iyengar institute and lived with his guru for almost 10 years. When I trained with him he didn’t care about being anointed by the Yoga Alliance. As ridiculous as it was he was not an “approved” school when I registered with YA. But over the years he grandfathered into the Yoga Alliance registration — only because people think it really means something. My teacher Ramaswami who studied with Krishnamacharya for 30 years has recently become Yoga Alliance registered — as if someone would not study with him because he wasn’t.

One year from now I’ll be living in an ashram in India studying yoga therapy under the personal guidance of a a swami, after which I will receive a yoga diploma certified by the Indian government. I really think that trumps anything the Yoga Alliance can give me.

I will look to training yoga teachers in the near future. But not in America. In India. I can do a 200 hour training, 8 hours a day, in 5 weeks. People study astanga in Mysore, Iyengar in Pune, viniyoga in Chennai, and travel to Rishikesh all the time to study yoga in general. British ex-pats run yoga teacher training programs in Goa. Why should I not teach yoga and yoga teachers in my beloved Tamil Nadu, India? I’ve been told that with my India experience I should do “sacred temple tours.” That would be a perfect thing to do after a teacher training — a temple puja blessing the new teachers.

I must finish some of my own training first because then I will be fully seasoned. A good cook knows when the seasoning is just right and a smart vintner knows when the wine is aged to perfection ready to be uncorked.

My time has come. The events of the last few years have certainly been in tune with what my vedic and western astrologers have said, both have been right on. So I’m putting it out there and I’ll go with the flow. Buddhism teaches me to detach from the outcome, not to cling but to let go — if it happens it happens. I’m giving it up to something that is greater outside myself.

If you want to study with me, tell me your interest. Just because you take a teacher training doesn’t mean you must teach. Many yogi practitioners take teacher trainings only for the deeper knowledge. I already teach workshops, so doing a teacher training is merely taking it a step further.

Besides…my teachers in India told us that if we do not teach what we have learned and take it out into the world we are nothing more but thieves.

addthis_pub = ‘yogagal60510’;