It's Thursday afternoon and so far, I have spent a wonderful day.
05:30 Up and about (yes, a.m.)
06:00 Digging out car (again) with Craig's help (thank you so much!)
06:30 Yoga with new private clients
08:00 Yoga again with the marvelous, Max + oatmeal and berries with Max.
10:30 Hair cut at L'Academie Aveda-- hair academy on St Laurent (It takes a while, but Cynthia was lovey and gave a great head massage. AND it was only $17.09!)
12:30 Lunch at Patati Patata with Craig (I really like french fries...)
14:30 Soy Latte and emails (now blogging) at Laika on St Laurent (Does anyone work in this town?)
Tonight, I'm teaching my third private yoga class of the day and then going to a party, if my energy persists until then!
Ok, enough about me. How about this glorious City? It feels so good to just stop and appreciate my urban environment. My beloved hometown is covered in deep fluffy, sparkling white snow and the sun is finally shinning. It's Thursday afternoon and Laika is packed with cool looking folk with funky hair, chunky eye wear and Apple laptops. However, no sign of Patrick Watson, whom I've often seen hanging out here. Spring may not be here yet, but it's coming. I feel it!
In other news, we recently sold out all three Yoga Basics classes at Om West. This only confirms my theory that the world needs more intro to yoga courses and less pretentious yoga for acrobats classes...
Have you heard of this chick Tara Stiles? She's a model, yoga teacher and YouTube star from NYC, who is upsetting "Traditional Yoga Puritans" (TYPs) by offering yoga tips for couch surfers and hangovers. The TYPs are also ruffled because she doesn't follow a particular lineage of yoga teaching and her training is questionable. I understand the latter, but her real crime, it seems, is that she's become super famous, super fast and TYPs hate that, especially when the new "IT" yoga teacher is a self-promoting, young, non-conformist like Tara.
Check out this article about Tara Stiles' rise to fame. "Yoga Rebel" was published in the New Yoga Times on Jan. 21: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/nyregion/23stretch.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2
Read the article and then let's talk.
I want your opinion. What makes a good yoga teacher?
i think a good yoga teacher is someone who inspires you to want to learn more, but who makes you feel great about where you are.
ReplyDeletei found the tara stiles article interesting. i can see both sides, but take a that's why they make 31 flavors approach to yoga. it means different things to different people and no one should be able to tell you you're wrong.
I totally agree, and I too understand both sides. There are safety issues and personal issues to weigh into account.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness yes!! Safety first. Very good point!
ReplyDeletewow... I am surprised let's say... when I started yoga, I did it with DVDs at home... but rapidly felt like something was missing... and I guess all the "guru" stuff she refers to, is just that... a yoga teacher is support, is someone who can make you evolve and go through stages of your life... someone who can explain how your body, mind and spirit works in relation to each other, how yoga will affect your life... yoga is a lifestyle... not just another form of popular exercise.... if not it should not be call that!
ReplyDeleteI am studying to become a teacher and that is to help people change their life for the better.... including talking about energy, chakras, chanting, pranayama and meditation... it not, I would be an aerobic teacher!!!
Anyway, this is what I think... for what it's worth...
There is a style of Yoga for everyone! Some prefer to practice Yoga more for the physical aspects (which is often the case in a gym setting), and others enjoy more life philosophy/spirituality mixed-in. This being said, it's a good thing that there are different kinds of teachers out there to accommodate all these different needs.
ReplyDeleteThere are teachers who want to teach fitness through Yoga, and those who want to share the lineage of the true practice and teach Yoga on and off the mat. The bottom line is that I think teachers should be able to chose what they want to teach as long as they teach a safe class.
What makes a good Yoga teacher in my opinion, is being humble, knowledgeable, present and compassionate. It's all about being focused on the student and their needs.
Great discussion! Thank you! My mom's comments (via email) regarding the article: "I think the key is in the word "smiles". The people attending her classes enjoy them, get a lot out of them, don't seem to be getting injured and are interested to keep coming back. Interesting concept...."
ReplyDelete