What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher? | Yoga Balance Blog

What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher?

By Tracy • February 15, 2009

“It may not be possible to remain safe and grow at the same time.”- Judith Lasater

One of my life’s passions is to become a great yoga teacher.  I am constantly studying some aspect of yoga-anatomy, physiology, philosophy, psychology, asana, meditation,  pranayama…

In the beginning I had no idea how challenging it was to become  a great yoga teacher.

I was happy to read Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell’s book on success.  He suggest that one aspect of becoming successful is the time you devote to your passion, 10,000 hours seems to be the key number for those who find success.  ( yogis might believe it takes 10,000 life times to perfect one’s perfect compassion, joy and unconditional love )  I’m am certainly working on my 10,000 hrs and applying my knowledge, experience and intuition judiciously while maintaining my authenticity.   “People heal by having an authentic connection with an authentic human being.” ( In conversation between Martin Buber and Carl rogers, reportd by Marshall Rosenberg.) A great yoga teacher combines compassion, creativity, inspiration with technical knowledge and experience.  Wow, I have a lot to work towards!  “It may not be possible to remain safe and grow at the same time. But this “challenging” is about connecting with clients in such a way that they challenge themselves, in their own time and way, based on their intuitive knowledge of self.”- Judith Lasater.   As I challenge my students to ’stir the pot’ and find their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual edge they are constantly an inspiration for me to find my edge as a teacher and expand.  What makes a great yoga teacher is… having a community of students devoted to their yoga journey.  The service of teaching yoga is a divine gift and I thank every student who has shared their practice and challenged me to keep my heart open wide.

Loving Kindness,  Tracy