Blowing Off a Little Steam

What is a blog? "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world." (source Bloggers.com.)

 

Ok, with that being said on to the topic of this blog which will be a combination of my own private thoughts and soapbox (but not really political).

 

Yoga is becoming more popular and main streamed everyday which should and does make me very happy. It means more people are exploring and experiencing it's life changing benefits.  But is also means that there are yoga teachers out there who really may not be as qualified as you think.  Have they taken some type of formal training to do what there are doing? If they took a training, did they actually finish it. Or did they just kind of fall into it because a yoga teacher was needed where they currently teach some other type of physical exercise.  You really need to look into these things first, after all it is your body and health that we are talking about. Do you really want someone to cut your hair that wasn't formally trained but yet you don't think twice about it when some one might ask you to stand on your head.

 

In Michigan to offer a yoga teacher training course you must/should be registered as a proprietary school, pass an inspection of your school and reapply every year with the Sate of Michigan. Is the school they trained with accredited with Yoga Alliance, a national registry that sets guidelines for responsible and competent teachers. The school doesn't have to be local, there are a lot of  great national known and recognized schools and teachers out there. The point is, did they formally train with someone, somewhere?

 

If I am coming off as sounding a little bit pompous and arrogant so be it.  I am the first to admit that I am not the end all and the guru of all yoga, but I do know that I expect my teachers and myself to create a safe and knowledgeable environment for the students at our studio.  As part of our registration with Yoga Alliance we are required to continue our education.  I will always be a student of yoga, I will continue to learn and expand so I may become a better student and therefore better teacher.

 

Is this quiet rant a plug for you to come to our studio, not at all.  This quiet rant is for you to research where you do choose to go to make sure that it is a safe environment for you to learn yoga .....and just breathe.