The Yoga Student/Teacher Relationship

One of the characteristics of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is saravat, which translates to full of essence. The Sutras are short yet full of meaning, which means that it's necessary to learn from a teacher rather than try to figure them out on your own.

Since I've done both -- read through the Sutras on my own as well as study them with a teacher -- I can say with conviction that it is necessary to learn them from a teacher or with the guidance of a teacher.

Moving onto the first sutra, we see the use of the words atha and anusasanam, which implies experiential teaching with atha representing the student and anusasanam representing the teacher. Rather than a mere intellectual inquiry, yoga requires a teacher and a student and a strong commitment between the two. The idea is that the concepts are so experiential that you won't get it unless you have a teacher.

Teachers are mentioned throughout the sutras as helpers, ones that can help bring you out of suffering. The student/teacher relationship has a long tradition in India, with students often leaving home and traveling to a teacher to study. It's been said in India that taking more than one teacher is like taking more than one wife.

The American culture is a bit different. There seems to be an inherent mistrust of teachers, with students questioning anything and everything being taught. We encourage this questioning -- after all, when we question that means that we have a sharp and intelligent mind, right?

I remember the first time I was taught by an Indian teacher. The class was filled with Americans -- Americans who were questioning this wise man's teachings. He seemed non-plussed by the "sharp, intelligent minds" of his students. It was obvious that he was not used to questioning his own teachers and didn't understand this type of behavior. He deflected the questions by calmly stating that he was teaching us the teachings of his teacher.

At the time, I soaked it up, yet still there lurked a voice in the far reaches of my mind that said, "Are you just going to take this man's teachings for law?" [I remembered those games of operator with great clarity so I knew how a message could get garbled as it moved from person to person] I'd heard contradictory teachings prior to studying with this man, so my brain was working on overtime to bridge the gap between the two. My brain was sabotaging my trust. Yet, there was something about this man that I believed in. Whether it was something as nebulous as his energy or something as concrete as his experience, I can't say. All I know is that I choose to not question his teachings and I took them in the spirit he offered them -- with gratitude.

It took me a long time to find a teacher that I wanted to offer up my trust to. Perhaps it was all of the stories I'd heard about gurus gone wild or perhaps it was my untrusting and ego-centric nature or maybe it was the fact that I had an idea of what a teacher should be -- and let me tell you, my exptectations were high. I'd never found anyone who could live up to them.

I remember being at a yoga conference and taking a day-long intensive with a prominent teacher some years back. This particular teacher had -- and still has, I'm sure -- like many well-known yoga teachers, a large group of fanatic fans. Years prior I had heard about how amazing this teacher was -- her teachings were wise, her strength and flexibility unparalleled, her style of yoga vigorous and the sure path to nirvana. I admit that I was curious. I wanted to see what all of the hoopla was about. The minute she walked into class I found myself as non-plussed as my Indian teacher had been -- THIS was the paragon of yoga that everyone had spoken so highly about?!? No only did she look dour (I highly doubt she smiled once in the 6+ hours I was in her class) but her energy was seriously negative. Her focus seemed to be on the physical aspects of yoga only, with little thought to the other tools. She wasn't exactly what I would expect a yoga teacher to be.

It was  combination of this experience along with many others (that were equally disappointing) that got me more excited about the guru within rather than the guru without. I got a bit too attached to the idea that I was my own best teacher, filled to the brim with wisdom. Yes, I still think that I have a vast amount of wisdom inside of me that I can tap into when I get quiet and listen. Of course, what I learned through a regular yoga practice is that I had quite a few obstacles or antarayas in the way of the quiet. My ego loved to assure me that I was just perfect the way I was and that I had nary an antaraya.

Yeah right! Lucky for me, I found a teacher who enlightened me to the fact that, hell, yes, I have no dearth of antarayas. More importantly, I learned that while yes, we have the widom within us, sometimes we lack the discernment and the discrimination necessary to tap into it and then put it into practice.

That's not to say I don't occasionally push against the idea of bonding with a teacher. The voice in the back of my head still questions. Then I remember a conversation I had with a friend about 3 years back regarding a training that he had considered taking and I was in the middle of. I was headlong into the training and I had a mentor with whom I would speak to on a weekly basis for the entire length of the training. The mentor requirement of this training, while a plus for me, was a drawback to my friend, who ultimately decided to nix the training. He felt that if he didn't have a mentor who was older and more experienced than he -- which would have been tough being that he was quite convinced that he had a vast amount of experience and wisdom -- than he wouldn't be able to respect the mentor and value their relationship. My response was, "Well, even though this person might not be older than you or have some of the experience you do, he/she DOES have more experience in this modality than you do."

Touche.

Yoga teacher Sarah Avant Stover recently wrote an article regarding the student/teacher relationship as she paid tribute to luminary Pattabhi Jois. You can read the article here.  It was reading this article that made me reflect on my initial aversion to and now heightened desire for a teacher.

I'd like to know what y'all think. Do you have a teacher -- and by teacher, I mean not one that you study with every now and again through a workshop but a teacher that you study/work one-on-one with on a regular basis either via phone and email or in-person. What do you think of the yoga student/teacher relationships here in America? Are they going strong, or non-existent? If you study with a teacher, what have you gained vs. working on your own? If you don't have a teacher, do you think that your yoga practice suffers because of it? If you do have a teacher, how do you feel that the relationship has enhanced your practice?

I'd love to hear about your experiences, so please tell me your stories.

Namaste!

Comments

[Linda-Sama]

wow. I've written so much about this topic.

[penelope]

Namaste! Thank you for your posts. I come to your blog for a place of calm and centering.

I used to have a wonderful teacher who started me on my yoga path, but then my husband and I moved to a tiny little town and there is no yoga to speak of here. And therefore no teachers. I feel a bit like I'm lost at sea, in my yoga practice and spiritually as well.

Any advice on how to find a long distance teacher or guru?

Blessings to you.

[Diane Cesa]

Excellent point Jules! Thank you for sharing this. Service to the teacher and trusted guidance from the teacher. Very important!

[Diane Cesa]

Thanks for your comment John. I love your wisdom! Sometimes I ask myself -- progress to what? Perhaps being in the moment is the best teacher. Then there are other times I value having someone to offer up the truth as they see it (when the mind is distracted and isn't calm, which we all fall prey to, sometimes it's easy to see clearly and it's nice to have the help of a teacher). I vacillate between the two thoughts. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[Diane Cesa]

Thanks for your comment Maria and for sharing your story. How wonderful that you had such a great experience with your teacher. Obviously that experience has encouraged a lasting shift in you and has, perhaps, enhanced your practice (even though your teacher has moved away). How wonderful! Thank you for your insights. And you never know what you might find at a new shala. Another teacher, perhaps?

[Diane Cesa]

Thank you for sharing your experience slpete42. I can completely relate. It can be difficult to find a teacher and in the past I too have relied on other methods of teaching to fulfill the need. Just so you know -- Mr. Desikachar is in San Francisco in October and at the Colorado Yoga Journal Conference. I'll be studying with him in San Francisco. I try to make the most of having a teacher somewhat nearby (although I'll have to go cross country to study with Mr. Desikachar this fall). Thank you again for sharing your experience in this comment. I found myself shaking my head in agreement many times.

[slpete42]

No teacher, wish I did. Practice languishing some because of lack of teacher. Responsibility for no teacher is partly mine. I haven’t approached anyone about the possibility of private instruction. But also some of my potential teachers were busy householders themselves and didn’t want additional involvement. Or they were obligated to build classes for studio needs. I also have some aspects of low attractiveness and approachability as a student.

Thanks for writing so informatively on the topic. It is very important. I am opened to the possibility of acquiring a teacher by just asking. At August 2009 Yoga Journal, p. 88: it is suggested asking three questions. Do you do lots of privates? Do you like doing them? Do you have the time? And look for excitement in the answers. My innovation might be to have an intermediary do it for me (work through a list of candidates proposing a term trial) to keep things very cool for those approached.

It could be concluded I never had good teachers and haven’t benefitted from good teaching. Not true. When I knew nothing, I had wonderfully inspiring teachers. Their revelations were grand, their touches exquisite. But as I grew in knowledge and sometimes in error, I needed more teaching.

And it is then that some suffering developed. Accepting from the Krishnamacharya/Desikachar tradition that my yoga should be personal, I longed for that kind of teaching, but could not find it. So for awhile I was frustrated and a bit frantic. Since then I have adapted. With a library of DVDs, music and notes, I can punch up the practices I need as best my judgment reveals. Now perhaps I can move on to asking for what can perhaps be found.

Thanks for writing on the topic from close by. Save for yours, the viewpoints I have been given have been from long ago (as the tradition is recounted by Iyengar in Light on Yoga) or from continents away (Desikachar, Farhi).

[maria]

Hi!

I would like to share my experience. I started doing ashtanga yoga and after some six months the teacher changed. Then started an incredible relation student/teacher based on the intimate and subtle knowledge that yoga can provide. One day I realized that I felt a new kind of love for this person, something that I have never experienced before. Sadly he moved to another city, but till today I can feel only gratitude to him, for helping me to get to a point where I know I will never quit yoga. I continued a self practice at home for a year, very stable one I could say. Now I just started in another shala, mainly for the adjustments, but who knows... :)

[john calabria]

Namaste!

thanks for another insightful post. I'm 'inbetween' teachers, now relying on my own Jnanna. It's not easy, and I do miss the anchor of meeting regularly with my teacher. I also consider all of life my teacher, regular, and irregular students my teacher, I even learn from the Ants in my driveway and the beings who call my garden home.

the essence of Guru Sakshat, the Guru who is present at this moment.

I do believe that I would progress more rapidly with a steady teacher, but am also at peace with things unfolding into their own truth.

I wish you all the best.

-john

http://www.yogawithjohn.com/swadyaya

[Jules]

"Acaryopasanam" - service to the teacher, is deeply embedded in yoga philosophy and tradition. I first heard of it in the Bhagavad Gita, and it is said to lead to a frame of mind where the ego is subordinated, and a general attitude of service/devotion is cultivated. One of the greatest blessings is to encounter a mentor that can be trusted to guide you in this way!