David Keil’s Amazing: "Functional Anatomy Of Yoga" Book Review

I just interviewed David Keil for “The Yoga Podcast’ (launching in January- He will be the guest of the first episode).

To prepare for the podcast, I read very carefully his latest book “Functional Anatomy Of Yoga, A Guide For Practitioners and Teachers“.  

And I also watched all his DVDs again.   

That was a LOT of anatomy in one week!

My copy before I filled it with post-its

And I have to tell you it had a PROFOUND effect on me.

For starters, it slowed down my practice, way down, because at every pose I would remember tiny bits of information and go:

 “Ohhh… THAT is what he means“, 

and then move onto, say, “revolved triangle” and go “Ahhh… There is where the thoracic spine gets to twist!” and on and on and on and on….

The first part of the book where he goes over the terminology is a bit dense for me because I have very little knowledge of all the muscles and tendons and ligaments and joints.  

It helps, however, that some of the muscles have latin names…  Go figure, one advantage of being a Spanish speaker.

But once you get pass this first section you find that it is important to go through those first pages because just like in yoga practice, once you get the foundation right, you start to “fly” with the material.

One thing I really liked about the book is that from the very early pages he starts to integrate the anatomy into what that means for a pose, for you and me. Today.  

If you read it I can guarantee you will have to put the book down and strike a pose, just to try, test, and experiment.

I like that.  It is incredibly practical and focused on yoga.


And I am about to tell you a secret, and no, I don’t get a commission.

The secret is that if you get both the book AND the DVDs on Anatomy (see review link at the bottom) then you get a 3-D experience. Why?

Because it’s as if David comes into your living-room and you find yourself pushing your hands into your stomach trying to find your psoas, and then you can’t help it and you HAVE to try that back-bend preparation. And down the anatomy rabbit hole you go!

The book is not only thoroughly researched and slanted, yes, towards yoga practitioners/teachers, it is ALSO challenging…

For example:

He has one part (and I paraphrase) where he questions the reader point blank.

He says:

“What is it I hear you say? You say you tried to do the hand-stand for 8 years and still nothing? Really? Don’t you think maybe it’s be time to change your “approach”?

And I laugh. 

Because he is right. 

I HAVE tried for 8, well maybe 6 years, and it IS time to change approach, but I had never read this book before. 

In my defense, it was not published yet. Now it is. Lucky us. 

I tried hand-stand yesterday and I was amazed at how FAR a little understanding can go. James tried it too (against my advise) because my excitement over so much learning got to him too…  

And on that note… I have to say James just got his first “head-stand”.  I think I am happier than he is about that, and believe me, he IS happy.   So feel free to congratulate him on Twitter.

Back to the book, take for example this little nugget I got today (I am reading it a little bit each day because it would be hard to take it in all at once)

You know how a lot of people spray out the feet on back bends?  And you know how every yoga teacher worth its weight will tell you to keep the legs parallel as much as possible? 

Well David explains to me that the hip flexors don’t like the feeling of the legs parallel, so they resist it.   

THAT is why we “avoid” it and open the feet out.

Same with the shoulders.  

When coming up into a wheel or backbend… if the elbows go outwards, they are “avoiding” doing the real work that has to happen.

Isn’t that something?  Just that was worth the price of the book for me. Of course he explains all the terminologies which I don’t remember right now.  I will have to keep returning to the book again and again.

HERE ARE THREE THINGS YOU CAN TAKE FROM THIS REVIEW

1) What the book did to me:

A) It re-introduced asana practice for me.

For example, in a basic pose, like standing, just “standing” (toes touching heels slightly apart), if I simply lift my toes, that awakens the muscles around the lower part of my leg (tibia), which in turn informs how my quadriceps and hamstrings are aligned, and my pelvis, and how I stand, how I walk, how I move, the position of the spine, how I think and how I even live…

Wow.

B) I FINALLY understand triangle pose. 

Finally GET WHY it is that the alignment has to go the way it goes… I used to just repeat what I was told, now I get it. So when I am on the mat, my body takes on a whole different meaning.

The yoga mat is a playground now.

C) The book made me love my body a lot more 

Because I now understand how amazing it is.

Just to notice, for example, that the hips hold two-thirds of the weight of my body, and that the tissue and ligaments that hold the leg together to the hip are so strong you could not pull it, even if 3 people were pulling, because it won’t break, gives me a whole new level of respect.

2) Anatomy for Specific Asanas = GOLD

He has a section at the end of the book where he integrates all the anatomy lessons into the asanas. That is gold. For anyone who practices. 

3) It inspired me to ask LOTS of questions to David

When he was on the podcast yesterday, I had about 20 questions (and they kept coming), and they still keep coming.  

His approach is humble and fascinating, and I hope you hear the episode (I will post when it launches in January) so you can experience his humor, depth of knowledge, and great ability to make anatomy accessible for yogis and for everyone, really.

You can get the book here.  

P.S.: It is best if you buy it from this link because this helps David get paid for the years of work he put into this (even if not much (publishing books is not a way to get rich)) but at least a bit.

David’s Website
Here is my review of David’s “Hands On Adjustments” DVD
Here is my review of David’s “Anatomy” DVD 
Davids’s Facebook and Twitter

YOGA Q&A: Should Any Studio Train Ashtanga Yoga Teachers? Do I Dishonor The Tradition By Going to A Non-Authorized Teacher?

Terri (I will call her Terri has she asked me to keep her private), suggested I write about two questions she had about Ashtanga Yoga in particular and that originated from a recent Facebook post, done by a studio, in which they announced they would be holding a teacher training on Ashtanga Yoga.  The post sparked some controversy. Here are the two interesting questions from Terri and my answers:

1) Should any studio be training Ashtanga Yoga Teachers? (Other than the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in India)?

It depends on how you interpret “Ashtanga”. 

The word Ashtanga means “eight limbs” as was described by that old sage Patanjali in chapter two of  his two-thousand year-old Yoga Sutras, (a book that is like the “bible” of yoga) and it is not propriety of anyone on the planet as far as I know. 

Therefore if we look at it from the perspective of Patanjali, that of teaching the eight limbs of yoga then yes, any studio can teach this, and I would hope that is what most studios are indeed teaching, although I have made it known in this blog how I feel that pranayama and meditation are missing from many a teacher training.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga is the focus of this blog for example, although I do zero-in mostly on the system of Pattabhi Jois for asanas as I have not found anything to be more effective for me when it comes to how the yoga poses are approached (daily practice, 6 times a week, series that grow in challenging difficulty, flexibility being in the mind, etc).  Pattabhi Jois’s system has magic. 

This daily asana practice works very well with my own nervous system, but if you look into the blog you will see that, for example, for pranayama (the fourth limb of yoga) I look to many other sources, and for meditation (the sixth limb) I also work with other resources.

HOWEVER, it is a very different story if you mean that you will be training teachers in the Ashtanga Vinyasa System of Pattabhi Jois.   

If someone is to teach Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as per Pattabhi Jois, then no, it would not be right to do so, because the institute itself says that teachers are only authorized in India and by them. 

Now, of course, there is a bit of an issue here too, because Manju Jois, who is the son of Pattabhi Jois and who has been teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga for over 40 years,  does offer  “Teacher Training’s”. 

Pattabhi Jois (left) and Manju, father and son

Manju gives them internationally throughout the year and not in India specifically or in any relation to the institute, matter of fact he is running one today in Hawaii, and he has more coming up in the near future.

In general, for the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga System of Pattabhi Jois, and when it comes to authorizing teachers, I would stick to “the family”.  

I have met wonderful teachers who have only been trained by either Sharath / Saraswati or only by Manju, and they are dedicated, experienced people.   There are also people who study with both.

I have seen Manju asking his senior students “Are you teaching”? And this is because he knows how important the practice is, how valuable and how transforming it is, and my guess is he wants it to spread it.

As per certified teachers whom you may find around who do offer the “authorization”, if you look at the fine print, you will see that non of them offers an “ashtanga” authorization, but rather what they offer is the qualification to be part of the “registry” of the Yoga Alliance, which is an American Organization that does very little to verify the validity of their teachers.

2) Am I dishonoring the true lineage of Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Pattabhi Jois by taking classes with unauthorized teachers? 

I feel that the real dishonoring would be not to practice.

I cannot speak for you but I will tell you about me, I did. When I first started practicing I did so with a teacher who was not authorized by India that I know of, or was not at the time.

Teachers are people, and sometimes need to survive and feed families, and some are not able to travel to India for 3 months every 18 months, that does not mean they are bad teachers.  

The real question is finding a good teacher, and in this tradition it is my experience that good teachers have put in the time with their own teachers, maintain a rigorous daily practice, and continue to advance their understanding and practice of yoga in all levels of life.

In general I try to find authorized or certified teachers who have studied either with Sharath and Saraswati or with Manju.

Saraswati and Sharath, mother and son

But if they are not available and I see a class with non-accredited teachers and I am in a foreign land wishing to practice, then I would give it a try anyway, see how I feel, see if I can trust the teacher, see if I feel like I am comfortable with the level of experience they have, if they can offer me proper adjustments, if they live how they preach, if it feels right.   

For me it all comes down with how I feel on that Mysore room.  Is the program serious?  Is the teacher dedicated? Is he or she someone I “feel” (gut feeling is important) I can trust? Can I talk to him or her? Do they answer with good responses? Do I enjoy it?  Can the teacher take NO for an answer? for example if something hurts I would not want a teacher to force me into a position.

Just like you say, if we all went only to authorized or certified teachers many of us would have no yoga studio nearby, and that would be sad.  Some groups of people that find themselves in this position have even began experimenting by renting a room in which people “practice together”, like they do Las Vegas.

Las Vegas solved the problem nicely. Click on the image to go to the group

There are also plenty of resources to start with, DVDs from experienced teachers, even the web.  

Finally, more and more I realize that the journey of yoga is one that is very VERY personal, it has a lot more to do with questions that we ask ourselves, like the ones you are asking, and in getting to know us, what we respect, where we draw the line, where our own mythology takes us.  

It is through our own investigations of ourselves that we get real about what works for us, what helps us stop the time travelling and instead embodying this moment as the eternal and only existence there is.

The rest is not necessary.

—-

Do you have questions? Send them! follow me on Twitter or Leave them in the comments.

SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES: THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF ASHTANGA YOGA

photo from Govinda Kai

The good-ol’days of Ashtanga Yoga are recounted in the heat of the Berkshire summer as Paradise Williams and Swenson give a workshop at Kripalu; And… Beryl Bender Birch shows up for it. Very interesting!

Oh dear! It’s as if he can read my mind: 7 Shitty things I will think today.

So, what is it like to take a 5-day workshop with one of the best yoga teachers in the world? See here.

Wondering what are the moon days for 2013? Why do we care? Well, they are rest-days from asana practice!

Funny yoga blog Yogadawg closes shop!  But: It will still live through Facebook.

The briefest talk on Bandhas found on the internet, pointing to other places for more, good start.

10 Essential Habits of Positive People


And ending on the same note of the good ol’days of Ashtanga, did you look at the syllabus if 1974 from Nancy Gilgoff in detail? How lucky are we to see all of this! … and, yes I know a triple-Grimmly this week, he just has some good stuff going on there!

Gregor Maehle finished writing his latest book on Meditation, he wants a renaissance of pranayama and also meditation! Tall order and great news for us! here is a little of what he said about it on Facebook (below), for more visit his page.

Click on the image to go to the Book Club

“In this book I am describing the meditation layer and mental aspect of the physical and respiratory disciplines of yoga that I presented in my earlier books. Yogic meditation has fallen into disuse, hence the many attempts to import unlinked meditation techniques into yoga. With this book I am intending to usher in a renaissance of yogic meditation as described in yogic scripture.”

Finally, on the Maehle note, the Book Club is in full swing and we are going over: Pranayama Breath Of Yoga, Are you reading it?  If you are join me in the chapter exploration every week, there is so much to enjoy there!

PREVIOUS SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES

SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES: WHEN SIVANANDA MET PATTABHI JOIS

It has been 3 years since Guruji’s passing, and did you know that Swami Sivananda once visited Mysore and Jois went to talk to him… See Eddie’s post for the whole scoop, cool reading, and amazing 70’s/80’s pictures.

picture from AYNY.ORG – Manju and Pattabhi Jois, circa 1970’s

Govinda Kai: “Yoga chose me”. “What is yoga? For me it is hard to describe it is the essence of life itself, that place which is the source of everything that is good in life”  More here.

And Grimmly continues the yogi archaeological discoveries, more on the YogaAsanaGalu (from Krishnamacharya) this time on pranayama, and a book from way back early in the last century on Surya Namaskar?  oh the wonders never cease!  – I am living vicariously through his blog explorations!

An excellent all-around look at Laghu Vajrasana, and yes, I am biased as it is the pose I am working on currently, but check out the four angles from which Nobel approaches the pose. Art.

10 Life Changing Decisions We Make Without Thinking

What pill will you take?

Mark Zuckerberg  (Facebook creator) marries his long time girlfriend, Priscilla. Good for them!

Are you on Pinterest? What do you make of it? I am just getting started and have two boards on it, what is it I need to understand about it?  What do you use it for?

The New York Times turning yoga into art today

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Forgive me for the indulgence but since it is all about Laghu Vajrasana this week, here is Kino giving some very important pointers on the pose, enjoy! and thank you Kino!

LAST SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES: I WILL NOT ACCEPT A WOMAN IN MY CLASS

SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES: COPENHAGEN HAS A NEW ASHTANGA YOGA STUDIO!

Mikko

MYSORE YOGA CPH to Open on May 1st,  2012




I met Mikko Seppinen  during Yoga Teacher Training, in Thailand, early 2009, and throughout the years James and I met with him and Helena Hertz Melkjorzen whenever in Mysore.  Ashtanga is a very international type of group, good thing we have Facebook to keep the communications alive when on the other side of the world!

From the first time I met him I admired his balanced approach to practice, his dedication to pranayama and asana, and his willingness to surrender in each trip to Mysore.  He exudes peace and dedication to the practice.

And so it is that it makes me enormously happy to share the news that Mikko is now opening his own shala in Copenhagen after receiving Level II Authorization from Sharath to teach primary and intermediate series.

There I am in the center attempting Janu C – Mikko is right behind me about to attempt a much more advanced posture at Yoga Thailand

The official opening day for the studio will be May 1st.

On our last trip to Mysore Mikko shared with us his vision for the studio, we talked about how he had to choose the right floors (it had to be wood!) select the right colors for the walls, think about schedules. It all sounded very exciting.

Selecting the right floor, so many things to think about

Strangely enough Mikko confessed that even though there are lots of things that need your attention as you go through the process of opening a studio, things seem to be flowing right along for him, and it has not been a burden at all.  Amazing considering that he is re-building the whole place!

The space will have that lovely view and free parking! Seen here before construction started

There seems to be something happening around a sofa, a “funky retro sofa”, which I suppose we will have to hear about, maybe someone will be there at the opening and can tell me what this is all about?

The funky retro sofa

Mikko’s principal teacher is Sharath Jois, and he is dedicated to Ashtanga Yoga in the tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Mikko is a long term student of pranayama, his teachers include not only Paul Dallaghan but also O.P.Tiwarij, one of the living pranayama masters of our times, whom -incidentally- is not keen on sharing or publicizing his name, a kind of hard-to-find type of teacher (here is an upcoming workshop of him and Paul in Thailand).  Mikko has also studied Petri Raisanen, Chuck Miller and Lino Miele.

Helena

His girlfriend Helena has just received authorization to teach Asthanga from Mysore and will be teaching at the new studio as well.  They are a balanced and sweet couple.

Mikko’s intention is to help students be sincere rather than serious which completely resonates with me.What do you think this means?  How do you interpret it?

You can click on the image of the website below to read more about it and you can LIKE the studio in Facebook, or better yet, visit!

Lucky you guys in Copenhagen!

LAST SUNDAY YOGA BLOG TIMES: JOHN CAMBPELL TO LEAD JOIS YOGA GREENWICH, FOR A WHILE…

John Campbell’s Brilliance

I finally had a chance to talk to John -my Ashtanga yoga teacher in NYC- as you all recommended, and regarding my paralyzing lower back pain that happened a few weeks ago.  John asked me to give a chronological account of what exactly happened, I said:

– 2 weeks ago woke up with spasms of back pain which immobilized me.
– Any movement at all sent me into agony
– Stopped practicing
– David Garrigues and Joy recommended I read Mind Over Back Pain.
– I did.
– Realized some emotional conversations had to take place. I had those conversations.
– Pain went away in two days and practice went back to normal
– EXCEPT in the lower back where it still hurts and only in one pose: salamba sarangasana (shoulder stand)

Maybe I am a little crazy, I said looking down, cause I kind of believe that.  John smiled in a way that made me feel I am not crazy at all.  He asked me to pay very close attention to the breathing throughout all of the practice. He had a suspicion from the beginning that Kurmasana could be the issue. He knows my practice pretty well.

Then at around Kurmasana  (here is a short video of the pose from 8 months ago) he came around me, he circled me and did not do or say a thing. He just watched and went away.

Coming up for a breath after that crunched pose I saw John again, he said: “Your breathing in Kurmasana is completely erratic, even though you are getting deeper into the pose, the breath is sometimes noticeable and sometimes it cannot be heard at all” – slight chance I am paraphrasing a bit.

I had no idea! –

I thought that my breathing in Kurmasana was even as a quiet pond.  Turns out it is not at all.  Did  Kurmasana again. This time I noticed!

That is a teacher’s brilliance. Being able to so clearly identify where the problem is coming from. I am back to a normal practice now. So grateful.

See also:
Back Pain is the New Ulcer
John Cambpell Yoga

Would You Let Your Yoga Teacher Stand On You While in Pain And Bleeding?

I struggle with the idea of trusting a teacher so much so as to lay on the floor bleeding and not question his motives. Do you trust your teacher like this? The question comes from T, who commented on one of the Conference Reports from earlier this year in which Sharath related the story of Pattabhi Jois being in Kapotasana, bleeding due to a rock under his arm, while Krishnamacharya gave a lecture standing on him. [picture below].

My first reaction is of course not.  I would not trust anyone to stand on me while I am bleeding.  I feel a deconstruction is in order.

That is Krishnamacharya during a demonstration, standing on young Pattabhi Jois in kapotasana

At the time of the photo, Jois , depicted under the big K above, was between 12 and 14 years old.  The naughty boy was sneaking out of his house, without telling his parents, and going daily to Krishnamacharya for yoga lessons before school. He knew, at that tender age, that the calling of yoga was his. The only thing he wanted was yoga, and he trusted his teacher wholeheartedly.

Even for a youngster getting to kapotasana would take a few months of study is my guess. So I would assume by then he knew him well, he trusted him, and he probably wanted to impress him.

Krishnamacharya, on the other hand, was at the peak of his career having been given a wing at the palace.  A palace! Can you imagine? In those days? and to teach yoga, no less.

He had impressed the Maharaja of Mysore (who healed himself with his help) and with good reason. In his early 40s Krishnamacharya had 30 years of experience in yoga, which had started with him studying and debating scriptures at the age of 10.

How would you like to teach in one of my wings?

At the time of the photo, for what Sharath tells us, he had no idea that Jois was in pain.  We hear from the grandson of Jois himself that when he saw what happened he asked immediately if he was OK to which Jois responded that he was.

Sharath, the main carrier of the Ashtanga lineage these days confessed that he would have screamed himself.  So would I.

So, no, I would not do such thing.  Pattabhi Jois and Krishnamacharya had a special relationship, one that we will never know about in full. One that we cannot really judge from a distance other than by making assumptions and imagining things.

Comparing ourselves and our teachers to them is like comparing bananas and pomegranates.  They are just not the same thing.

I like pomegranates

These days we have so many people out there claiming to be yoga teachers, that it is more important than ever to exercise discrimination (see 12 suggestions to finding a good yoga teacher). That we are careful about who we trust and that we develop a relationship with a teacher over years.

For example, I trust Sharath in full.  Perhaps it is the projections of my mind, a mind trick, call it what you will. I am guilty of it, and I say that because when he is near me, my body tends to be able to do things that normally it does not.  His presence removes mental barriers it seems.  Besides, when he adjusts me he is ever so gentle and careful that I would NEVER get hurt.

John Campbell, my teacher in NYC is also one that I trust. He has put in the hours, he is certified and has been teaching forever. He is also a humble person, someone who exudes trustworthiness. But you bet if I was bleeding I would stop him. In fact I have done this when one time he was helping me walk the hands towards the heels in Urdhva Dhanurasana and it was just too much for me.   He totally understood.

I trust John.  I have known him now for over 4 years.  He knows my practice. Our student/teacher relationship developed slowly and over years, he knew when I lost my job and my whole life was in turmoil, he knew when I was getting married, even signed the card and contributed towards the pot present I got from all yogis (sweet them!). I also learned about his life and these days we have a very professional bond in which we share about the practice and about life, his retreats, Sharath coming over to the NY area,  my going to Mysore, etc.

How many teachers do we know today that have been studying yoga for over 30 years in a serious way, you know? Krishanamacharya’s way (waking up at 4 studying it and practicing it  all day long).  Not many.

So these are not those times.  Our teachers are not that teacher. And even if it was the big K, we must remember he did not know that was happening.  If I was Jois, I would probably have said something.  Then again, I am not that student.

12 Steps on How To Find A Good Yoga Teacher

Back to Pure Yoga, and John is Teaching in Thailand!

Ahhh how delicious it was to come into the packed Mysore room at Pure Yoga, see the familiar faces, get a hug or two, let my patches show (which produce an acupuncture-like effect) to the world.  Also pretty humbling to go only to navasana. But I did not care, I mean, for me, I was GOING to Navasana!

It was great to be in the energy of the room, and I was pretty winded by the time the boat pose came around.

Marichasana D binded fine on the first side which had me believe it would be the same on the other. Not so.  Seems I am inhabiting a different body these days and the bind was not possible, at all.  We shall see what happens today.

Had a couple of minutes to catch up with John (Campbell) who now has an official newsletter.  He will be in Thailand for two weeks.  The first week he co-teaches with Paul Dallaghan at the beautiful Samahita Retreat, in Thaland, on January 2 to 7, with focus on starting the year right. Very tempting.  The second week John merges Buddhism and Ashtanga.

John Campbell featured in Time Magazine last Spring

Yoga Thailand, now called Smahita Retreat,  is where I took my teacher training in early 2009 and I have been longing to return, the yoga was wonderful, the rooms amazing and the food delicious.

The Shala at Yoga Thailand, a few feet away from the ocean

This time of the year is when the internal temperature puts a compass straight into warmer lands. I don’t quite do winters so well, especially where I live, an area that becomes an ice cube.

When The Teacher is Ready, The Student Appears

I think it is more likely that a student will appear when a teacher is ready than the other way around. Here I am deliberately turning the common saying around maintaining that either the students or the opportunity, or the desire to teach appears when a certain level of practice (observed with a humble attitude that keeps things real) is reached.

Case in point, think of Krishnamacharya walking for thousands of miles to an undisclosed location somewhere at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains where he would, after much searching, find his guru Bramacharya with whom he would spend 7 years.  Not that I am comparing myself with them at all.. of course.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=earyog08-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0316017930&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrJames tells me he always knew in his heart that 8 years of dedicated research/study in any field makes you ‘profesional’.  Having done his time to become a chest master he knows his thing.  Then Malcom Gladwell in his book Outliers made the bench-mark famous and put it at 10,000 hours.

Sounds about right that it would take that much. And counting. Because nobody really becomes a teacher who is not in turn and will forever be a student.

Now of course, not everyone feels the pull to teach.  Some people may have put in the time but feel that their destiny brings them in a different direction.  But for some of us that breathe and live yoga constantly in every minute of the day, the desire to share becomes strong.

Such an opportunity is presenting itself to me and I am grateful.  I am honored too.  I know that maybe I am idealizing things, but coming from the highest place, these are reasons why I feel the pull to do it:

1.- To share some of what  I have gathered
2.- To learn from others and from the situation
3.- To be clear about what I know and what I do not
4.- To attempt to share and induce in others, if they want to, the benefits that yoga has given me
5.- To grow

And then I wonder, what does a teacher want? I guess a teacher wants a student that is keen and willing to learn, a dedicated and serious student, one who has respect for the practice, one who is willing to put in the time, who is open to learn, and to de-learn old habits, to listen, to question, practice, investigate, read, experience, get some glimpses, have a strong desire to reach the goal of yoga.

Krishnamacharya was very selective of the students he accepted, he thought that it was the quality of his students that would reflect back on him. He cared about what was important in a student, which is to have a sincere desire to learn.  He cared about spreading yoga wisely.

Ramaswami recently published a Vedic prayer in Facebook (after his teacher training) in gratitude for his students:

May earnest students from all directions come to me! May earnest students with varied capabilities come to me! May earnest students with exceptional capabilities come to me! May earnest students with self-restraint come to me! May earnest students with peace in heart come to me!

May them come indeed for all of us who feel the pull.

Recommended Reading:
The Book Every Yoga Teacher and Student Must Read
A Kick in the Butt: When You Don’t Feel Like Practicing

Teaching Yoga: The Book You Must Read

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1930485174&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrTeaching Yoga  is one of those books that must be mandatory reading for anyone in the yoga field. Not just for teachers, but also students.

Donna Farhi presents information in a way that holds the reader responsible and puts our own internal process under the microscope.  

It challenges our assumptions, intentions and boundaries to the core, especially in part II, where things get down to business to a level I have not seen anywhere else.  

In Part I she explores the relationship of Student and Teacher and goes over the projections that live on a student’s mind.  How the teacher can be ‘created’ in a student’s mind universe as ‘healer’ ‘priest’ ‘parent’, even ‘lover’.

All of these archetypes of perception can create some pitfalls for a teacher, and navigating the deep emotional waters of a transformative process like yoga presents colossal challenges.  Donna addresses each one of them with simple examples that help clarify the issues.


In Part II she goes over Ethics:  Among others, she has specific chapters on:

• When to Send a Student to Another Teacher
• Class Numbers
• Adjustments and Touching
• Power of Words
• Boundaries
• The Ethics of Money  – One that I particularly liked
• Refunds
• Teacher Training
• Pitfalls of Fame

How down-to-earth can you get? Her examples make me shiver sometimes, as in the case of a student who would interrupt the class constantly, make questions that seem more like a monologue rather than get to a point or add to the class material,  and always arrive late.

Hm, makes me wonder if I ever rambled on questions or tried to be the focus of attention… I think I have, oh dear! guilty as charged.

Her chapter on the Ethics of Money clarified a lot of things for me as in, for instance:

“Westerners in particular seem to have convoluted ideas about it “not being spiritual” to talk about or be clear about financial matters (such as written contracts) or to insist that people make good on their financial agreements.  I would contend that this is incorrect understanding of what it means to be spiritual.  Conducting one’s business clearly and fairly is one of the highest spiritual practices“

She draws from her own very vast and long experience of teaching at retreat centers abroad, while travelling, while exhausted, while feeling resentful at times, and shows how it is possible to keep the teacher’s health and finances in sight and be even more generous with the teaching by establishing healthy and strong, very strong boundaries.

Part Three has a Workbook for resolving ethical issues.

She opens this part with an example of a difficult situation and then gives a model of how to work it through by addressing it: “before”, “during”, “after”,  and “possible outcomes”.

Then she provides some sample cases for you to work through.  Just to give you a taste of how you would be left wondering and thinking, here is one of the case scenarios:

“Inappropriate Dress: An attractive young woman begins taking yoga classes at your center. You have noticed … that her yoga clothes are skimpy… her breasts frequently pop out of her yoga tops … and her low-rise yoga pans seem designed to prove that she is a genuine redhead.  Consider an intervention plan for before, during and after the situation…. plan for addressing the general dress code for your class… if you are a center director, also consider the dress code of the teachers”

She has 12 more cases like it (including: refunds, teaching family members, student pressure, lateness, gray zones, etc.)

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1930485174&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrAll in all the book leaves you thinking and coming to terms your own boundaries. With how YOU would handle difficult situations and how YOU would stay sane in a high charge environment produced by deep transformation and loose standardized guidelines.

The book is an invitation to continue the exploration of what it means not just to be a teacher, but also a student!

From the point of view of a teacher, helping a student progress on his or her own journey without getting involved in unhealthy ways is a difficult proposition, to say the least.  Donna helps clarify and frankly all I can feel is gratitude for her work.

If you have not read it yet I highly recommend it.  Would also love to hear what you thought of it if you read it already.

Donna Fahri’s web-page is here.

Other Book Reviews:
Ashtanga Yoga As It Is
Krishnamcharya His Life And Teachings
And here is what people are saying about my book: 21 Things To Know Before Starting An Ashtanga Yoga Practice