1. “I just started doing yoga myself!"
Yoga is booming: For proof, you needn’t look any further than your health club, your cable-TV schedule, or even conventional retailers like Target and Walgreens, where yoga mats and DVDs are copious. Some 15.8 million Americans spent a collective $5.7 billion on yoga classes and products in 2008, an 87-percent jump since 2004, according to a survey conducted by trade publication Yoga Journal.
The problem is that there’s no real standard for how much teacher training is required of instructors, so almost anyone can lead a yoga class. Yes, there are plenty of certification programs around, but they run the gamut from thorough training—like that offered at the Advanced Studies Program at the Yoga Room in Berkeley, Calif., which requires 500 hours of classwork covering such subjects as philosophy and anatomy—to mere weekend workshops.
How, then, to avoid un- or underqualified instructors? Check with the Yoga Alliance, a national education and support organization. Although joining the group is voluntary and many perfectly good teachers haven’t signed up for its instructor registry, you can check to see if yours has at least attended a YA-approved program, which must require a minimum of 200 hours of teacher training.
2. “Sure, we have mats you can borrow—how about a case of athlete’s foot, too?”
You’ve probably seen yoga die-hards heading to class, their telltale yoga mat bags slung over one shoulder. Yet many studios lend or rent mats to their students, so is lugging around your own really necessary? Absolutely. “One of the key elements of yoga is cleanliness,” says Ann Merlo, co-owner of the California Yoga Center in Palo Alto, Calif., and Mountain View, Calif. “You want your studio and your mats to be clean; that’s just part of the practice.”
Though some facilities do try to wash or disinfect their mats regularly, most don’t get sprayed on both sides. And think about it. Bikram yoga, a popular version that’s performed in 105-degree classrooms to allow muscles and ligaments, is designed to prompt the body to sweat out toxins. With 30 people sweating for 90 minutes, the room’s a petri dish. Our advice: Spend the $20 on your own mat—or go without.
3. “You’re not read y for this class . . .”
When instructors at the California Yoga Center spot new faces in class, especially at the intermediate and advanced levels, they’re encouraged to make inquiries. “It’s important that we know how much experience they have and whether they have any specific injuries,” Merlo says. “If necessary, we’ll suggest they come back for a beginner class instead.”
Yoga classes tend to be rated by level of expertise—typically beginner, intermediate, and advanced. But if you say you’re ready for an advanced class, chances are no one at the sign-in desk will question you. It’s not a bad idea to call the studio ahead of time and ask them which class is most appropriate. And be honest about your abilities. After all, you won’t learn much if you’re in over your head and become too discouraged to continue.
4. “. . . and you could really hurt yourself.”
Some yoga poses are universally acknowledged to be risky—in particular, inversions such as shoulder stands and headstands. Since they cause blood to rush to the head and can raise blood pressure, these poses are potentially dangerous for anyone being treated for glaucoma or chronic headaches, or anyone who’s recently had a stroke; they’re also not recommended for anyone who’s more than 30 pounds overweight, since they compress the vertebrae in the neck. Good yoga instructors will caution a class before going into inversions and will keep a careful eye out for anyone doing the pose improperly.
5. “I’m just here to get lucky.”
While many gyms, training schools, and yoga teachers’ associations frown on liaisons between instructors and students, with all that bared skin and limber bodies, it’s no surprise that this rule sometimes gets broken. It’s not always a big deal, but on occasion these matside flirtations have been known to erupt into full-blown sexual scandals.
In fact, some studios as rife with drama as a nighttime soap opera. Yoga devotees still talk about Rodney Yee, the celebrity yoga teacher who in 2002 was accused in a lawsuit of having extra-marital affairs. Yee subsequently divorced his wife and married one of his students, Colleen Saidman--a union that received attention in the national press and put the yoga world into a twist.
6. “Your gym is a terrible place to do yoga.”
Not surprisingly, gyms have jumped on the yoga bandwagon. Although most gyms try to hire good teachers, they often don’t provide a yoga-friendly environment to go with them. Whereas many dedicated yoga studios discourage arrivals that are more than a minute or two late, some gyms keep an open-door policy. What’s worse, those who roll in late aren’t warmed up and often miss critical instructions. Try yoga both at your gym and at a studio; in the end, it’s all about what works for you.
7. “You don’t have to let me touch you.”
If you have yet to attend your first yoga class, let us be the first to alert you to what otherwise will be something of a surprise: Not only will the teacher give you verbal instructions, he or she will probably want to adjust you manually. In other words, while your bum is raised in the air during the ubiquitous “downward-facing dog” pose, you may suddenly notice a pair of hands on you that weren’t there before.
What you should feel is a gentle correction or even just a calming touch; the teacher should help you discover what’s right for your individual body. Furthermore, a thoughtful teacher should always tell you that he’s going to touch you—and should never do so inappropriately. Not your cup of tea? If you don’t want to be touched at all, just say so. You’re the boss.
8. “Yoga isn’t a cure-all.”
Several recent mainstream medical studies have shown that yoga can help alleviate everything from chronic back pain to asthma. One study even found that people with coronary heart disease who do yoga have fewer angina episodes. Perhaps that’s why 52 percent of yoga students today say they are motivated to practice yoga to improve their overall health, up from just 5.2 percent of students in 2003, according to theYoga Journal’s survey.
But yoga doesn’t have all-healing powers, as some high-profile yoga proponents have implied. Bikram Choudhury, for instance, displays prominently on his website testimonials from students who claim his brand of yoga has helped alleviate symptoms of everything from rheumatoid arthritis to anorexia and bulimia.
While yogic tradition has long held that certain poses relieve certain ailments—seated forward bend for sinusitis or headstand for insomnia, for example—not all such claims are supported by hard evidence. The primary effect of yoga is to quiet the mind, which has profound healing qualities, says John Kepner, executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists in Prescott, Ariz. Consider the case of a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, he explains. “Her body is being ravished by both the cancer and the drugs. Yoga can often help reduce this stress, and hence help her sleep and eat better.”
9. “I teach only one kind of yoga—and it’s not the one for you.”
There are dozens of different types of yoga, among them Integral, which include lots of chanting and prayer but minimal physical activity; fast-paced “flow” classes; Iyengar, which emphasizes the alignment of the body and uses props including straps and wood blocks to help students into positions; and hot and sweaty Bikram yoga, which consists of 26 poses done in a room heated to 105 degrees. Which kind is right for you? It depends on what you’re looking for—relaxation, say, or a rigorous physical workout.
Trying different classes is the best way to determine the type of yoga that best suits your goals and abilities. Even more important than what kind of practice you choose, though, is how much the teacher inspires you. Yoga instructors have dramatically different styles—some are as authoritative as gym coaches, while others are more touchy-feely. One class with a teacher who lights incense and chants about world peace, for example, might turn you off to the practice altogether. The best thing to do is to sample a few classes and find the class that’s right for you by listening to your instincts.
10. “A little class time goes a long way.”
Attending class regularly will keep you motivated and inspired—and regular instruction will help you learn the proper way to hold poses, especially if you are new to yoga. But one of its biggest benefits is its portability: As long as you have a flat surface and enough room to move, you can do yoga almost anywhere.
Indeed, the best instructors will encourage you to establish a home practice—and with fees approaching $20 per class at some studios, you can save a bundle.
source: smartmoney
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