13 Things Your Yoga Teacher Won’t Tell You

who wrote this a 13 year old?
power yoga practice for 3 years now, this was lame.

who wrote this a 13 year old?
power yoga practicioner for 3 years now, this was lame.

Actually...'hatha (physical) yoga' should not be hard. It is in the end the holding of poses... in a GENTLE Gradual process of manipulation OVER TIME that ought to release both body/muscle tensions and its stored energy. Hopefully, one should feel in the end, refreshed and a bit restored Especially for beginners, it's amazing how quickly the body responds. Struggling to achieve a pose, to gain another inch or two is counter-productive and actually can do harm. .

If you have netflix, they have yoga videos for those that aren't able to leave the house for whatever reason. I have a child with physical disabilities and daycare at a gym isn't an option, so I do the videos and I feel great afterward.

Yoga is religion in the guise of so-called exercise - don't be fooled!

the studio gets the majority of the class fees (which mostly goes towards rent) not the teachers. and we have expenses - everything from our own marketing materials to music and equipment/supplies for class, transportation and parking, ongoing trainings, etc. private lessons are split 50/50 if you are lucky, some studios take as much as 70%. there is also rarely a guarantee of how many paying students will be in class, besides donations studios offer free or discounted classes to other teachers in training, friends and family, or special comps. most gyms pay the teacher $35-50 a class. do the math and then take out taxes.

"Yoga for the People" is donation based, if you cannot afford it you can still take the class for free. Both my Yoga teachers at my gym are genuinely awesome. They embrace the practice and welcome everyone and they are very helpful.
They are the reason why I keep my membership at the gym, not everyone does Yoga for money but they have to make a living as well.

The instructor have a lot of overhead to pay that not many people don't realize. The fees for classes are much cheaper than taking classes in martial arts, personal trainers for weights, and bowling leagues, all things I enjoy. Two classes that are best for me right now is Yoga for my core, balance, and flexibility, and Tai Chi. Instructors are there to help you, not cure you. You have to do the work. There's different levels of Yoga to accomodate all abilities, but there are no shortcuts. It takes effort.

elizabeth is an idot

*idiot

Louis- Your comments have left me without any desire to be involved with your system of yoga. You sound like the old time snake oil sellers, declaring that all you need is what I sale. I'm just wanting to learn alittle about yoga in regards to mediation and relaxation, I have my own mind and believe you are so into yourself and self-importance. Not leading someone to the help that is needed, whatever or whoever, be it a Doctor, who are healers, is totally NOT, the purpose of Yoga.

Yes, I agree that this article is good. However, I do modify my movement/posture in class often because some teachers are lacking what I need in the class. Perhaps I should just leave if yoga teachers think this is rude. I know that not all teachers can accommodate what every student in a group class needs. Has this been thought of?

I'm a yoga teacher & really don't have this kind of snarky attitude in my classes or toward my students. I love teaching yoga, I've been practicing for 35 years and have never in my life said I hate yoga. I hope this author takes a little time for some meditative introspection on his or her attitude. Yoga is beautiful and should be taught with love.

Yoga is more expensive than going to the gym. And the cost of classes depends on the size of the studio and the amount of people attending regularly every week. Overheads for studios are huge and good teachers only wish to make a living helping others.

Has to be said that as a yoga teacher I'd agree with some of the above, but I'd also consider the writer to have some negative energy towards some of the points and not all yoga teachers would see the points as gospel

Some teachers are therapists and hold qualifications in other areas. Depending on the teaching qualifications of each individual yoga teacher... some spend years learning about anatomy and physiology and because of their holistic approach, can often see things a lot faster than your MD. But again, that said, you can't pool all yoga teachers into one group and expect them to all act the same way. Some have no ethics at all, whereas others are phylanthropists. Some can be gurus, some can be con-artists.

Yoga teachers get a set fee hourly. Some make $25 for the day if they only teach one class. Others teach a lot of classes and make a living. Some train others to become teachers and make a lot of money however the Yoga studio makes the bulk of the money charged and there is yet, another however. Depending on how good a manager you are (and most yoga studio owners suck at management but they excel at sales) you can either go bankrupt or become a millionaire from owning a studio. If you're overhead expenses (monthly) and your other expenses for the space are not exorbitant you have a chance to make a good profit.

Yoga studios where they rent out mats usually are very diligent about cleaning each and every mat they rent out to students in classes. Most students bring their own mats.

Whoever wrote this article is not a very experienced or good teacher. I sense irritability and a judgmental stance, and a touch of arrogance. Not that these things are not true, it's just the way the author went about saying them - goes against a true yoga teacher's approach.

Wow...and people wonder why nobody wants to take up yoga. This article is full of attitude. Actually, that's a real syndrome with these "Shine" articles. Every other article is one of those "13 Things Your (Insert Professional Here) Won't Tell You, But That You Should Obsess About Because I Say So And It Makes Me Feel Like a Tastemaker" thing. I'll pass.

I found some of this true and some of this to be offensive. I have taught yoga for over 12 years. I own a yoga studio. Here are some truths......We do it because we love yoga and want to share yoga. We don't care if you are late....we just want you to come to yoga. Life happens. Be polite when you come in. Deodorant is a cultural and personal issue not a yoga studio issue....I could careless if you use it or not but please come clean. That is what is important. Take from the practice what you need from the practice that day. Leave the rest. Honor your practice. It will serve you well. I do not teach more time than I practice on any given week. I practice what I teach. If a teacher is teaching more than they practice then there is a problem. Yoga teachers and the vast majority of studios do not make much money. The studio rent, utilities and expenses are massive! Teachers at our studio make a fair amount but people are not making a killing and certainly would have a hard time living off teaching yoga alone in California, NYC or any other expensive region. In the end, we teach from the heart, we teach what we love and we honor the students who walk in and want to learn. I can honestly state that I have never hated yoga or even hated yoga poses. I cherish yoga and if I find a pose challenging then I work with it over time. Hate does not come into the practice. If someone finds they hate yoga.....then they should not be teaching it since I wonder if they ever REALLY practiced it at all.

was this made just for the writer to complain?