tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post4782160149047264996..comments2023-09-30T07:02:42.218-05:00Comments on Grounding Thru The Sit Bones: As Simple as Herding CatsBrenda P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15706976926804565629noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-30615151160803368152008-01-10T21:02:00.000-06:002008-01-10T21:02:00.000-06:00hmmm, I'm a new teacher (I'm actively pursing Iyen...hmmm, I'm a new teacher (<1yr)who got a gig at a studio where I've practiced for the last four years.<BR/><BR/>I'm actively pursing Iyengar certification and told the studio owner that teaching for two years was a requirement for certification, which of course is true. I think I'm pretty fortunate, but I also sold myself by pointing out related experience and the number of hours of classes that I had under my belt - way over 1,000 class hrs at the time. <BR/><BR/>I attend quarterly teacher training workshops, quarterly workshops for my personal practice, and observe a level I class taught by a senior teacher once a week. I'll be eligible for certification at the "teacher training" level in 2009. <BR/><BR/>I agree with Jude about not wanting to hurt anyone, so I'm taking in as much as I can, while raising two teenagers, trying to maintain a 20 year marriage, and working fulltime as a medical writer. <BR/><BR/>To me teaching yoga is a privelege and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to do it justice! <BR/><BR/>Brenda, you've got some major selling points, such as this excellent blog for one . . . Get that resume together and do what it takes to get that gig!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-67109169871839168662008-01-10T10:58:00.000-06:002008-01-10T10:58:00.000-06:00I am a Hatha Yoga teacher in the San Francisco Bay...I am a Hatha Yoga teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. I trained in Africa with an Iyengar disciplined guru who did not subscribe to certifications of any kind. He would simply say, "You're not ready to teach," or, "You are ready to leave me and show others."<BR/><BR/>I inherited his disdain for any organization that exchanges paper credentials for a membership fee. No resume, no diploma, no certificate will ever reflect how competent you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-4753093469825297912008-01-05T07:52:00.000-06:002008-01-05T07:52:00.000-06:00I think that Richard Rosen falls into the category...I think that Richard Rosen falls into the category of non-certified, highly knowledgeable yoga instructors. Perhaps he would be a helpful person to speak with.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18184969707852861341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-16496481807332125612008-01-01T14:30:00.000-06:002008-01-01T14:30:00.000-06:00Interesting question, and I am also not sure: I w...Interesting question, and I am also not sure: I was mildly involved in a teacher training program this year, and some of those people passed when I really thought they shouldn't have. SO I don't think that is necessarily the best way: I think being mentored like you were, and experience, and kindness, are better. But how do you measure those?<BR/><BR/>Happy New Year, and thank you for all the food for thought over the last one!Nadine Fawellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02195579342324187133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-46553722074872046912007-12-20T05:57:00.000-06:002007-12-20T05:57:00.000-06:00I'm on the cusp of starting a 200 hour YA certifie...I'm on the cusp of starting a 200 hour YA certified training; after 3 years of pretty intensive personal practice at a studio as well as with lots of national teachers. For me, running off to Kripalu for a solid month of yoga training was not an option - a couple of the local studios spread it out, one weekend a month, over the better part of a year. <BR/><BR/>I guess I'm mixed about it. On the one hand, certification ensures a bare minimum exposure to anatomy, safety, etc. And if one is teaching in the world of corporate america (or the government), one is heading into the world of certifications, concerns with liability, etc. Personally, I just do not want to hurt anyone - I've had a few incidents myself with teachers causing harm with a tweak or an adjustment - so I am a bit cautious. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, yeah - I've worked with some pretty incredible and talented teachers without certification - and I've worked with some pretty uninspiring teachers with certifications galore. <BR/><BR/>My teacher training is with the woman who runs my local studio, who I am really looking forward to spending time with. (I never get enough studio time with her). So it's all good. I suspect I would feel differently if I had spent years learning (not leading to certification) and then were asked to do 200 hours with someone who I was not already passionate about.<BR/><BR/>Great blog, btw - I'll keep reading!Judehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13905265861328249554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-105445646418774162007-12-18T14:21:00.000-06:002007-12-18T14:21:00.000-06:00Brenda, I am sorry to hear of your conundrum. I wo...Brenda, I am sorry to hear of your conundrum. I would certainly hope your longstanding experience outweighs pure “certification”. <BR/><BR/>Certification is certainly a touchy topic. I was at a yoga workshop where an internationally known instructor was asked what he thought about certification. He stated he didn’t believe in it on the grounds that just because you are “certified” doesn’t make you a great instructor and that there many excellent instructors who are not certified. He continued on to say its become one of those circular things: studios, fitness centers, gyms, colleges, etc. somewhere along the line decided that it would add credibility to their names if their instructors were “certified”, thus forcing many instructors to spend large amounts of money to attend a preset session to become certified if they wanted to continue to teach. It’s become a merry-go-round. You want to teach? You have to be certified. In order to become certified, you have to find someplace to teach to get the hours in to become certified. <BR/><BR/>I am a certified 200 hr RYT yoga instructor, but I’m certified in the hatha tradition. What I actually teach is the Ashtanga tradition. So...am I not certified to teach Ashtanga? I attended a 40 hour week long teacher training intensive with David Swenson where I learned about alignment, modifications, the sequence itself and providing a safe experience. Since then I’ve gone to at least 3 Ashtanga related workshops each year to keep myself current in the practice. Ironically, I took both the RYT training and the Swenson training in the same year and the studio I teach at just sort of quietly switched their requirements for the instructors to be certified at the same time (I was in their pilot program). <BR/><BR/>I completely understand the problem with obtaining certification as well. If I really wanted to become certified in the Ashtanga tradition, I would either have to fly somewhere for a month or drive once a month to Minneapolis and the program in Minneapolis requires you to do a student teaching gig at the studio. When?! How?! I don’t live there! Am I supposed to drive down each weekend to teach? <BR/><BR/>Perhaps there should be a couple governing bodies under one umbrella - for example, if a person just wanted a generic yoga certification, they could do x y and z. But if a person wanted to specialize, then under the umbrella, they could contact say, the Iyengar Institute, or an Ashtanga institute or Bikram group or the Himalayan Institute and those bodies would have a program designed for that person to meet some pre-determined certification criteria. <BR/><BR/>And wouldn’t it be nice if some of this certification took into account prior documented experience rather than just going from the date of your initial RYT training? <BR/><BR/>I’ll stop here...Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03357694767883126311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-56975187493164231402007-12-17T13:32:00.000-06:002007-12-17T13:32:00.000-06:00Brenda, that is a great question. I have be a stud...Brenda, that is a great question. I have be a student of a Registered Iyengar teacher, whom I thought was not that good. I have been under the study of non-registered ones who were very effective and fantastic teachers. One of my former students went on to get various types of training and I think may have strayed too much. I don't know what to say. I think that having a heart to teach and the basic knowledge (albiet ever broadening)should be enough in some cases. If students want to go further, they can then find a teacher more suited to his/her needs. I don't, however, think that each teacher should be under the same governing body. Who is to say which teachers are "acceptable" and which are not.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565974219676416897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28555295.post-53274613181745931872007-12-16T14:52:00.000-06:002007-12-16T14:52:00.000-06:00the day health insurance companies get involved in...the day health insurance companies get involved in determining a yoga teacher's "qualifications" in order to reimburse someone, or have anything whatsoever to do with yoga....is the day I stop teaching. simple as that.Linda-Samahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07664989345039365084noreply@blogger.com