Description
Ashtanga Yoga – A Teacher’s Companion is the culmination of almost 20 years of a daily practice and teaching Ashtanga yoga, both a Mysore programme and led classes.
I took up Ashtanga yoga at the age of 19 during my university days. Due to the scarcity of teachers at the time, I started teaching shortly afterward by request.
Teaching yoga was not something I planned to do for life, but it has become my service. I would like to share the knowledge that I have benefitted from with those beginning or already established on their teaching journey.
Over the years I’ve discovered that teaching yoga isn’t as simple as I thought it would be. Just because you can practice, are even relatively good at performing the physical postures, doesn’t automatically make you a good teacher. In fact, to be a good teacher it can take a fair amount of personal difficulty and struggle along the way in order to really be able to relate to others and their own journeys.
As teachers of yoga we need to realise we are imparting a system of self-relation, even realisation rather than gymnastics. The role of the teacher can be quite a challenging one. Not only to convey what is quite a technical method, but, also, to make it appropriate and relatable. Moreover, inspiring to a wide range of individuals to enable the realisation of which yoga is intended.
The book aims to address the sometimes difficult task of making yoga accessible as well as contextualised within a wider framework than just postural. To the diverse group of people you will inevitably end up teaching. It presents clear and thoughtful information, not only on the finer points of the yoga method, but also, on how to best embody the role of a teacher most generally. As well as in making successful connections with people.
From physical and verbal adjustments, to how to structure a class and the subject of personal ethics. The book offers invaluable insights and pointers in order that as a teacher you can really embody the incredible role you’ve been offered from a firm foundation of confidence.
This book is the culmination of almost 20 years of a daily practice and teaching Ashtanga yoga, a regular Mysore programme and led classes. I took up Ashtanga yoga at the age of 19 during my university days. Due to the scarcity of teachers at the time, I started teaching shortly afterward by request.
Teaching yoga was not something I planned to do for life. However, it has become my service and I would like to share the knowledge that I have benefitted from with those beginning or already established on their teaching journey.
Over the years I’ve discovered that teaching yoga isn’t as simple as I thought it would be. Just because you can practice, are even relatively good at performing the physical postures doesn’t automatically make you a good teacher. In fact, to be a good teacher it can take a fair amount of personal difficulty and struggle along the way to really be able to relate to others and their own journeys.
As teachers of yoga we need to realise we are imparting a system of self-relation, even realisation rather than gymnastics. The role of the teacher can be quite a challenging one, not only to convey what is quite a technical method, but, also, to make it appropriate, relatable, and moreover, inspiring to a wide range of individuals to enable the realisation of which yoga is intended.
The book aims to address the sometimes difficult task of making yoga accessible as well as contextualised within a wider framework than just postural to the diverse group of people you will inevitably end up teaching. It presents clear and thoughtful information. Not only on the finer points of the yoga method, but also, on how to best embody the role of a teacher most generally, in making successful connections with people.
From physical and verbal adjustments, to how to structure a class and the subject of personal ethics, the book offers invaluable insights and pointers in order that as a teacher you can really embody the incredible role you’ve been offered from a firm foundation of confidence.
Ashtanga Yoga – A Teacher’s Companion should be just that, a guide for you in your teaching.