Yoga in the West is definitly a phenomena all of its own. After years of studying the different areas of yoga and haveing a general love for movement of all sorts, some of the issues in the global situation of teacher trainings and the quailty of teachers coming from those teacher trainings are becoming more apparent.
A lot of teacher trainings really lack the scientific method and many of these teachers teachings are dubious at best. People in positions of teaching should be able to at least point towards where they obtained their information. Credit and citations are always wonderful, it allows individuals to seek deeper into their personal practice.
Experience tells me that we have a ton of yoga teachers teaching yoga teacher trainings that have proven repeatedly in their personal logic to put more heed into anecdotal evidence, which is usually steeped in what I term as suburbia knowledge, when an individual has a tendency to believe in modern day myths. Culturally induced ignorance definitely permeates the world of westernized yoga.
The cultural induced ignorance seams to look like this in our yoga studios and trainings:
1) 'Every posture requires this same action'. This is a gospel cue, our bodies are not playdough being stuffed through a cookie cutter pattern. Each of our bodies have at least subtle differences that make movement, engagement, and stretching a very personal experience.
2) 'You must do this everytime,' again a gospel cue. Most often this comes in because well meaning individuals have become convinced by their peers that a certain movement is an absolute must (keeping a flat back through sun salutations is not beneficial and neither is it natural.)
3) Setting up teachers, gurus, practitioners like their words and concepts are irrefutable. In the world of science there are is not one person who is authority of it all. Science is based on observation and experiment. Yoga is based on observation and experiment. Learn this concept deeper please!
4) Seeing non-attachment as avoidance, which is equally as destructive to attaching to something. Non-attachment is seen when you can not have the product of your attachment ( do you become an asshole when you can't have some particular thing?)
5) Strict observance of rules. This is destructive and even the Hatha Yoga Pradipika states this. Strictly observing rules is a barrier to yoga. This is the easiest way to become a bigot, when we can not tolerate each others opinions than there is a problem. ( I am always open to changing my opinion when I come across knowledge that makes better sense than the previous knowledge I held.)
6) The concept of yoga will heal all things. It wont, it will make them more tolerable. Yoga as an ongoing practice can end suffering, but it will not cure actual medical worthy physical issues.
7) The concept that the most dangerous aspect of a hot yoga studio is in allowing deeper stretches, which increases injury. There is a far greater danger in practicing in hot yoga studios, its called germs and allergens. Heat, sweat and deep breathing in a room not well cleaned and ventilated produces an optimal environment for life threatening illnesses.
I could continue to list more but I think this gets across a few points. Mainly there exists a bias in a lot of people to take their teachers teachings as gospel. The certification process of certifying instructors to certify instructors is interesting.
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