Finding work that is financially rewarding and personally fulfilling is becoming a greater and greater challenge in today's workforce, which struggles to understand how to balance financial security with the need to contribute to the world in a healthy balanced way. More people are looking for part time work that fills their need for wellness and health, while augmenting their income. And more and more are turning to a career in Yoga.
National Standards
In 2003, the Washington State Workforce Training Board certified its first yoga teacher training vocational school, The College of Purna Yoga, which is also a Registered Yoga School with Yoga Alliance. As the first yoga vocational school, The College of Purna Yoga seeks to bring industry standards to yoga training where none exist. Right now, anyone, no matter their level of training or knowledge, can teach yoga, which is very dangerous. Yoga--when done correctly--has amazing properties for health and wellness, integrating the whole body with the mind and the spirit. However, when taught incorrectly, by a poorly trained teacher, yoga can cause injury or worse. While health fields such as massage, chiropractic, and personal training naturally require standards in certification, yoga has been left off the list; there is no national standard for certifying yoga teachers.
Because the lack of standards, students are left in the dark when choosing a studio or a teacher. Students often don't know the importance of good training or the dangers of a lack therein. There are big differences in types and levels of yoga teacher training. Quality yoga teacher training programs should train teachers in how to do and teach asana and yogic breathing, as well as the therapeutics and rehabilitative aspects of yoga, meditation, philosophy, nutrition, and ethics for yoga professionals. One international organization, called Yoga Alliance, is attempting to provide standards where none are mandated. Teachers voluntarily register themselves at one of two levels of training: the 200-hour Level or the 500-hour Level.
The Importance of Professional Training
Yoga careers offer people a choice for a more balanced career that can dovetail their existing careers if necessary. A 200-hour training is perfect for people like physical therapists, massage practitioners, chiropractors, and martial arts instructors, who already work in the health field and want to expand their professional repertoire by being able to utilize the many wonderful tools of yoga correctly, to help their students find long-term sustainable healing. Also, anyone just getting started will find the 200-hour level as the perfect place to start to build their foundation.
For teachers who really want to transform their teaching into to a sound profession, a 500-hour training is mandatory. Most schools offer a 300-hour supplement to the 200-hour training to reach the 500-hour level. To register with Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour Level, a teacher must also demonstrate that they have taught at least 100 hour of yoga classes. Students learn that in order to be an inspiring teacher, they must also be an inspired practitioner. 500-hour trainings must spend time on developing the professional skills as well as the personal integrity to commit to the yogic life. At this level, teachers must live their yoga, rather than merely speak about it.
Finally, there are those teachers who understand the true potentials of yoga. Teaching yoga requires an extended and focused course of study, which, like any great art or science, requires the development of both tangible knowledge and inner wisdom. For many teachers, the 500-hour Level is not enough training. To truly embody yoga, one must dedicate themselves to a much deeper course of study. For example, at The College of Purna Yoga, a third level is offered: The Purna Yoga Certificate Level, which involves one year of rigorous study that places the greatest attention on the development of a teacher's personal integrity, professionalism, and inner connection to wisdom and Truth--in addition to expanded technical knowledge.
The Importance of Lineage
Yoga is both an art and a science. As an art, it is a refined and intricate as classical music. As a science, it is as complex and precise as physics. Joy lies in its infinite exploration. The successful learning of any art or science requires a master to transmit the lineage. Many yoga schools are created by master yoga teachers, who have given their lives to the infinite exploration of yoga. Schools without a master teacher or a lineage backing them up have two challenges: They often end up teaching from a tired, uninspired databanks of information that pays no regard to the evolution of yoga; or they try to teach all styles of yoga, without really covering any one in depth. To teach yoga requires true inspiration, which comes from the wellspring within the teacher, not any textbook. To teach yoga is to give to others the greatest gift of all: the ability to realize their unique individual purpose and to fulfill their destiny.
? 2008 Aadil Palkhivala
Aadil is the author of "Fire of Love", a book for Teachers of Yoga and Students of Life.
To buy a copy- click on this link: buyfireoflove.com buyfireoflove.com
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