Yoga has the power to transform bodies, minds, and lives.  Most of us are initially drawn into the practice on a quest for fitness, and soon notice improvements in strength, flexibility, and stability.  Our bodies feel better than we ever knew possible, even if we thought we felt fine before.  After a while the awareness and equanimity so carefully cultivated in our yoga practice start to spill over into the rest of our lives.  We grow more perceptive and focused.  We begin to notice – and maybe even alter – our unconscious attitudes and habitual patterns.  Over time we become more resilient and compassionate, less swayed by life’s vicissitudes.  One of the best analogies I’ve heard is that the practice of yoga places a mirror in front of us, even if we didn’t come to the mat looking for spirituality or therapy.

Many potential practitioners wonder if yoga will help them lose weight.  The answer depends on your current fitness and activity level, as well as the type of yoga.  The practice can range in difficulty from chair or bed yoga to something that looks an awful lot like gymnastics, so it’s difficult to generalize.  Vigorous practices such as vinyasa, power yoga, and Ashtanga are among the styles most likely to directly contribute to weight loss.  However, any style other than restorative should help build muscle mass.  And all styles of yoga teach body awareness, which can be the greatest contributor to weight loss.  We develop a greater awareness of the effects of different types of food on our bodies, and gradually make adjustments to our eating habits.  The whole process occurs organically, a natural continuation of our yoga practice.  Of course, yoga isn’t about weight loss or external appearances; it’s about living mindfully and accepting ourselves as we are.  But that, too, comes with time and practice.

First, take care of yourself!  Remember that although yoga may be challenging, it shouldn’t hurt.  New students frequently go overboard, wanting to get a killer workout and keep up with the person on the next mat over.  Even if you have a strong fitness or dance background, it takes time to develop the form, strength, and flexibility necessary for advanced poses.  Listen to the subtle (or not so subtle!) messages your body is sending, and err on the side of caution.

Even if your gym yoga teacher is fabulous, the atmosphere of a studio is much more conducive to yoga practice.  Studios generally provide warmer, quieter, and more relaxing environments.  The quality of instruction is typically better in studios, and the students are more serious practitioners.  The downside is that studio classes are almost always more expensive.  If you can swing it, though, even an occasional studio class led by a good teacher will make a huge difference in your practice.  The same is true if you practice with a video or book – that’s great, but receiving feedback from an experienced teacher is invaluable.

While there’s no need to spend huge sums of money on trendy yoga outfits, dressing appropriately will make you feel more comfortable and allow the teacher to see your form.  Clothes that allow you to move are essential.  Ideally, your clothing should be stretchy and at least somewhat fitted.  Baggy tee-shirts tend to end up around your face in down dog and other inversions, and can potentially hide alignment issues from your teacher.

If you happen to have some extra cash available, a high-quality mat is one of the best investments you could make.  A good mat limits distraction by providing padding and traction.

For more beginner resources, check out New Student Resources under Community.

My first calling is alignment-based vinyasa flow yoga, but I love teaching other styles as well. No matter the style or level of the class, I teach to the individuals around me. We work hard and take the practice seriously, but always with a sense of fun. I encourage students to listen to their bodies and practice so that they’ll leave feeling better than when they came in. Rest and modification are always encouraged.

My view on yoga with music is liberal, my musical choices eclectic. I teach with no music, with yoga music, with oldies, with indies, with that song you heard playing on the radio earlier today. I believe in utilizing whatever pulls students to the mat, whatever draws them inward, whatever brings them joy.

My teaching and training are in the YogaWorks tradition, which is part of the Krishnamacharya lineage. YogaWorks blends the teachings of BKS Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga), Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga), and TKV Desikachar (Viniyoga, more or less).

1) Ask the teacher about her experience.  Be specific.  For instance, when the teacher tells you she’s been practicing for 16 years, is she counting from the time she watched a yoga video once as a kid, or is she counting years of regular practice?  Seriously, exaggeration is as common in the yoga world as everywhere else.

2) Inquire about the prospective teacher’s training and teachers.  Is his training program well known and respected?  Was he satisfied after participating in one requisite 200-hour teacher training, or has he continued to attend workshops and trainings?  Does he regularly spend time learning from experienced mentors and master teachers?

3) Ask the teacher about her personal practice.  Does she practice on her own?  Does she attend classes?

4) Is the teacher learning on her own?  Ask her what books she’s been reading on asana, philosophy, or anatomy.

5) Does the teacher give students his full attention, or does he use the class as his personal practice time?  The teacher must constantly be aware of his students, and spend time making physical and verbal adjustments. The ability to modify poses for individuals is an essential characteristic in a teacher.

6) Does the teacher tell you what to do, or how?  Alignment matters.  Yoga is all about the details.  If a teacher doesn’t know them or can’t explain them clearly, look elsewhere.

7) How does the teacher’s sequencing leave you feeling.  Yoga shouldn’t hurt!

Ask for feedback from other students, and check references.

Certification is a completely different issue, and is awarded at the discretion of the yoga school or, in some cases, by the particular style or lineage of yoga (e.g. Anusara or Iyengar).  Many small yoga studios automatically award certification to all 200 hour graduates.  I am certified through YogaWorks, which involves a minimum of 500 hours of study through YogaWorks, followed by a rigorous written and practical exam with a low pass rate.  In a style such as Iyengar yoga, the certification process is even more time-consuming and grueling.

Personally, I believe that Yoga Alliance does more harm than good.  The problem isn’t with setting standards – it’s with setting them so low.  A yoga school doesn’t have to be any good to be registered with Yoga Alliance – it just needs to provide a curriculum with a certain number of hours in each of several categories.  As far as I know, Yoga Alliance never actually checks compliance.  The same is true for individual teachers – Yoga Alliance registers teachers based on the information they provide, without checking the facts.  I personally know of a few instances where teachers lied on their applications, and Yoga Alliance was none the wiser.  Even if the registration is legitimate, it doesn’t indicate quality, and provides a false sense of security for students.  Yoga Alliance registration means that a teacher completed a program more substantial than a weekend training or mail-order program, but that’s it.  And there are perfectly good teachers out there who’ve never registered, but are highly competent nonetheless.

In the interest of full disclosure – I’m registered with Yoga Alliance at the highest level – R-RYT 500.  But if you want to see what matters, check my resume.

For more information, visit YogaDork here or here for recent discussions of the yoga community’s opinions toward Yoga Alliance.

Unfortunately, injuries are becoming all too common in the yoga community.  Many of these injuries can be attributed to the plethora of under-qualified and inexperienced teachers filling gyms and even studios across the country.  Why is so much riding on the teacher’s expertise?  Poorly sequenced classes that add challenging postures before adequately warming up the body invite injury, as do classes that are inappropriately difficult for the level of students present.  Some teachers push students to work beyond their capacity, or use forceful and unsafe physical adjustments.  Other teachers simply don’t know or fail to teach the alignment principles that would protect their students.

Another major source of injury comes from within.  When a student ignores his body’s warning signals and instead listens to his ego, he puts himself at risk.  Yoga philosophy warns against this mindset, but many students have little or no exposure to the deeper teachings of the practice.

So, how to enjoy your favorite class while staying safe?  First, stand up for yourself, and don’t presume the teacher is all-knowing.  Ask questions.  When a pose feels painful, bring the problem to the teacher’s attention so that she can provide correction or modification.  If you feel bullied by physical adjustments, ask the teacher to stop.  Second, be aware of your own tendencies to push too hard or compete with your friends.  Be willing to modify and use props.  There’s no shame in backing off from a pose, or even resting.  Many yoga injuries are of a repetitive nature, so the fact that you get away with some misalignment one hundred times doesn’t mean that you will continue to do so indefinitely.

Of course, even with the most knowledgeable teacher and the most mindful student, injuries sometimes happen.  They’re an unpleasant but unavoidable side effect of living in a physical body.  Even so, yoga is an extremely safe activity when practiced mindfully under the guidance of an experienced teacher.

A personal practice doesn’t need to be anything complicated.  The idea isn’t to replicate the public classes you generally attend; rather, the key is to meet yourself wherever you’re at.  If you’ve had a long day at the office, a few restorative poses may be in order.  If morning drowsiness is an issue for you, several rounds of sun salutations before work could be helpful.  You might design your practice around an area of tightness in your body, or do a few asanas before and after your favorite sport.  A nighttime practice session could be designed to help fight insomnia.  Your home practice doesn’t have to be long – even five to fifteen minutes can be beneficial, especially with consistency.  A longer practice time is great if you have the luxury, but don’t beat yourself up over it if you don’t.

Ideally, it’s recommended that you find a quiet space in your home where you can be alone without any distractions.  If you’re laughing at the absurdity of that idea, use what you’ve got.  Practice with your kids, with your dog, in the yard, in the pool, in a corner at the gym – just practice!  No props are necessary, but it is helpful to invest in a mat, block, strap, blanket, and bolster.  Of course, you can also substitute household items when needed.  If you’re at a loss for ideas to begin with, there is an abundance of resources that can help.  Many yoga books contain pre-arranged sequences.  Yoga magazines and websites offer tips, too.  And sometimes studios offer workshops designed to help students get started with a home practice; if you can’t find one nearby, suggest the idea to your local studio.

The goal of classical yoga is to make the body a fit vessel for spiritual practice, meditation, and enlightenment.  Key texts such as the Yoga Sutras suggest multiple paths to this goal, depending on the practitioner’s personality, predilections, and religious leanings.  Yoga philosophy is non-dogmatic; it encourages seekers to take what they can use and leave the rest.

Yoga does encourage communion with something greater, be that God, universal consciousness, or the higher self.  My students have been drawn from a diverse religious cross-section of society,  including protestants, evangelicals, Jews, Muslims, Seikhs, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, and a Roman Catholic nun.  Whatever a yogi’s religion, time spent in quiet contemplation is a spiritual asset rather than a theological liability.

I was already vegetarian by the time I began practicing yoga, but I’m not the evangelical sort to demand that others make the same choice.  What’s important is consideration of the effects of your actions on others.  Have your mealtime options negatively impacted the environment, local farmers, animals, or hungry people in other lands?  It’s not so simple – even if we eschew meat, for example, the soy in the diet of many vegetarians contributes to the destruction of rain forests in Brazil.  What about the clothes you pick out, the beauty products you use, the unnecessary items you purchase, the medicines that keep you healthy?   There are no easy decisions, no obvious answers, no choices that fail to trickle down and affect others.  But adding conscientious awareness to the decision-making process leads to less harmful consumerism and cultivates compassion within us.