What are the characteristics of a great yoga instructor?

Hi Mudit, Yoga is not something one learns and consequently can teach, it is a practice for a reason, it is a conversation, not a diploma. Also a good yoga teacher will monitor your BREATHING as a priority. Breathing is as important as alingment and as important as pace, in fact breathing should lead the movement rather than the other way around. It is important in a teacher to be able to teach up to where he or she knows, which means up to where she or he has experienced in the road towards the state of yoga. Recently I wrote a post about it which I thought might help so I am transcribing it here as well. It has 12 things to look for, maybe not all at once, but good to keep in mind. Oh the issue of finding a GOOD teacher! Someone who can guide us from darkness to light and do it well. What a blessing it is to find one. Lately I've been doing some self reflection and studying to find out what exactly it is that makes a yoga teacher a good teacher. It might not be possible nor advisable to remember all of these when looking for a one but having the general idea in mind might point us in the right direction. A teacher is, in the end, a relationship, it is the moment we step out of our own mental construct and learn from another. And like with all relationships I would say that the first point is the most important: 1.- Trust your instincts A sign of an immature or inexperienced teacher is that of one who will manipulate the teachings to appear important, to pay tribute to his or her own ego. Our own instincts are critical when walking through this path of finding a teacher. And when I say that I mean: How does my body feel around this person? Good intuition manifests in the body, we either get a gut feeling, or something "does not feel right", or the opposite happens. 2.-Clear thinking and depth of knowledge A good teacher will be clear in mind and have vast knowledge, not just of the learned type but also the experience type. How do we find out? the first part is easy, a clear-minded person will reflect so in their speech, the depth of knowledge (or second part) might be revealed instantly or not. This is why I always refer to point one. How do the adjustments feel? is there a light quality about the class? Do you feel you can be present? or are you worrying about things just by being in the teachers' presence? Contd in comments

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