A LOT HAS CHANGED since 1894, when Swami Vivekananda – the man seen as responsible – brought Yoga to the West. Today millions of people worldwide regularly roll out their yoga mats to practice a tradition that was once the preserve of Hindu holy men.
Search “#yoga”, and you will find 92.6 million posts of people – including “celebrities” – contorting their bodies into a pretzel shape in all sorts of photoshop-filtered locations. Welcome to the world of social media yoga; the acrobatic, gymnastic-style poses tailored for Instagram.
The importance of modern-day Yoga in the 21st century was aptly described by Carl G. Jung, the eminent Swiss psychologist, as: “One of the greatest things the human mind has ever created”.
I don’t teach traditional Yoga anymore, but my program: JUMPGA – a fitness-yoga fusion (www.jumpga.com) – upholds its values. It encourages the harmonious integration of our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual beings. The program was conceived during my own rehabilitation (following many traumatic injuries) and while working with professional athletes.
Every form of yoga is not about attaining dramatic poses; the benefits derived come from a consistent and mindful practice of postures that progressively and gently physically challenge you. As a Senior Instructor, I recognise my limitations and practice the appropriate pose for my body while maintaining optimal alignment and breathe awareness.
In this 21st-century culture of fast-everything, the lifestyle of almost everyone has gradually changed. We live in an automated world ruled by science and technology, such that modern man entirely depends on it. According to the International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health, the diminished efforts of physical labour have weakened our health due to a lack of physical movement. When you compare Yoga with other exercises – which often provide only muscular and cardio-vascular fitness – Yoga gives an overall development beyond the training of superficial skeletal muscles. Yoga offers the solution to work the whole person; all the other involuntary muscles and organs in every part of our body.
Swathes of yoga enthusiasts consider a career change as the discipline’s popularity has become a growing industry. Even though the world of Yoga has several alliances, wheels and federations, you don’t legally need a qualification to teach Yoga. When I began my yoga career, I joined Yoga Alliance USA and left after a couple of years because they offered me nothing of value.
Still wanting to belong to a yoga community, I joined Yoga Alliance Professionals (‘YAP’, formerly Yoga Alliance UK). It is the largest organisation (non-profit accreditation) for Yoga Teachers and Trainers in the UK. I immediately felt the benefits of speaking to people who were understanding and proactive in their efforts to help me.
Training to become a Yoga Teacher differs in every school; you can spend time perfecting each posture and your own body. Whereas at others, you can breeze through the course. YAP is fully aware of this, saying that: ‘the standards for Teacher Trainers are simply inadequate.’
YAP believes Yoga Alliance USA is responsible for the downward spiral of yoga teaching standards, only requiring two years of experience for a teacher to set up a training school. In contrast, YAP requires that anyone wanting to train teachers needs a minimum of 8 years and 4000 hours of teaching experience.
YAP believe that by doing this, only a fraction of trainers will meet their standards. This will ultimately limit the number of trainers and teachers who can join the organisation and thus raise standards for Yoga globally.
YAP say Yoga is multi-dimensional, and its scope has increased in modern life. Yoga is an escape for the ‘modern’ man who has become a victim of everyday stress. It is time to encourage Yoga to be an integral part of our health care systems. If more people practiced Yoga, they would be physically, mentally and spiritually more healthy.
As a Senior Yoga Teacher with 35-years of teaching yoga behind me, I align my values to those of YAP, believing that training good Yoga Teachers requires time, wisdom and knowledge, and that can only be attained through experience. The path to inner discovery can only be attained by being guided by those who have acquired enough experience and knowledge over a significant amount of time.
