Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Howdy Gator and Dianah!

Nicely put, both of you, thank you for your responses.

Ya know, I totally agree with both of you, and I'm thinking most of us in this forum, indeed Yoga in general, probably do.

The problem is (IMHO) that excerpt came from AARP. They're a pretty hefty slice of our market segment, don't you think? And if perception is reality, and that's what they perceive and that's a concept being published at large, what say we come up with some lyrics of our own to combat it; lyrics which do not use industry terms or jargon.

Any suggestions as to how to start such a campaign?

Humbly,

JB, really, really, really new CYT

Thanks Presley!

Well, how about this as a lyrical reliability measure, deferring entirely from registry comments and listing your own personal accolades that round you out as a Yoga teacher. For instance, in your marketing materials saying, "I'm a CYT and also have ten years of little league coaching, that's what I have to bring to the table"?

Feel free to see how I'm feebly attempting to position myself:

https://www.academypratyhara.com/About_Us.html

All comments are totally welcome.

Rip it up!

JB,

the really, really, really new cyt.

Hi JB,

I'm not sure where your going here. I wonder if you have enraged Prez.

1.

I for one don't think my experience as a babysitter can be part of my Yoga teacher resume. And I can defer from registry comments. But that is what has been going on since the beginning of this thread!!!

2.

Sorry but unrelated experience isn't worth much to yoga students.

3. A Monkees You tube video on your site with a 60's interpretation of a Guru. Please keep us informed as to how this helps your marketing efforts.

Actually Prez had some solid points (I don't entirely agree). But you kind of shoved it aside for a 60's laugh. Not to be too serious, but what's your point? How would you SERIOUSLY leverage yourself as a yoga teacher.

Peace,

Dear JB,

Thank you for explaining. No harm done and I can appreciate your viewpoint. You explained yourself well and you meant no harm. Have a good day.

Peace,

Howdy Prez.

Thanks again for the excellent advice!

Quick question for you. I am just curious.

Do you know the author Ramacharaka? Also published under the titles Swami Vishita and Swami Panchadasi and a few others?

Have you ever read any of his 100+ books? My question is, if you have, do you have any opinions about him or his work?

Like I said, just curious.

Thanks again for the awesome input!! I'll keep my eyes open for any advanced credential showing a teacher's reliability!

JB (Yes, btw, that was the video; although ostensibly silly, I read that Frank Zappa was inspired by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to write that bit after a meeting with Mahesh with George Harrison.)

Namaskar Jopis,

What you say is very sad but true. Swami or Guru may not be such a good title to acquire for the enhancement of your yoga credentials. Some Swamis will say it is okay to lie, cheat, and steal for them. It is interesting that Swami Bhaktipada and New Vrindavan were famous for fraudulently raising funds. To see more about this please feel free to view a true story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lV52d5hyRA These people pretended to be raising funds for many legitimate charities.

If you want to grow spiritually, you must start to grow from within. You have to start believing in yourself. Why do people feel they have to find an Avatara (A divine incarnation. Krishna was an Avatar of Vishnu.) to worship? False Swamis, fundamentalists, and fake holy men are the destroyers of mankind. They preach hate for every other religion and they preach hate for moderates within their religion.

Think about these words from 2 Peter 2 (King James Version).

1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

3. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Without getting too crazy about false Swamis, Gurus and prophets, let's consider that a hatha yoga teacher who wants enhanced credentials shouldn't choose a title. The title should be given or earned. Presley mentioned: an "advanced credential showing a teacher's reliability." This is very important and the thread that Paulji created for suggestions about such a credential or organization are worth writing about.

Yoga Alliance and British Wheel of Yoga won't reform themselves unless we make constructive suggestions and petition them. If they don't change, hatha yoga teachers should form an international group that is concerned about professionalism.

Om Shanti,

HAMED

Namaskar Hamed and Dilipji,

There was hesitation to answer because I thought Dilipji was playing a joke on me. Now that I look at the site closer, it appears to be real. Unfortunately, this appears to be written by closed minds. Apparently the sites authors have a bone to pick with almost every religion, Denise Austin, the Irish, Comcast, and they don't like Hindu moderates either.

Also note they are building a new and improved academy. If you want to contribute to the cause you can mail the Swami of hate a check. For all of these reasons, this is one more Swami to cross off the list. There are very few real Swamis in existence. Many claim the title of Swami and dishonor it.

If we use the term loosely, Swami is title for a spiritual master or teacher whether or not he has attained any higher state; sometimes it is a sign of respect. This term is used very loosely here. He called his Yoga real, but everyone else is phony Yoga. He is Swami, but ds he see himself? Ds he know himself? His heart is full of hate and anger over the past.

Anyone can be bitter over the past. We can be bitter with our parents. But Parents do the best they can with what they have. We Hindus will not gain anything by walking around crying about the past. In the case of the Angry Swami, he is trying to spread hate amongst the Hindu community and distracting us from the good in people. If we become an isolated group through our own choosing, we will of course find bad feelings from non-Hindus.

At this time, India has developed a special global status. To say one is Hindu is respected. The hate this man sees is from the past. I see no reason to grind the axe with every other religion. For all of these reasons, don't claim to be Swami of Guru. You are better to remain independent or as a last resort join a yoga teacher organization. Also members of the Aura yoga teacher community can find answers and socialize.

OM

Hi Gator,

It dsn't seem like there's a yoga teacher organization I want to join. It all seems so clicky. If you become a member you get to put people down who aren't members. I like this forum and being a member here because no demands are placed on me and I still get to learn more about yoga. Based on reading these posts it looks like I'm not alone in my feelings.

Peace,
Lea

Thank You JB!

Aura may well be the best interactive association to be a member of.

Peace,
Lea

Namaskar Mtnsol:

The thread you seek is: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=371 I have been watching this thread with some interest, but it appears there is no solution at the moment. Enhanced yoga teacher credentials can take many forms. As an example of this - 500 hour certification, prenatal yoga, or chair yoga. There are many more courses we could take. The point being, if you are trained in multiple areas, have the certifications to prove it, and have the experience who cares about youngsters being registered?

You have to admit YA has done a great marketing job over the past 10 years, but who cares. When I work outside of my own studio program coordinators only care if I'm certified, insured, and how safe I am. Nobody asks for a YA card. That's why I let mine expire. Not once in three years has one of my students even cared. It was a bunch of red tape for nothing.

Staying with this point, I feel that you don't get your money's worth from the registries. Did they help you with information about how to stay in business during a global recession?? Did they help you teach students with special needs? Did they enhance your education? If they did even one of these things maybe we should all reinstate ourselves and beg for mercy.

But let's get a reality check. You visit this yoga teacher forum information. And you probably visit the yoga teacher training blog too. All of us search the web for reliable info and Voila there are no charges here. If you want to take an online course, most of the world's registries will recognize it to some degree. YA will call it noncontact continuing education and the rest will give it more or the same standard of value.

I think BWY won't recognize anything outside the United Kingdom.