As the Autumn leaves drift by my window (the singer in me felt the need to quote a song!) and the children go back to school, many people will begin or resume taking their yoga classes. As singers we know the importance of a good teacher so lets apply this knowledge to our yoga teachers. Yoga has become very popular in the United States just in the past few years.

When I began my yoga teacher training in 1998, I got some strange looks from my family and friends and was the target of some ‘all in fun’ neighborhood jokes. I just felt like I had a big secret that someday I would be able to tell. I was taught that one could not just take a course in a few weeks and begin teaching.

Yoga needed to ‘get under your skin’ and you would know when it was time to share it. I was the apprentice for two teachers for three years before I taught my first class. In these days of weekend yoga teacher certification training, I encourage you be selective about your teachers. You may ask where they were trained, how long they have practiced yoga, what type of yoga they practice and anything else you might be curious about. Listen to what your body needs and find the teacher that will hear you.

I have a new student who said, “I had no idea yoga could be this wonderful!” Her first teacher had been very strict which suits many people but was not a good fit for her. Remember that there is no ego in yoga and if you sense any negative guruesque (great new word!) tendencies from your teacher, it is time to move on. I wish you many joyful classes this autumn and if you can do a few sun salutations under the falling leaves, take advantage of the opportunity!

Namaste, Suzanne.