I am interested in taking Yoga this year and need to find an instructor. I have never attended Yoga, I lift and run but am not very limber AT ALL! There seems to be several in my area so what should I ask them? I was looking for one which would be vegan, it was my understanding that a true Yoga Intructor was Vegan, or am I way off here?

Thank-you!

you are way off about the vegan thing. and, valuation of a 'true' yoga teacher is difficult. yoga teachers come in various shapes and sizes and ideologies and physical needs and whatever else. in my area, it's relatively rare to find a vegetarian yoga teacher, let alone a vegan one. when i was vegan, i was one of two. as a vegetarian, i'm one of about 6. there are probably hundreds of yoga teachers in my area. but, that's another issue.

as to how to find a yoga teacher that is right for you, you're going to have to ask yoruself a number of questions so you know what you're looking for. A lot of people don't care about their yoga teacher's interior or private lives, health and fitness, or dietary practices. They just care about the quality of the yoga asanas and the teaching. Others want a teacher who is also grounded in the philosophy and spiritual disciplines--which may or may not include vegetarianism.

It really depends also upon what you want out of your yoga classes:

1. what are you looking to learn or achieve through your yoga practice?
2. do you prefer a class that is heavily philosophical and meditative or one that is more physical with less emphasis on the other limbs or aspects of yoga (which you can always study on your own)?
3. is it necessary for your teacher to be like you in order for you to trust his/her instruction?

as to finding a good yoga teacher, i recommend starting with some basics:

1. how long has the person been practicing yoga with consistant instruction from other teachers?
2. who are those other teachers?
3. what styles of yoga does the person practice and teach?
4. what sort of teacher training has the person completed?
5. how many hours of training?
6. is the person registered with Yoga Alliance? why or why not?
7. how long has the person been teaching yoga?
8. these are my specific interests or problems, how does the teacher address these needs or problems in class?
9. if the vegetarianism/veganism is important, as the teacher if s/he is vegetarian or vegan and why or why not? (it is most common that jivamukti and kali ray tri-yoga teachers are vegan, classical yoga teachers and kundalini yoga teachers are typically lacto-vegetarian. all other schools don't have any specific dictates regarding diet, and it's a matter of conscience--but there are vegetarian teachers in these other schools, and these schools support vegetarianism in their teachers).

when you get the answers to these questions, then you'll find a teacher taht works for you. Also, just trying out different classes with different teachers will help.

What else? ah yes. the Yoga Alliance bit. Yoga Alliance is a professional organization that sets basic standards of training for Yoga Teachers. They have two levels of registry now: 200 hrs of training and 500 hrs of training. They also have continuing education credits that are required to maintain registry. Many training schools are registered with YA as well. But, one does'nt have to be registered to be a qualified teacher or a good teacher or a good school. Some schools choose not to register for various reasons. it's a good idea to discover those reasons and understand why if the person is not registered.

zoebird, I knew you would be able to assist!
- thank-you for your response