Pranayama...dangerous?

[Shadiza]

I'd like to ask any (or all?) of our resident yoga experts about the practice of pranayama.

I've practiced simple yoga for a while now and I really like it. However, since yoga classes are very expensive around here, I have never taken a class, learning instead through extensive reading.

I've also read about pranayama, and it seems to be a practice of great benefit, but instructions regarding pranayama always indicate that it is "dangerous" unless taught by a qualified teacher.

Is it a bad idea to learn pranayama from books? What harm could be caused? How would you discern a qualified teacher? Now that I think about it, is it also a bad idea to do asanas for a long time without a live instructor?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I appreciate your time :)

[skarrlett]

Pranayama is a type of yogic breathing... perhaps you're thinking of Ashtanga yoga since it's a more physically demanding style.

Either way it is a good idea to learn poses from a qualified yoga instructor. You really could do some serious damage if poses are not done correctly. Plus, a yoga instructor can help you with posture and alignment which are crucial in yoga poses.

http://www.yogajournal.com/

[zoebird]

pranayama and asana--and in fact any yoga practice--can be difficult if practiced alone exclusively. yoga is a difficult discipline overall and it focuses on a lot of difficult and esoteric elements.

pranayama focuses on energetic movement and management through the seven sheaths of the 'body' or of the person. it activates and blocks energies in different ways (depending upon retentions), leading to different physical, energetic, emotional/mental, and spiritual developments.

at it's gross level, it is possible to learn pranayama or any yoga technique from a book. the learning curve is greater because you don't know if you're diong it right, and with yoga, if you're not doing it right, then you're not really doing it at all. And doing it wrong, over and over (particularly on the elements of physical pracitce, but in the others as well) it can lead to injury.

So, there are many benefits to having a teacher--avoiding injury (physical, psychological, spiritual), learning the proper technique, and being able to develop that technique into Yoga (union with God).

I recommend to people who are on tight budgets that they consider striving to take at least one class a month. Most people can afford a $15 yoga class once a month. So, it's a good start. Also, many yoga studios and yoga teachers are willing to do work-study; you may be able to get classes for sweeping floors or washing towels.

As for finding a qualified teacher, it largely depends upon what you want to learn. For myself, i look for a teacher who is very experienced in yoga and really lives their talk. this can be hard to find and takes trying alot of different teachers.

i also ask a lot of questions: how long have you been doing yoga? how long have you been teaching Yoga? who are your teachers? when did you begin to study with teachers? how much teacher training did you do and what form did it take? what do you do for continuing education? how would you describe your style of yoga? why do you teach yoga? what is your methodology and philosophy of teaching?

and here's the answers that i like:
how long have you been doing yoga?

i prefer if my teachers have been practicing longer than 30 years.

how long have you been teaching Yoga?

i tend to prefer teachers with 10 or more years of experience.

who are your teachers?

i tend to listen to answers about the lineage and education of the teacher. most of my teachers have studied with the 'major' figures of the 20th century.

when did you begin to study with teachers?

i ask this because some teachers can be deceptive. one of the teachers whom i know (and she's not really good at it) says that she's been studying yoga for 8 years (same amount of time she's been practicing yoga), but i found out afterward that for 7.75 of those years, she studied exclusively out of books (which is why her alignment is so terrible). and she'd only done 3 months of teacher training and study with a teacher before she started teaching.

and she's not alone. a lot of people do this. it's wild.

how much teacher training did you do and what form did it take?

this is important because of the above situation, but also because there are a zillion ways to become 'certified.' 1. i can write away for a certificate online through an organization. i pay the money, they send me the cert. 2. i can take an hour long course through my aerobics instructor training courses. 3. i can take a weekend training course. 4. i can take a week long course. 5. i can take a 200 hr training course. 5. i can take a 500 hour training course.

in the yoga industry, the most widely accepted training courses are the 200 hr and 500 hr courses. Yoga Alliance is a national registry of teachers who fit these requirements and training schools who meet these requirements. (yogaalliance.com)

what do you do for continuing education?

yoga alliance requires continuing education in yoga. i listen for teachers to tell me where their areas of practice are taking them and who inspires them.

how would you describe your style of yoga?

the only thing that matters here is enough clarity for me to determine if we would be a good fit.

why do you teach yoga?

i prefer reasons such as "i love yoga" as opposed to "i could make more money if i started teaching yoga as well as my other fitness classes."

what is your methodology and philosophy of teaching?

again, i mostly look for clarity so that i can determine whether it's a good fit.

Yoga Alliance registry is a good place to search for teachers in your area: Yogaalliance.com.

[Shadiza]

Thank you both very much!!

I am going to see if I can budget in a class per month...and the work-study was a good idea too.

Zoebird, I had kind of gotten the feeling that a lot of teachers were like you described....sent away for their cert or learned out of books/a few hours at a fitness club. That's really why I didn't see why I needed to find one. I am going to check out that site you mentioned right away.

Again, many thanks :)

[zoebird]

you're welcome.

the situation of yoga teacher training is pretty bizarre. i'm always surprised to find people who have never taken a yoga class teaching classes around town.

[synergy]

you're welcome.

the situation of yoga teacher training is pretty bizarre. i'm always surprised to find people who have never taken a yoga class teaching classes around town.


Wow, people seriously teach without having ever been taught?

That's awful!

[Cass]

Wow, people seriously teach without having ever been taught?

That's awful!

I had a PE teacher who said she was going to teach us yoga. She had us keep our shoes on. :rolleyes: It's impossible for your feet to be flexible in shoes.