Teaching Yoga and Skeptics
How should Yoga teachers handle skeptics? As a teacher you should know what Yoga can realistically do for ailments, conditions, and diseases. Dr. Paul encourages instructors to know the details about current and past research, studies, and trials that test the therapeutic value of Yoga under academic scrutiny.
At the same time, Dr. Paul discusses how important it is for instructors to realize that not everyone will embrace Yoga, even if you have all your facts in order. It is extremely important for teachers to be honest in what they know about the practical application of Yoga training for holistic health.
Why Yoga Teachers Should Know the Medical Benefits of Yoga
People begin to study Yoga for a wide variety of reasons. Some of them are looking for a way to expand their spiritual consciousness. Others are looking for ways to improve their mood, or to stay physically fit. All of those reasons are valid, and a good teacher needs to be able to work with all of the different types of student.
The medical benefits are becoming clearer and clearer over time, which is causing more and more people to take their first steps towards practicing it. Many of those people will know very little about Yoga when they begin, and the task of educating them about the benefits will fall on their teachers. These students will be more interested in the medical aspects of Yoga than in any other part of it, and they are likely to leave their classes if they don't hear about those aspects.
Some of the students will arrive at the class to help them recover from a significant injury. These students are likely studying Yoga on their doctor's advice, so they will be more educated about the medical benefits than most students and less likely to feel disengaged if their teacher does not mention them. The majority of the students will instead attend the class on their own initiative in the hope of preventing disease. Those students are the ones who teachers need to engage and educate about Yoga's medical benefits.
Those students need to learn both the benefits that are unique to Yoga and those that it shares with other forms of exercise. Yoga's ability to decrease joint pain and help treat other forms of chronic pain and discomfort will be the most appealing benefit to most of them, and many will also be interested in the potential for increased energy and weight loss. Learning about those particularly appealing aspects will help to ensure that they continue to study Yoga even when it seems difficult. That will increase the odds that they practice for long enough to learn about all of the other benefits as well, which is why every teacher should study all of Yoga's benefits, including medical studies
At the same time, Dr. Paul discusses how important it is for instructors to realize that not everyone will embrace Yoga, even if you have all your facts in order. It is extremely important for teachers to be honest in what they know about the practical application of Yoga training for holistic health.
Why Yoga Teachers Should Know the Medical Benefits of Yoga
People begin to study Yoga for a wide variety of reasons. Some of them are looking for a way to expand their spiritual consciousness. Others are looking for ways to improve their mood, or to stay physically fit. All of those reasons are valid, and a good teacher needs to be able to work with all of the different types of student.
The medical benefits are becoming clearer and clearer over time, which is causing more and more people to take their first steps towards practicing it. Many of those people will know very little about Yoga when they begin, and the task of educating them about the benefits will fall on their teachers. These students will be more interested in the medical aspects of Yoga than in any other part of it, and they are likely to leave their classes if they don't hear about those aspects.
Some of the students will arrive at the class to help them recover from a significant injury. These students are likely studying Yoga on their doctor's advice, so they will be more educated about the medical benefits than most students and less likely to feel disengaged if their teacher does not mention them. The majority of the students will instead attend the class on their own initiative in the hope of preventing disease. Those students are the ones who teachers need to engage and educate about Yoga's medical benefits.
Those students need to learn both the benefits that are unique to Yoga and those that it shares with other forms of exercise. Yoga's ability to decrease joint pain and help treat other forms of chronic pain and discomfort will be the most appealing benefit to most of them, and many will also be interested in the potential for increased energy and weight loss. Learning about those particularly appealing aspects will help to ensure that they continue to study Yoga even when it seems difficult. That will increase the odds that they practice for long enough to learn about all of the other benefits as well, which is why every teacher should study all of Yoga's benefits, including medical studies
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