How To Find The Right Yoga Teacher For You And Your Unique Yoga Journey

When embarking on your yoga journey, it is important to seek the right support. Never underestimate the power of the right teacher.

In school they say, the teacher is even more important than the subject, even if you are studying something that you love and enjoy, or even something that you find relatively easy, having the right teacher will make all the difference in the world. Not to mention if you do need help and guidance.

Yoga students, both new and experienced, are looking for guidance, information, new knowledge, and nurturing, as yoga is a complex and spiritual practice, it can be a vulnerable place to be as a student.

Our teacher must be someone we connect with and trust. We need to be able to confide in our teachers, and know when a teacher is right for us and when it’s time to look for someone or something else.

Finding the right yoga teacher can be challenging, especially if you are new to yoga. With so many classes available and new studios opening up all over town, it can be overwhelming, especially if you are not sure what you need to be looking for.

It's important to remember that, not all teachers are created equally and in order to really grow we need to know how to choose a teacher and be aware of the warning signs and red flags to look out for.

Here are some of the ways that you can go about finding the right teacher for you:

1. Take class!

This sounds self explanatory, but, taking class is important when finding the right teacher for you. Take as many different classes as you can to first establish, what yoga class is right for you? What are you looking for in a class?

Once you are clear about your objectives, it will be easier to identify what you need help with and what teacher could potentially provide you with the right experience.

2. Do your research!

I cannot stress this one enough, do your research. If you are serious about yoga and/or your goals, you need to know what it is that you want.

For example, if you know that your goal is to relieve stress and you are working through an injury, a Yin or restorative yoga class might be for you. If you show up to a “Power Flow” class or strong vinyasa, without reading the class description, you are never going to get what you need. You will most likely leave feeling defeated and often frustrated with the teacher.

However, the teacher is there to teach a strong and challenging class. Make sure to read the class descriptions and pick the right one for you, even before worrying about the teacher. If you are still unsure, call the studio or pass by if you live close and ask. This is the best way to be sure and any studio would be happy to direct you to the right class for your needs.

3. How do you feel?

So you’ve done your research to the best of your ability, you know what you want, you have found the class with the description that best suits you. Now ask yourself, how do I feel? You have just finished class, do you feel better or worse than when you walked through the door?

Yes of course there are factors that can affect this, you might be extra tired after a long week, you might be a bit sick, working through an injury or just having an “off” day (we all have them), but if none of the listed apply, if you are feeling worse than when you started, this might be a red flag that this teacher is not for you.

Sadly, not all yoga teachers have your best interests in mind. A skilled teacher knows how to “read a room”, meaning, they can look around and adjust the class for who is present if needed. If you finish class and you feel achy, tired, sore, or unsure about the experience, the teacher might not have been listening to the group and their needs, or they might not have practiced safe sequencing during the class.

What is safe sequencing in a yoga class? When structuring a yoga class, a teacher must ask themselves, are these transitions safe? Will students feel comfortable and clear about the orientation or direction of their bodies? Will this posture or transition put the student’s knees, hips, shoulders, or wrists at risk? If the answer is yes or even possibly, then a teacher should rework their class.

Students need to leave the room feeling better than when they walked in, they need to leave feeling that they have been supported, educated, and cared for. Yoga isn’t just a workout, therefore, yoga teachers have a far greater responsibility to their students.

4. Just ask

If you have doubts about your teacher and you don’t feel safe for any reason, don’t be afraid to ask the teacher what their training is. ALWAYS be respectful, that’s a rule, however, just as a teacher has the right to ask you about your history (injuries, illnesses, etc.) you have the right to ask them where or how they were trained.

Most studios will not allow an untrained teacher to teach, but it does happen from time to time. You have the right as a student to know who you are confiding in.

5. Know when it’s time to move on

Teachers can only give you so much, and sometimes you need to move on when the time is right. If you start to feel stagnant, stuck, or in need of more (trust me, you’ll know the feeling), it might be time to find a new teacher to help you reach your new goals.

This doesn’t have to be dramatic either. Teachers know that students come and go, it’s not about feelings, its about a service. A good teacher knows that they are giving a service, and if that service no longer serves, it will be time for the student to move on.

If anything, this can be a great compliment to a teacher. To see a regular student grow so much that they need new, fresh input and teachings. A teachers' job is to teach and set free, not to stifle the student.

Now that we know a bit about how to choose the right class, teacher, and what kind of environment we are looking for, let’s talk about a few warning signs or red flags you should look out for.

Red Flags

1. Always late

If your yoga teacher is always starting and ending late, despite all of their good intensions, this demonstrates a lack of respect towards students and their time. For most, yoga is simply an hour (in most cases) a break from a busy day, where the student can find peace, permission to let go, stretch, and sweat a bit before having to face the world again. It is a rare moment in one’s day.

However, if your teacher is consistently starting or arriving to class late or ending class 15-20 minutes after the hour and cutting into your day and plans, this is sign that you need to move on.

Of course, lateness, missed trains, or traffic jams happen to all of us, but if this is becoming a consistent thing, you need to start shopping around for a new yoga teacher.

2. Inappropriate touching or advances

TW: Sexual assault

This warning sign is very serious and so is any allegation made towards a teacher, so if you feel like something inappropriate is happening, report this in private to a studio owner and get out of that teacher's class. If the studio owner says it’s “not the first time this has happened” get out of that studio all together and report this elsewhere.

TW: sexual assault

Despite the nature of yoga, the philosophy as a healing practice, just as there are bad people in this world, there are also bad yoga teachers. If you feel like someone is putting their hands on you too often, without reason, or touching you in an area that you don’t feel is right (you WILL feel the difference), this is a RED FLAG.

This is not to be confused with hands on adjustments, a yoga teacher is expertly trained to be able to move your body (with their hands) to take you deeper into a pose, but this kind of touching is direct, confident, clear, and the teacher will ask for permission before placing their hands on you.

The teacher may also “spot” you if you are trying something like a headstand or handstand, offering you assistance in order to feel safe and make sure that you won’t fall. However, If you feel like the teacher is lingering, “petting” you (touching you softly and repeatedly as if you were a cat), or I repeat, if a teacher touches you in a private area (I don’t think I need to elaborate), this needs to be reported and you need to get out of there. I mean RUN the other way.

If something like this happens or has happened to you in the past, know that you were really feeling what you were feeling, you weren’t imagining it, you weren’t exaggerating, and your fear was and is valid.

There are so many wonderful yoga teachers out there, trust your gut if you feel like something isn’t right.

3. Spreads false information

Yoga is for everyone, it’s as simple as that. A teacher's job is to find a way to accommodate every student, challenge them or find a modification that serves them. You can practice and should practice yoga no matter what your condition is, yoga will give you tools to better handle life and stress.

However, if a teacher tells you that, to practice yoga, you need to be or do any of the following things, it is in your best interest to find a new teacher:

• You need to be spiritually invested or belong to a certain religion to practice yoga. Yoga is NOT a religion, it is a philosophy, and investing yourself emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically is the objective of yoga, to find full immersion, integration, and raise our levels of consciousness, but that doesn’t mean that you should be shamed for not wanting to invest yourself in such a way.

• You need to be flexible. Flexibility is something we can work towards in yoga. Yoga attracts the flexible, however, it is the less flexible people that really need it. You don’t need to do anything to be ready for yoga, you just need to show up.

• You need to be vegan to be a yogi. Going vegan is amazing for the planet, to combat global warning, and is often a great step towards better health, but that is not always the case. Going vegan isn’t right for everybody! Never let a yoga teacher pressure you into going vegan. A yogi should never feel obliged to eat organic or go vegan. Yoga is made to be accessible and inclusive.

4. Pushes you too hard physically

Another red flag to be aware of, ask yourself, is your teacher challenging you in a safe way or putting you in danger of injury? Some teachers like to use the student’s body as an example instead of their own. This can be motivating for other students but if done without consent or preparedness, this can quickly lead to injury.

This can happen, does happen and you need to be aware that, a teacher is there to guide you, not to push you. Being pushed too far can result in injury, something that you will have to treat at your own cost, not theirs.

If a yoga teacher touches you or pushes you physically too far without your consent, this is NOT the teacher for you, or for anyone frankly.

Remember that there are incredible yoga teachers out there who want to help you and there are those who just want to make money and boost their own ego.

Final Words

When choosing a teacher to study and learn from, of course, take class from many different teachers, but remember that yoga is a deep and vulnerable practice and you need to make sure that you are in good and safe hands.

A good rule of thumb is, when in class, ask yourself; do I feel safe, at ease, supported, and challenged to be my very best, whatever that looks and feels like for me today?

When you leave class do you feel inspired, uplifted, calm, and eager to learn more?

Then don’t second guess it! It sounds like you have found the right balance between striving for more and being content with where you are.

Enjoy the ride, yoga is not a destination, its a journey and you’ve only just started.

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Jasmine Melrose

Director & Founder of DECO the Blog

Jasmine Melrose is a Toronto native living in Amsterdam. Once a professional dancer, her passions include movement, fitness, yoga, healing, and all things vegan. Jasmine is a 500-hour trained yoga teacher, who loves to get you deeper into your practice. She is also a certified barre teacher who loves making raw vegan, guilt-free and good-for-you treats. Check out her recipes and articles on everything from fitness to yoga, to notes on a journey towards healing.

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