Namarupa 3 Gurus Interview

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya students TKV Desikachar, BKS Iyengar, and K Pattabhi Jois interviewed by R Alexander Medin in the 2004 issue of Namarupa.

"3 Gurus, 48 Questions"
http://www.namarupa.org/magazine/nr03/downloads/NamaRupa_03_02.pdf

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Money

Yes, money.

I just read these articles listed on the e-sutra list. You can read them by clicking either of these links:

http://esutra.blogspot.com/2007/12/financial-realities-and-occupational.html

http://esutra.blogspot.com/2002/09/yogis-behaving-badly.html

While I agree with the majority of what they are saying, I feel like they avoid the main issue: how to dedicate one's life to sharing the gift of yoga while at the same time being able to live.

I remember during my first teacher training, the question of money was a taboo subject. Maybe it was not intentional, but no one really wanted to talk about it. Yes, I was doing the training for my own practice and to share this gift of yoga with others, but at the same time, I have to pay rent just like anyone else.

Entering the world of teaching yoga was surreal. No one could have prepared me for it. There are no real standards for paying teachers, and in fact, there is often no professionalism. I have had multiple studios fail to pay me for classes I taught, but I guarantee that they never failed to collect money from the students.

I've had studio owners who were very nonchalant about pay dates and the writing of checks, and those who were personally offended by my "energy", when I requested that I be compensated for classes that I taught.

As a yoga teacher, there are usually no contracts, written or otherwise, that guarantee a teaching gig. (Requesting one is out of the question. Being hired is usually about your "Energy". Unless of course, you have been teaching since 1990, have packed classes, and your own line of videos.) The class could be cancelled in a second with no notice. Further, there is hardly ever a duration attached to a class. Everything is "indefinite".

Lets say I want to give up a class, studios often are upset if there is less than A MONTH of notice. At the same time, a teacher can be fired without even knowing it.

Sometimes, payment is given on a per head basis. It is interesting to find when these arrangements are made for a class time that is known to be unpopular, only setting the teacher up for failure.

YOGA TEACHERS OFTEN DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE!

There are no guarantees that one will be able to attain classes. Education often has little to do with it. People may be hired because they want a male on their teaching staff, or this person is beautiful, or they like their energy, or they are friends with so and so. Ultimately, it is about who will get the classes packed and keep the students coming. Everyone has rent to pay.

Yes, the commercialization of yoga can be disheartening. Yes, the number of poorly trained and ill-experienced teachers may be on the rise. But, I am having a hard time staying in an industry (and it is an industry) with such poor labor practices when the product they are selling is kindness, understanding, mindfulness, enlightenment, inner peace, etc.

Some of us aren't so lucky that we can't simply ask for more classes to have enough to pay the rent. And even if we did, this is a physically and mentally exhausting job.

So why do I do it? I do it because of the way I feel when I practice. I do it because of the way I hope I can help people feel when they practice. I do it because I hope that the industry will change. I hope that studios will learn how to be fair and to respect the teachers and the time they are giving. I hope that studios can find a way to make yoga accessible to those who cannot afford a $15 yoga class. I hope that teachers can start speaking up for themselves and that maybe working together, we can change the direction this is going in.

There are some studios that are really trying hard to make these changes. For instance, Yoga Works is now offering a 401k plan for ALL of their instructors. This is HUGE! Some studios offer health insurance, but these are generally the large franchises, and it is only offered to teachers who have over a certain number of classes (so it would be in the studio's favor to limit a teacher's class number).

When are we going to start getting serious about honoring our educators? Not just yoga, but also public school, college, etc? If this is not what we value, what are valuing?

Snow is coming

I try to imagine what it would be like if it snowed in Mysore. This makes me remember watching the "Guruji, Copenhagan" film at the India Song House in Mysore. In it, Guruji is all bundled up, ready to face the weather. This makes me smile.

I miss him, and I miss Mysore. I miss having a teacher watching me. I miss the simplicity of the days.

I walked into my room today and just did my laundry. This event has been some time in the making. But I did it. I didn't think about it, I just did it.

Sometimes when I practice, I'm looking at the tip of my nose, and where I am seems timeless, place less, even. I feel like maybe Sharath is to my right and that the blur I can sense is him instead of a laundry bin.

I want to tell myself that right now I am learning leaps and bounds of information, that I am going out every night and meeting new people, that my classes are packed and in demand, that my relationships are strong and mutually fulfilling. I'm searching my mind, my heart, and wondering if there is some sort of block, something I can't see, some kind of resistance, something. Despite all the "spiritual growth" and inquiry, despite all the philosophy and life practices I have been studying for some time, I still fall into these same patterns. I don't want to be dramatic, but they are patterns of self-inflicted misery. The worse part is that I am usually completely aware that I am doing it. Its like being in for surgery and hearing, feeling, and seeing the surgeons slice my skin. Hmmm.

I consider myself lucky to have moments like I just did where I can step back just far enough to admit that I feel like shit, but also that its all so ridiculous.

No matter all the precautions one may take, a flat tire is always a possibility. The thing is, when one gets a flat, usually the reaction is not to just ignore it, but to actively go through the process to have it repaired.

Recently Read: "The Beach" Verdict: couldn't put it down. It made standing outside on a subway platform at five in the morning in the snow, bearable.

Recently Watched: The author of "Eat, Pray, Love" on Oprah. I haven't fully digested this yet, but I think there is something good happening here.

Post script: But its the students that really get to me. I've had 2 walk out of my led primary recently when they saw I'd be teaching. But what I am actually refering to is the students who keep coming back and keep trying. Its amazing. There are days when I really, seriously want to throw in the towel, and then I see them practice and I remember that this is why I'm here.

5am

Its very different waking before the sun to teach rather than practice. That early, I'm thinking only about myself and my own silly little needs. I think of how uncomfortable I am and how, well, everything makes me feel fragile when compared to being tucked into my cozy loft bed until sleeping has exhausted me. This has been the new routine. Wake up, teach, sleep, practice, eat. with slight variations. This week has been teach, teach, teach. Some days and even weeks are like that.

Sipping my tea I watched my favorite student practice. He's older, and slimy from sweat. He's very stiff and hasn't quite figured out how to finesse the ujjayi, but he is amazing. He comes in every day and does his practice. He tries so hard, despite his physical limitations. He shows up and he tries. Whenever I see him practice, it makes me smile.

After the morning class, I get back on the train to head home to sleep. I look around at all the grumpy little New Yorkers yawning, sleeping, a whole riff-raff of dirty coats and work boots that always take up two seats. I am wedged between two oversized jackets and I manage to swallow down the panic just long enough to notice that the guy next to me is breathing. I can see his coat slowly rising and falling and I notice that without knowing it or attempting to do so, I have matched his breathing pattern with my own. This completely throws me off, of course, and so I purposefully change my breathing pattern and continue reading my library book.