What Makes a Great Yoga Teacher?

There can be many answers to this question: cueing, sequencing, theming, adjustments, voice, music. These things are knowledge or skills — they can be learned by anybody over time. Knowledge requires context to reach its full potential. In this case, the necessary context is personal practice (sādhanā) and self study (svādhyāya).

Theory without practice becomes disjointed and disembodied. Practice without theory lacks imagination. Without imagination, growth stagntes. Dedicated practice and self study provides context for the knowledge we obtain from our teachers and books.

A great yoga teacher comes from the lived experience of a lotus flower blooming inside their heart. First, we become aware of the lotus by learning knowledge and theory. The lotus eventually blooms open through application of this knowledge and theory. Some days, we may catch a glimpse of the jewel quietly shining inside the lotus.

The jewel represents awakening. The lotus represents sādhanā (practice). The heart represents our physical reality. Practice becomes the portal between our awakened self and our physical reality. Those who travel back and forth through this portal become great teachers. This process has no timeline; it simply unfolds and refolds until it holds shape.

As I reflect on graduating the first cohort of teachers from The Coterie Wellness Studio in Charlotte, NC — all I can hope for is that there has been the slightest glimpse into the jewel that quietly shines within the lotus.

The rest will come with time. The cueing, sequencing, voice, etc. That stuff becomes easy with years of mindful repetition. But the portal only remains open so long as we continue to embody the theory and knowledge that we are lucky to receive.

Om Mani Padme Hum.