The Benefits of Teaching Yoga

 by Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati

Teaching Yoga gives us an opportunity to serve others (Sanskrit, ‘seva’). Service is an essential aspect of Yoga - fundamental in the awakening of higher awareness and going deeper into realisation of the Spirit.

For those who are so inspired and who have the necessary background of Yoga, teaching Yoga is an excellent means of following the path of Seva. It enables us to really be of help to others in improving the quality of their lives. Teaching Yoga puts us in touch with people on a deeper level and, where appropriate, gives us the opportunity to respond to their needs.

Teaching Yoga is about sharing ourselves and our experience of Yoga, with humility.

Teaching Yoga is about sharing a sacred space where we can experience the intelligence and power of the Universe.
Teaching Yoga also gives us the impetus to learn more about Yoga and deepen our own practice. We are obliged to widen our understanding of Yoga and its vast repertoire of practices and to develop awareness of their effects on our body, mind and emotions. Only when we do this are we ready to share these practices with others so that, with guidance, they too may discover their effects and benefits for themselves.

Teaching Yoga requires us to deepen our self perception and understanding. Without this we cannot help others to deepen their understanding. Teaching Yoga can be a vital factor in our own transformation as well as that of our students.

Teaching Yoga is about developing our intuition and sensitivity so that we know what is appropriate for an individual or for the group. We learn to ‘feel’ a situation and know when it is right to offer guidance and support, when to change tack, when to step back and when to be silent.

Teaching Yoga is about sharing - sharing on a physical level by helping people to work on their body - sharing on a mental-emotion level by helping people to confront their unruly mind and gain a deeper understanding of how it functions - and sharing on a sublime level, as we glimpse beyond the veil of our conditioned everyday perception.