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I guess I'm new to all this, but I went to the same class that I normally go to and a different teacher turned up. I was sort of pissed as I was expecting my regular teacher. Don't they need to tell you that they're not going to be there the week before so you can make a decision to go or not? This new teacher was pretty severe, much more pushy and I felt like I was in boot camp rather than yoga! Don't you think if they can't make it at least they would try and get somone who was sort of like them to teach the class?? It really got to me and I left the class feeling angry and I wasn't that nice to be around.

I understand your frustration...

but one of the jobs of a yoga student is to learn how to deal with situations that aren't ideal. You don't like the heat, or the teacher, or the person standing next to you, learn to deal with it.

you happiness comes from with-in, and nothing from the outside world should be able to take that away from you.

boy did I have a hard time typing that with a straight face.

but seriously.......overcome! you can overcome!

Hey Joss, I know what you mean this can be frustrating, but then again I agree with Johnny. Isn't this type of situation exactly what yoga helps us to deal with? In life there are always disappointments, frustrations and change, constantly! It's about being about to adapt and be flexible, we learn that in our classes so that we can take that out of the class and into the real world when we leave. The first step is to notice what it brings up for you. If it's anger, disappointment whatever. Don't judge it or change it, just notice it and how it makes you feel.

yea Joss, i know it can be a disppointment if you've finally found that one teacher that gives YOU the exact boost YOU require to get through YOUR week. it's kinda like finding the perfect lover, and then he sends his friend in. ahem.... anyway, the universe will never run like clockwork around YOU. being flexible is surely a fundamental lesson of yoga.

you brought up a funny memory for me. i tried out a new class at my local gym for a few months where the regulars were mostly a bit crooked and stiff-looking. the teacher was a very sweet lady but extremely gentle and, in my opinion, a little too forgiving. yea, to some extent a great teacher can allow some leeway for everyone to go at their own pace. but, for example, i would be doing a full bridge and get an upside down view of the class, almost all of them just lying there apparently sleeping!. the energy levels didn't raise much more for the standing poses, with a few people stood there gawping at me. --- my thinking is this: you get from yoga according to how much you are willing to put in. if you do one hour per week, why just lie there? --- i was about to stop attending when the teacher said she was going on holiday for two weeks. yes, she gave notice, and boy did they need it: they looked like their world was crumbling. i decided to stick around for a few more weeks.

the replacement teacher was a total phenomenon, she burst thru the doors like a whilrwind. a few regulars immediately started bleating frantically that she was "standing in the wrong place", "our teacher always stands over there", and the teacher brushed them off with a cute-firm smile and an "ok, thank you, but i'll be teaching the class today" and proceeded to take no prisoners. the next 30 minutes was some of the funniest yoga stuff i ever saw, as this amazing woman disarmed most of these cranky people of their "really, i can't do this one, because i suffer from.." objections and nonsense.

most...for there was an italian woman who was clearly an at least partly voluntary cripple, always demanding special attention from the teacher and from her devoted attendant husband who rarely got to enjoy the yoga, as he helped her in and out of poses. she continued to make unnecessary and loud huffing and puffing noises and mumble curses in italian throughout. and all to no avail, as one-by-one the class looked to the teacher's light and pushed the woman out to the periphery of consciousness. even her husband gradually abandoned her to her huffing and got stuck into the yoga. ..... and when the class was over, her husband burst into a very italian round of applause!!!. hahahahaaaaa. i just couldn't wipe the glee from my face, so i joined him.

the following week a different replacement teacher took the class. (and wow was she a naughty minx. variety can be a great thing.) some regulars predictably failed to show. those that did attend looked slightly nervous but much better prepared and up for a journey into the unknown. and ultimately, i think that's the vital thing that yoga offers.

nice story

those are two other reasons to tuff up & make it through a teacher that isn't connecting to you the way you like-

1) there's propably other people in the class who really dig the change & need the change

and

2) for every bad class you have? I promise that you will have another class that is that good.

I've been probably 1000 times. you might think classes might get boring, right? nope!

because some classes are bad. but I'm convinced that's because I allow other classes to be that good.

I think it's the law of duality or something. you can't have one thing without the opposite.

so, yoga class could be like a consistant straight road. or it can be exciting like a roller coaster. but all roller coasters have ups & downs - that's what makes them roller coasters.

that reminds me of the film Parenthood. Gil (Steve Martin) is having a very bad day/week/life, and senile Grandma interupts with some in-a-world-of-her-own style words of wisdom:

"You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! [Gil: What a great story.] I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it."


hahahahahaaaaa

You guys are clearly more evolved than me, and I know, well sort of know, that what you're saying is right. It did shake me up, I admit it, but honestly this woman was a monster in lycra. Yes yoga is learning about being flexible, but isn't it also about acceptance for where you are right now, not being pushed where you don't want to go?

yeah, you're right. it is all about being happy where you are in life... some poeple do need to be pushed though... they don't know how to push themselves.... they don't have confidence in themselves and they need to be pushed so they can see that they 'can do it'.

I think the key is, if you have an occasional teacher who is too pushy... don't let it rattle you... life is the same way - there's always people pushing you to spend more money... be better looking... have more... everyone has to learn to block all that out and operate at the level that is right for them.

I wouldn't choose to go to a studio who's vibe didn't match what I need though. I wouldn't choose to subject myself to a teacher who's methods didn't really benefit me.

I can handle it occasionally though. and, truthfully, once you learn to not let it rattle you those teachers aren't nearly so bad.

you'll like it when you learn to not let them rattle you. it's an empowering feeling!

Wowwee.........This post is very interesting.Joss I can totally relate to how yu felt, but then again what Johnnyshell says is so true. Yoga is always learning about ourselves and how in our best interest we deal with change. The only thing for sure is we have a choice, we can choose to let it go and despite the fact that we are not happy about it,ultimately its our choice to let us have a good practice or bad practice. My choice is to breathe deeply in spite of this change, do my practice from where I am and just use the teacher for instruction on which pose is next. Learn to really live your yoga from the inside and I promise if you do that your practice will be better in spite of any changes that may occur. I hope this make sense. Good luck next time!

Namaste~

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DaceYoga

yes, yes, yes! I agree - there are hard lessons to learn here, but there is wisdom in these words too. Joss, the good news is that you don't have to perfect this right away. Think about these wise words, and work out if you can take anything from them.