Q: Has the subject come up about some teachers disliking seniors in their classes? I'm getting the feeling that older Yoga students are not welcome in Yoga classes. It is getting disheartening. Yoga has changed my life. Yet it's as if these teacher are worrying that I will have a heart attack or stroke during a class, or worse, flat out die. Maybe it's an insurance thing, but I wish teachers would simply tell older students to go somewhere else.
A: Thanks for the question, although it is sad to hear that you have witnessed such behavior towards any student in class. I certainly am not aware of this as a trend in the yoga classrooms, but on a certain level, I am not surprised. I say this because many yoga teachers are not adequately trained to work with students who may have special needs, like an older student might. If you add on to that relative inexperience and youth, you may have a teacher who has not considered the realities of getting older for others or even themselves, and therefore reacts as you have witnessed in your class, with a kind of “emotion of discrimination” towards the older student.
I had just the opposite experience two weeks ago at the Yoga Journal Conference, where I led an all-day intensive on Yoga for Healthy Aging. Not only was the group mature in thought as well as age, but half a dozen of the attendees teach special classes for older students. They were so excited to meet one another that they all had lunch together to share ideas and enthusiasm. So, all older students should know that there are classes designed just for them, and that does not necessarily mean they won’t be challenged. Just that their teachers will not only welcome them to class, but will have a lot to teach them!
—Baxter
A: This question also made me sad. You deserve a teacher who respects you. And you also deserve a teacher whom you respect. This is true for everyone, old or young, male or female, slim or overweight, flexible or stiff, healthy or ill. While some people simply go to whatever yoga studio is closest to home or work and take from whichever teacher teaches at a convenient time, I always recommend that people spend some time looking for the right yoga class. Do some research and ask your friends for recommendations, and then give some of the recommended teachers a try. Audition them, and see if they’re good enough for you! Then go with your gut. If the teacher seems disrespectful, inconsiderate, reckless, or poorly trained (or, as sometimes happens, behaves inappropriately with students), scratch that one off and go on to the next teacher. Eventually you’ll find someone right for you, whose classes you look forward to. It’s similar to looking for a therapist or medical doctor; you find out pretty quickly when you click with someone.
If you are reasonably able and in good health, you may not need to find a teacher who specializes in teaching older students; you just need someone with the right attitude! Keep looking and I know you’ll find one.
—Nina
Good comment. I have practiced yoga about 35 years and now constantly aware of my aging body. I find I am now pretty particular with my teachers. I tend to the mature well trained even older teacher who seems to relate to me and my changing body. It seems to me an older experience teacher is less likely to push or encourage me to do moves that just are not now right for me.
ReplyDeleteI have also had the experience of dubious yoga teachers. Nothing to do with age specifically, but in both cases if I had followed what they wanted me to do, I was likely to be in a lot of pain, due to my physical issues. Thank goodness for other yoga teachers I have had, as I could hear their instructions and voices, and was able to decline what they were insisting I should do. I have also had several lovely yoga teachers who are much younger than me, but are very experienced, and who were very in tune with what is and what is not possible. I don't think the age of the teacher has so much to do with it, as the mindset, and that the flexible/respectufl teachers don't have their own egos caught up in it. BTW I suspect that some of the yoga injuries discussed in recent posts may be associated with classes which are treated like a sports event. It would be very interesting to see a breakdown of the claimed data by type of yoga, years of experience of the teacher, and by the setting.
ReplyDeleteI am a Gentle/Slow Flow Yoga teacher whose classes are filled with Senior students. I marvel at the wisdom and determination that my students bring to our class. I leave class feeling grateful for and even humbled by their practice. Just like Nina said, you deserve to be welcomed and supported!
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