Yoga, the ancient art of uniting body, mind, and soul has been a part of the Indian culture for thousands of years. Disciples choose to practice a strict regimen of healthy diet and exercise to achieve stillness of mind and body. However, the trend of gyms and health clubs made many forget the importance of a yoga school.
India has got the title of Yoga Guru from the world for spreading its ancient teachings and the host of benefits it offers. It is a spiritual art that takes care of mental and physiological issues. You should look for such a school in the holy city Rishikesh, which itself is a beacon of spirituality and scenic beauty to the world.
Such a fitness regimen offers the best combination of physical and mental benefits including a calmer mind, and knowing yourself from a different perspective. It lets you dive deep into the spiritual realm and work on body and mind to achieve total union of the two.
Yogic postures help you calm down the mind and gain control over body movements. The practice of asanas requires a peaceful space and the guidance of an expert. You need to practice the various asanas under the tutelage of a Guru who has complete knowledge.
Your reason to join a yoga school can either be to get rid of mental stress, physical injury or tap into the realm of spirituality. They have trained teachers to help you master each asana without any issues.
It is time to share some major benefits of joining such a school.
1. Learning All Asanas is Possible With a Yoga School
Everyone has a specific pace of mastering each asana. You find it easy to perform some asanas through instructions while some would require the assistance of a teacher. The teachers at the yoga school provide you complete knowledge about how to perform a particular pose. You will receive complete assistance from the experts.
There is no shortage of professional support when performing each asana to the point of perfection.
2. In-Depth Knowledge of Yoga
You gain a deeper insight into the working of the mind and also understand the philosophy behind the practice of different asanas.
3. Learn to Modify Poses
In the beginning, you might not be able to practice many asanas without feeling discomfort. You will receive complete guidance on how to modify the body to perform all asanas with ease.
4. Yoga School Helps Deepen the Yogic Physical Practices
Practicing yogic asanas under the guidance of an expert in the school would help achieve proper alignment of the body, which deepens the practice session. With time, the gurus at the yoga school assist you in performing tough poses along with sharing philosophical knowledge of the pose during each session.
7. Destress and Declutter
The busy office life combined with an unhealthy diet is a recipe for disaster. Learning various yogic movements keeps you relaxed and refocus on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. It helps you shut out the noise and busyness of regular life and concentrate on what actually matters.
8. Yoga School Offers A New Life
Apart from helping you master various yogic asanas, these schools help you develop good eating habits. Following the daily regimen of yogic asana practice you get to experience the best culinary delights.
9. Excellent Way to Relieve Stress
Stress is a part of everyone’s life these days. With a hectic lifestyle, facing a major health issue is unavoidable. You find relieve from anxiety and stress with regular practice of yoga asanas in the long run as it lowers the blood pressure and stress levels.
10. Yoga Schools are Better than Gyms
Practicing at a yoga school has its advantages. These do not have loud music or people screaming as you might find at a health club. History is proof that warriors back in the day did not had gyms or health club memberships to stay fit and perform at physical peak.
11. A More Calmer Mind
The market has ample products promising a better memory power, but yoga takes a different route. It boosts brain function and helps develop a sharper memory. The yoga school teachers help you develop peak mental conditioning.
12. Yoga Schools Help Ease Pain
With many asanas targeting different muscle groups and joints in the human body, you can rest assured that issues as neck, back, and knee pain heal completely with regular yogic practice. The yoga school has teachers who work with you to treat conditions as chronic pain.
13. Sound Sleep Without Medications Becomes a Possibility
Insomnia is no more a rare medical condition and quite common among those living in cities. Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on the mental, emotional, and psychological health of a person. Yoga school offers knowledge from gurus to help you relax and get a good night sleep without use of medications.
14. Gain More Flexibility
The asanas taught at the yoga school help you develop flexible muscles and body balance. The teachers possess complete knowledge on how to perform a particular asana.
However, with so many schools claiming to provide the best yoga training it becomes a bit hard to choose the best one.
Let us now focus on how to choose the best for learning this unique art.
In the past few years, yoga schools have cropped up all around the world and with so many options, it becomes hard to find the one providing the actual knowledge.
Also Read: Beginners Yoga Training Class For Everyone To Relax
Let us check the major parameters to choosing the right one.
1. Yoga Alliance Certification
Yoga Alliance is the international governing body for yoga and sets the standards for what a proper training course should contain. If you want to spread the knowledge, having a certification is a necessity.
2. Find Out How Anatomy is Taught
An important part of learning the art of Yoga is understanding the human anatomy. The schools help you change the practice for a particular body part. It helps you gain confidence when sharing the knowledge with others.
3. Research the Program’s History
Before saying yes to a particular school make sure to do some research into the history of their teaching. Till the time you are familiar with the place, research about it including reading the reviews, and trying to connect with previous clientele.
4. Do an Evaluation of the Course
Since each asana has specific anatomy, and philosophy; it is essential to understand deeply about the course before enrolling yourself. Make sure to study the curriculum and inquire how much time the instructors spend on a particular topic. Lastly, always choose a yoga school as per your experience and comfort level.
5. Know the Instructors
You should gather knowledge about the instructors under whom you would learn this art. Make sure to find out the teaching methodology of the school, and their teaching experience. It will help you decide who is the right yoga instructor to learn from.
If you are planning to take up your knowledge of Yoga a level up, then search for a Yoga teacher training course.
Guidelines for Finding the Best Yoga Teacher Training Course
Let us first understand the parameters for choosing the right yoga teacher training.
1. A Well Established Program
With so many yoga school opening in every major city, there are many operating without a proper certification. Many programs even offer a quick certification. Make sure the program is certified from Yoga Alliance.
Under any circumstances, do not let the teachers at the studio convince you to register for the certification by yourself. If you are planning to take up 200, 300, or 500 hour training then make sure they carry the certification for it.
2. Qualifications of the Trainers
The long list of yogic programs and training does not guarantee quality. Gather information about how experienced the teachers at the centre are. Ask around to know how many years of individual experience they possess.
3. Total Cost of the Program
A teacher training program at such a school has multiple schedules and format suiting the comfort of the students. Some training programs have a low advertisement cost that does not include the actual cost. You should research if there is any extra cost for certification, facilities at the retreat, and literature material you might get from the teachers.
4. Ask About the Program’s Policy on Absentism
Emergencies can come up anytime during your stay at the retreat or school. You should ask about their policy regarding absentism in advance. No one would want to enroll in a program, then miss 1/3rd of the classes as well as the chance to become a certified yoga teacher.
5. Choose the Program Resonating With Your Learning Style
The program is taught by professional and experienced teachers but no one wants to learn from a teacher with whom they are not able to form a bond. Make sure you join a program resonating with your learning speed and with a teacher whose teaching style is what you prefer.
Following these guidelines, rest assured you will find the best school to become a professional at practicing and teaching yoga. However, if you are still doubtful about why joining such a school is worth time and money then read on.
The Advantages of Joining a Yoga Teacher Training Course
Without further ado, read below to know how getting a certification at one of these schools is worth it.
1. Access to Real Yogic Knowledge
Mastering this spiritual art at such a school has its own benefits including improved mental, and physiological spiritual functioning. Getting to know the original form of this art is a blessing in disguise, as you get access to knowledge handed down from one generation to the next.
2. Get to Know the Real India
Rishikesh in India offers the perfect location to master this mysterious art. You not only learn from the best but also experience the actual Indian culture and its various traditions. Moreover, India being the country of origin of this art gives you an opportunity to teach other like-minded individuals.
3. Variety of Schools to Learn From
Holy city Rishikesh has many schools teaching this ancient art including Hatha, and Ashtanga Yoga among others. The teachers help you still the mind along with mastering each asana. You also get access to deep knowledge including Vedas, Upanishads, and Yoga Sutras.
4. Gain Spiritual Perspective
India, the country known for being a spiritual land offers you the opportunity of a lifetime to know what being spiritual means. Practicing the various yogic postures on your own without having the spiritual perspective of each asana will not yield results. You also get access to the spiritual side of this art at such schools.
5. Meet Long-Time Practitioners
Visiting one of these school helps you get in touch with people who have adopted the yogic lifestyle. It helps you gain an insight into what the actual yogic practices looks like in practice. These schools let you connect with yogis and those with years of yogi practices.
6. Easy on the Pocket
The moment you decide to join one of the yoga schools, no more need to fret over how much the program will cost. You also get the chance to taste Indian cuisines, and travel to different parts of the country to refresh the body and mind.
At times, a friend or relative of yours might share a horror story they witnessed during their stay at one of these yoga schools to leave a warning. A single incident should not make you change the decision of joining the program.
Red Flags to Avoid When Joining a Yoga School
Here are the eight major red flags to avoid when looking for the best yoga schools in Rishikesh for starting your spiritual journey.
1. Check the Reviews
Although social media does have its benefits but getting genuine reviews about a service is not one of them. Try to connect with the previous candidates and ask them about the experience they had while at the yoga school.
2. Unregistered School and Trainers
You should always run the name of the school and trainers through the Yoga Alliance website. A legitimate school puts regular updates and news on the website. It will help you stay clear of any sham or fake information.
3. The Way of Communication
Before finalizing any particular place to gain mastery over the different asanas you should send an email to the lead instructor or the administration. If they respond in an uninteresting manner, then it is a major red flag the place is not right for you.
4. Trainers Behaving Like Hypocrites
Once you decide to make a yogic lifestyle the new norm, pay attention to the teacher. Try to find out if they actually believe in what they are teaching to hundreds of students.
You also need to find out if the teacher is open to suggestions and advice. It gives an idea about how much they actually respect the person coming to learn from them.
5. High Training Tempo
The asanas practiced at these schoolswork towards uniting both body and mind. These are hard to master, which requires a lot of patience. However, if you plan to join a class where the trainer changes the pose within a short period of time then it is not for you.
6. Too Much Irrelevant Knowledge
The first and foremost duty of a teacher at any yogic sessionis to educate the class with knowledge about various asanas. However, if the teacher becomes more of a preacher than an expert in yoga, it is time to bail.
7. Pseudo Biologist
The teachers at the yoga school want to look their best mentally and physically. Some of them have a habit of using specific terms related to anatomy and physiology. It helps them create an image of being more knowledgeable than others in the class, which is nothing more than an illusion.
8. Teacher Does Not Fixes Any Errors
A trained teacher can help the student master a particular asana as well as help any student lagging behind. It is his duty to help all students move past any particular technical mistake and not remain stuck at the same place.
If you notice the teacher ignoring the mistake of the student or not paying attention, it is time to quit class and look for someone with a better attitude.
Endnote
With time, yoga schools have opened up in every city of India but the ones in Rishikesh carry with them a legacy of generations. They have experienced teachers who provide you with total support in doing each asana. You not only master the various yoga postures but also gather knowledge to help others on the journey to master both mind and body.
Read more: Learn Ashtanga Yoga In India, the Birthplace of Yoga!