SAMATVA
YOGALAYA

Important Qualities of a Yoga Student Undertaking Yoga Teacher Training

The Chakra Samhita is the ancient text that describes the qualities that a yoga student must possess. In ancient times, a yoga student was expected to already have a majority of these qualities but in modern times these qualities need to be learnt during yoga teacher training. In order for you to become a good yoga teacher you first need to be good yoga student and possess the qualities that can help you master the Yoga Teacher Training Course as well as awaken your consciousness to new possibilities. Following are some of the qualities that can help you to be on the top of your game not just in asana practice but in understanding the complete system of yoga.

An inquisitive and inquiring mind

As a yoga student you must have a deep desire to understand each and every aspect of yoga. An inquisitive mind will enable you to carry out your own research, ask questions to your Yoga Master. Some of the concepts might be really unfamiliar and foreign but unless you inquire about what you don’t understand you will remain out of your depth. The more you inquire the more you will be motivated to understand new concepts, ideas, and philosophies. Your inquiring mind must instil in you a desire to search for truth under the guidance of your yoga teacher.

Patience, perseverance and practice is the key

As a beginner learner it is not easy to learn the asana, balance, memorise the mantra or even understand yoga philosophy. You will over time not only learn the asana, their names but will realise that patience, perseverance and practice can help you attain success. The more patiently you practice the more you will be able to expand your limits. Therefore failing is not a shortcoming but failing to see it as an opportunity to persevere more is. Being outside your comfort zone should not deter you but make you realise that you have it in you to memorise, learn and master all aspects of yoga teacher training.

Open-mindedness to follow instructions of the Yoga Teacher

Your logical brain can on many occasions force you to question your teacher’s instructions or words. But to become a great yoga teacher yourself you need to understand that the yoga master has tremendous yoga experience and knows exactly what you are capable of achieving. Listen with an open mind if you wish to deepen your yoga practice and teacher training. Your yoga teacher is the one who will force you to look inward beyond asana practice and find the real you. Your yoga master is not just your guide in helping you make physical prowess, but you must make use of their vast knowledge and skills to become a true yogi with a higher consciousness

Do you have compassion and generosity?

Compassion and generosity are powerful qualities that can help you to become a great yoga teacher. These are two words that you will often hear in relation to yoga learning. These two qualities can define you as a human being who can make the world a better place. You not only need to be compassionate and generous with your friends, family and other students you interact with but with all people around you. Compassion in yoga also has greater meaning because you first need to show compassion to yourself. If you don’t understand what this means then your yoga master will help you get there. Once you learn to be compassionate with yourself you will grow from within and kindness and compassion for others will flow easily. Generosity in yoga does not mean just giving money and material goods but giving your time, your love to others. This is why yoga teacher training also calls for participation in community service.

Balance and tranquillity for peace

One of the reasons for you to learn yoga in the first place could be that you wish to find peace and happiness. Balance and tranquillity are two traits that can lead you to a place of real contentment. Balance here does not just mean being able to do an asana without falling but balance here has a broader meaning. It means bringing balance to everything in your life. It means that you will not go to extremes between play and work doing too much of one and too less of the other. You must be able to distinguish how much is too much or too less in all your actions. If you can find that balance then you will also be able to find peace. Tranquillity is becoming somewhat of a rare commodity because there is so much noise in the world that you fail to relax because of the constant use of technology. Stress has become a malaise that almost everyone suffers from it as we have lost the ability to relax. It is therefore important to learn tranquillity through meditation as that can leave your mind peaceful and quietness leads you to your inner self.

These are some of the qualities of a good yoga student but there are of course numerous others like having a good character and being free from addiction and morbidity. You must be free from vanity, irritability, laziness and ego but instead you must be modest, sympathetic and devoted to your yoga studies and practice. All these qualities are also a road map that can help you attain personal growth and achieve higher consciousness, which is the aim of yoga. While every potential yoga teacher trainee might not have all these attributes but practicing yoga as a lifestyle can help you acquire these qualities.