I remember my first Yoga teacher, vividly. I was 15 years old, and I enjoyed the practice, but for the 3 years I was being taught by her, I thought I didn’t enjoy her as a teacher. She was precise with alignment, a disciplinarian, and “forced” me to do poses I didn’t really like. This was in the 90s when Yoga was heading towards the mainstream, but Yoga teachers were few and far between. 26 years later and I am in awe of her. I am so grateful I had the opportunity for her to be my first teacher, and it was actually because of her that I continued doing Yoga for 26 years and became a teacher. 

She taught me her interpretation of Yoga, yes, but she also allowed me to experience Yoga. I kept going back, no matter how much I thought I disliked her teaching, because in fact it may not have been what I wanted, but she knew it was what I needed. Looking back when I was battling through a pose or when I wasn’t focused, her disciplinarian approach was exactly how she kept me in the practice. The wisdom of the practice that she had; I am still in awe of. Here I am, a practitioner for 20 years, a teacher for 6 years, and I still look back to the teachings of my first teacher. 

I have always felt that in order to explore your internalisation of Yoga, it is imperative to stay with one teacher. I am also loyal and give gratitude to the teacher that has to be there for students physically, mentally and emotionally. Yoga is a practice that encompasses all those things; and a teacher invests in her students her time, effort and love for teaching Yoga. My first teacher watched me grow with Yoga. She was witness to my teenage emotions, to my limitations, to my misunderstanding of what life actually is. And she handled me exactly the way I needed to be handled. 

I am sure she would never have thought I would be teaching Yoga. And in fact, only when I started with a new teacher 3 years later, did I start thinking “I wish I could teach this gift of Yoga”. The reason I changed teachers, was only because I wanted to experience Ashtanga. My first teacher was an Iyengar Hatha teacher, and I did not change teachers just to change teachers, it was to learn a new orientation of Yoga. And here I fell in love with Ashtanga.  

The depth of Ashtanga was magnificent to me. I had an excellent Ashtanga teacher, softer than my first teacher, not as focused on minute alignment as is required in Iyengar Hatha Yoga, but she still carried discipline within her and imparted it to her students. Unfortunately, my Ashtanga teacher moved to another city and after what felt like a short 2 years, I was devastated to no longer be part of her teachings. Without the foundation of Hatha, I do not think I would have gotten all I did from Ashtanga.  

My next teacher, was a newly qualified teacher and taught Hatha, not Iyengar Hatha, but Hatha as she internalised it. Her classes were beautiful, and her softness was even greater than my Ashtanga teacher. She allowed me to see Hatha in a different light. Allowing me to see the grace and beauty within it.  

After moving from a city to a town, I went back to the feeling of the 90s where Yoga teachers were few and far between. I started classes with the only teacher in the town, and through having 2 children and health issues, I spent 5 years attending which classes I was able to of hers. She had a different internalisation and she combined elements of Yin, Ashtanga and Hatha in each class. She truly allowed everyone to explore their practice, allowing exploration of yourself in each pose she was instructing us in. Likewise, she created a silent and peaceful atmosphere, where only her instructions permeated. For the first time, after 12 years of practicing Yoga, I told her I have always wanted to teach. She was supportive and suggested books I should take up for study.  

Once again, a move was on the cards, and I had to leave the town where she taught. Still having no confidence to pursue teaching, I searched for another Yoga teacher in my new city,found one and went to a class. The minute the class began, I knew I no longer wanted to be in the student role, I felt with every part of my being that I need to teach. The class was lovely, and quite traditional, but I knew my time as a student in this regard was over. I will always be a student of Yoga, but I felt that my time with teachers had come to an end. My intuition told me that the way I was to be a student of Yoga needed to change. 

I finally started teaching, obtained my certification and began the journey to try and live up to all my previous teachers that had taught me so much. I found myself being very protective of them and their teachings, not wanting to take on something of theirs as my own. Instead, I wanted to use self-study to find my teaching style.  

Their teachings were paramount to the teacher I am now, and I am forever grateful. I do not use any of their lessons or ideas, out of respect and Asteya. But I do use their virtues. As time passes, I see the need for my first teacher’s discipline and for giving students what they need, not what they want. I see the need for my Ashtanga teacher’s love of Yoga that transferred to her students. In fact, it was in one of those Ashtanga classes that the idea of the path of teaching Yoga opened up to me. I see the need for my third teacher’s beauty and grace in the practice. I see the need for my last teacher’s invitation to explore your practice, even though you are following the class format.  

After many years, and 4 teachers, I have found a great appreciation for the way Yoga transforms us. This would not have been possible without a good teacher. Every Yoga teacher had a teacher that taught them. And these teachers have given much more than any certification could. They taught me how to explore Yoga, and then how to come right back to its traditional core. With immense gratefulness I thank them, and Yoga.