" A teacher affects eternity; He can never tell where his influence stops"

- Henry Adams

I am writing to you from India this week. A Goan treat - a retreat. I’m here to learn, be taught and be held by a teacher. To focus on my own practice as well as find time and space in beautiful surroundings that renew the spirit. And, of course, to refresh the enthusiasm and energy for the offerings I bring back to the mat when we come together again. How lucky I am.

I flew out on the 1st of Feb - the day of the teacher’s strike back home. I’m also here spending time with a dear friend who is herself a teacher (of the beautiful art of communication - languages). Teachers, their service and importance have been very much in my mind as I write this love letter of sorts.

Back To School

This Christmas just past, I went back to my old school to watch my niece playing trumpet in the school concert. The last time I was in that assembly hall was 25 years ago - walking in, images and voices old teachers came flooding back. The same happens when I cycle past old university buildings and hospitals - the sites of so much cogitation and learning. Teachers that I’ve admired and revered have shaped the doctor and person I am today. Memories return viscerally, as do waves of gratitude.

My First Yoga Teacher

Beyond childhood and professional education, I’ve sought out new teachers in the subject of Yoga which I’ve grown to love. Sure, the meeting with my first real Yoga teacher was simply luck. Or was it serendipity? Like so many meetings that end up changing your life without you realising it at the time, this teacher changed my trajectory. I’ll be forever grateful to her, the first teacher who helped me build a consistent practice and sparked an interest to go deeper. I remember her quiet authority and exceptional grasp of the asanas, held with a lightness of being and smiling humility.

Yoga Bio

Since then, I’ve studied with many other teachers. If you read any Yoga teacher’s bio, you might find a list of teachers that they’ve gravitated to and been mentored or inspired by, and get a sense of what kind of teacher they themselves might be. Like a smorgasbord of influence, you might hear within your teacher’s voice the digested ideas, cues, and gestures reflected back, speaking to the collective conglomeration of those that touched them.

My own Bio must involve foremost my teacher trainers, Anna Ashby and Tony Watson, who I return to regularly. If you’re interested in some of my own smorgasbord, I’ve been privileged to learn from some of the greats (primarily of the Iyengar lineage) - Uday Bhosale, Stephane Lalo, Bobby Clennel, Gulnaaz Dashthi, Alaric Newcombe to name a few. And modern educators such as Jason Crandell, Doug Keller, and Richard Rosen. And I’m always coming across more wonderful teachers out there I want to learn from. So many teachers I can’t name them all here.

Which Teacher?

What makes a teacher particularly influential, and one you'd put on your list? For me, it goes beyond technical expertise. Some have been gentle, some strict. Some dogmatic, some more enquiry-based. Sometimes I’m drawn to teachers simply to be in their presence and humanity. But all have been inspirational in unique ways.

Since I yearn to be a good teacher myself, I watch great teachers as they model how to teach, just as much as their subject matter. And I’m always impressed when senior teachers are able to share their literal and experiential knowledge in a way that supports the evolution of the student above their own ego or agenda, really in higher service to their subject - Yoga.

The Guru

David Swenson, a hugely respected Astanga Yoga teacher, says the Guru is not a person, is not the teacher - it's the practice. He puts it so well when he says that teaching is an act of service. And that teachers are the servants of the students, not the masters. He says that the teacher merely introduces the student to the Guru - the Guru being the practice.

To quote him, “The teacher shares every bit of knowledge they have on how to practise, but the student has to develop their own relationship with their Guru (in this case, Yoga)”.

This reminds me of another conversation I had with Dr Rabia, a fellow teacher. She said (and I paraphrase), you never really know which or if any part of your teaching will resonate or stay with a student. It’s not for you to try and get them to embody what you embody, but rather trust that the student will take whatever they need at the time.

Teacher of Teachers

Anna Ashby, my own teacher and teacher of teachers, is holding a free Restorative class online with Yogamatters on the 26th of February. If any of you have been to my Restorative classes, you may recognise the influence she has had on my teaching style as I try to emulate the way she holds space and meticulously transmits the essence of this beautiful practice - helping people to experience deep rest.

I’ve learnt everything I know about Restorative Yoga from her authority in this style of Yoga. If you are able, please sign up and enjoy.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/restorative-yoga-with-anna-ashby-tickets-526341911827

Thank You to the Teachers

Teachers come and go from our lives, quite often through serendipity, leaving their mark forever. As servants to growth and understanding, many will never know which fires they helped ignite, or how and when exactly they changed the lives of their students.

As I start my own week of practice being guided by another teacher (Diana Penny, an Iyengar teacher of 20 years standing), this week brings memories back of my first-ever Yoga teacher again. She is called Kate Hailston, and she no longer teaches Yoga - but whatever path she ended up taking, she certainly changed mine.

I appreciate you, my teacher, and all the teachers for gracing our lives and for the service you give.