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| What is this Fit Yoga thing everyone is talking about. My Iyengar instructor is absolutely disgusted by it. I'm not sure I understand what it is about. She says it is unsafe. |
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| i don't like it because it mostly focuses on the fitness aspects (and not always well) and really doesn't bring in the true richness and depth (and beauty) of yoga.
i prefer ascent magazine.  ascentmagazine.com |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 1738
   
Location: right where I'm supposed to be | You must mean Yogafit certifications. FitYoga is a new Magazine.
I could see how a Iyengar Teacher would not agree with their system. Personally I don't think anyone with a weekend cert is qualified to teach asanas safely and properly. But obviously that is all that is required in many gyms.
Now if that applicant took several Yogafit certs before actually teaching, well that's another issue.
Mish
If this is in respect to the Fityoga mag, I like it. It's still young and will develop.
Edited by mishoga 2006-08-29 3:55 PM
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| zoebird - 2006-08-29 3:53 PM
i don't like it because it mostly focuses on the fitness aspects (and not always well ) and really doesn't bring in the true richness and depth (and beauty ) of yoga.
i prefer ascent magazine. ascentmagazine.com
I'm actually not talking about the magazine I guess there is something called FitYoga at gyms now. Do you know what that is? Or maybe it is Yoga Fit. I thought I had heard it mentioned on this forum as well. |
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| Yoga Fit. Basically it's a cert factory for new yoga teachers. Take a weekend class, get a cert to teach yoga, no experience necessary! |
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| If it means more people will try it that might be a good thing.
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| SCThornley - 2006-08-29 4:06 PM
If it means more people will try it that might be a good thing.
Not if they get injured or have something bad happen to them as a result of poor instruction. It also seriously undermines/devalues the certs of all the yoga teachers who have gone through some very tough training. IMHO, they not much better than those internet things where you can send in $20 to get a PhD.
Edited by GreenJello 2006-08-29 5:05 PM
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| ah, Yoga Fit.
yes, a very problematic organization with very poor alignment structure in most postures and crazy training. do a search on the boards about yoga fit, you'll get and eye full! |
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| yeah.
a lot of certified yoga teachers like myself work in gyms and are willing to work in gyms--which does bring new people to yoga. so if you have a choice between hiring a Yoga Fit teacher or a Yoga Teacher, then why choose YF?
it does cause problems--i work with a lot of injured clients, those injured by untrained or poorly trained teachers (including Yoga Fit certified teachers). most of them were 'going to give up on yoga' until someone recommended my classes. they have said to me 'it's a world of difference.' |
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| As far as Fityoga: I liked the issue I saw; it is nice to see a yoga magazine that is not mostly fluff and glossy photos of food.
YogaFit: that is how my beloved teacher got certified. BUT, she had her own practice prior to certification, and she constantly works to refine her teaching techniques; she is a real student of the physical aspects of yoga.
But yeah, I've seen instructors who are certified by YogaFit who literally don't know the difference between "high lunge" and "Warrior I"; then again these types normally teach exercise classes and fill in when the regular yoga teacher is out. |
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| hey, even Iyengar's teacher had him do a humanasana without preparation and that injured him....
It really comes down to the individual, doesn't it?
How else could teaching styles be so different and yet the source of teaching is the same.
Personally, though, I'm extremely discerning when it comes to who to learn from since I learned from my buddy Joe...
If the teacher doesn't have some sort of connection to a living master, then.........well there, that's it for me.
Yoga Fit might actually make some good, but you break some eggs when you make a cake. |
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| SCThornley - 2006-08-29 6:58 PM
It really comes down to the individual, doesn't it?
No, it doesn't all come down to the individual. If it did, there would be no need for classes, or teaching, or anything like that. Most organization spend millions training people to do jobs, they wouldn't spend that kind of money if training weren't important. Sure there are people who will excell inspite of their lack of training, and some people do better w/o formal training, but they're few and far between.
As far as differences in style go, that's the real mark of a master. Just look at picasso. He was a master painter, formally trained, and completely capable of producing the photo like landscapes of his peers. However, when he had master that THEN he went on to produce something new and different. Not before. |
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| Well in our area there are more teachers than places to fill them. So quite often we get yoga teachers who've had years of experience. They've also hired some yoga fit instructors, and apparently our audiences know the difference.
I think one of the main problems is that on a weekend they only teach one routine. And that's what you get week after week. At least in the instructors I've seen the early certifications are designed for aerobics instructors who also want to teach yoga classes at the gym.
Our yoga fit instructors had to get different training, or they dropped out.
I understand that the advanced certifications from Yoga Fit are much more detailed. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 517
Location: New Jersey | I work at a gym, and the yoga classes given here are considered Fitness Yoga. The teachers were certified by yogafit, and teach yoga for the purpose of getting fit, and not any of the deeper aspects of yoga. There used to be a teacher here who conducted a more trditional yoga class, and unfortunately it wasn't well attended. I don't personally attend the classes here because I prefer my studio, and also I don't nessarily want to take a class from someone who never really practiced before, and just went out and got a certification because they already taught fitness classes. We also have a class called body flow which is a combination of tai chi, yoga and pilates. I've never taken that one either, but I've never really gone for the 'combo' classes like yogilates, etc. Samantha
Edited by samantha77 2006-08-29 8:35 PM
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| MrD - 2006-08-29 6:47 PM
Well in our area there are more teachers than places to fill them. [...]
Here, it is hard to get people to teach, especially at the beginner level.
I've even been asked (several times) to take the training because I come to class regularly. |
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| YogaFit training I have not taken.
I do however have concerns over training where teachers are taught to teach in less than three days (which may only total 24 hours). If the training was for instructing chess, or scrabble, or bowling, I wouldn't be as concerned. The fact that safety of others may hang in the balance should heighten the concern as it's a risk management issue.
On top of that, use of the word "yoga" in the title seems to draw neophytes into misknowledge regarding yoga and it's breadth. It creates a state of ignorance which surely must fall under the auspices of avidya. |
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| ollie - 2006-08-30 6:07 AM
MrD - 2006-08-29 6:47 PM
Well in our area there are more teachers than places to fill them. [...]
Here, it is hard to get people to teach, especially at the beginner level.
I've even been asked (several times ) to take the training because I come to class regularly.
Hmm.... Where do you live? Where I live I suspect it's more like Mr. D, lots of instructors, few classes/opportunities. Last night for yoga in the park we had about 6 people with a very good instructor with 6 years of teaching experience, and a life time of yoga training.
She was splitting the take with another lady who was organizing the whole thing. Now 6 people is pretty bad for this class, (it looked like rain) they usually get twice that many or more, but at $10, split in half, that's not a lot of money. (Say $60 a piece) |
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| how long is the class GJ?
because $60 is a decent take for a teacher--even an experiencd one--at a studio setting. in gyms and the like, the take is typically less than $35 for the class. some classes only pay me $15. but, i'm willing to teach them because i enjoy them. |
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| I talked to my teacher and she said that just going through the first teaching certification session doesn't qualify someone to teach.
They have to go through a post certification session process where they teach under the guidance of a qualified instructor and do so many hours before they are certified to teach.
Also, there are poses that YogaFit does not recommend because of recommendations from the American Council on Exercise.
One note: in our area, the yoga studios often struggle. On the other hand, the park district has trouble getting enough teachers (e. g., to cover a class when the regular teacher can't make it). That is why some teachers have asked me to get certified. |
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| according to the YogaFit web site, the single weekend plus 8 hours of free teaching (community service) gets one a 'certification' to teach 'YogaFit level I'
to reach the standards of Yoga Alliance, you have to do two weekends of each level, plus a number of specialized weekends. i assume that the teaching with a teacher is a new addition due to criticisms of the program.
the biggest problem that i have with yoga fit is the poor alignment. most of the postures--even those demonstrated by beth shaw, the founder, have HUGE alignment errors in them from the perspective of the krishnamycharya lineage of alignment. I mean MASSIVE.
so, even if a techer does do all the levels of YF to meet the YA standards, they'll still likely injure their students. |
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| zoebird - 2006-08-31 9:33 AM
how long is the class GJ?
because $60 is a decent take for a teacher--even an experiencd one--at a studio setting. in gyms and the like, the take is typically less than $35 for the class. some classes only pay me $15. but, i'm willing to teach them because i enjoy them.
I'm taking a private session on Friday, and the going rate is $60 for full private session.
Is tipping appropriate?
All depending on what I get out of the private instruction, I'd easily pay $120 based on what I've got out of the group classes that my teacher has led.
OH! and ZB! thank you for giving the studio where I'm going a good reference! It certainly did have weight in my decision making.
Reputation is important. Word of mouth is powerful--it is the spirit.
Edited by SCThornley 2006-08-31 9:51 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| I've changed the title to more accurately reflect the discussion.
purna - I agree with you about being less worried if it were bowling or chess etc., but can you see yourself taking a bowling class with someone who has had a weekend cert? Even if they told you "it's ok. I am also an aerobics teacher/personal trainer"? Not me....
We watch the dance reality TV shows and at the early audition stage they show some of the really terrible dancers, I suppose so we can see the variety of people who try out, and also because watching truly terrible people who think they are good is a weird kind of entertainment. (Is it shadnefreude in German?) Sad but true. Anyway, there were several times when the judges were absolutely appalled to hear that these awful dancers were teaching. Their conversation sounded a lot like this one. |
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| i've never been tipped, so i assume it's not the norm.
my lessons cost $80/ hr. you're getting a deal (or perhaps the market is just different that direction).
i'm glad that you like the place. the teachers are really dedicated and open. i enjoyed my time there. |
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| zoebird - 2006-08-31 9:33 AM
how long is the class GJ?
because $60 is a decent take for a teacher--even an experiencd one--at a studio setting. in gyms and the like, the take is typically less than $35 for the class. some classes only pay me $15. but, i'm willing to teach them because i enjoy them.
Class is about 1/2 hour. I honestly don't know what the setup is. I do know their overhead is probably pretty low since they don't have a studio or anything like that. $60 is also on the high end, like I said last night was 5-6 people at $10 a head, so maybe $10 each after paying for the shelter house. |
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| zoebird - 2006-08-31 8:45 AM
according to the YogaFit web site, the single weekend plus 8 hours of free teaching (community service) gets one a 'certification' to teach 'YogaFit level I'
to reach the standards of Yoga Alliance, you have to do two weekends of each level, plus a number of specialized weekends. i assume that the teaching with a teacher is a new addition due to criticisms of the program.
the biggest problem that i have with yoga fit is the poor alignment. most of the postures--even those demonstrated by beth shaw, the founder, have HUGE alignment errors in them from the perspective of the krishnamycharya lineage of alignment. I mean MASSIVE.
so, even if a techer does do all the levels of YF to meet the YA standards, they'll still likely injure their students.
Whoops, I think my teacher was talking about LOCAL requirements to teach yoga (at our park district). That is, you have to have the yoga-fit certification plus meet the extra that I talked about.
As far as alignments go, I am not qualified to say anything here.  |
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Fit Yoga/Yoga Fit
