Why I (still) need a yoga teacher

Reading from Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14 and 15, 2015 yoga classes

From the Yoga for Healthy Aging Blog  This one written by Nina Zolotow.

She begins the blog by saying that her long-time yoga teacher was retiring and how sad she was, since this teacher had influenced her more than any other teacher she has ever had.  Then she continues:

"But now I need to find a new teacher.  You might be wondering why someone like me, who has over 25 years of yoga practice behind me and is a trained teacher who has a really solid home practice, would even still want to go to a public class on a weekly basis.  But there are three very valuable benefits I get from going to a good class that I can't imagine ever outgrowing or wanting to give up.

1.  NEW IDEAS
     Even though I have years of experience taking classes from a wide range of teachers and a nice library of yoga books, I tend to get stuck in a rut in my home practice and perhaps even in my thinking about topics such as alignment and sequencing.  So it's good for my practice and my thinking about yoga to be exposed on a regular basis to someone else's point of view on yoga...and it just makes things more fun for me; I really get a kick out of learning new-to-me yoga pose or a new version of a familiar one.

2.  A GOOD PAIR OF EYES
     Although we practice without mirrors by using our sense of where our bodies are in space, I've definitely noticed that if unchecked for long periods of time, many of us can develop physical habits that make our poses feel comfortable and aligned but are maybe not actually good for us. So for me, there is really nothing like having the trained eyes of a good teacher on me, who can assess my alignment and offer verbal cues or physical adjustments to bring me into a healthier alignment.

3.  YOGA COMMUNITY
     ...the importance for healthy aging to be a part of a community.  For me, going to class regularly provides me with a sense of belonging and continuity.  Here's what I wrote about my old class:
I always arrive early to my Friday morning yoga class, not because I want my usual spot in front of the window--okay, fine, I do want that spot--but because I want the extra fifteen minutes to chat with my yoga friends.  And I think I'm not the only one who feels that way because by the time the clock strikes 9:30, the teacher often has a hard time getting our attention because so many of us are busy catching up with each other."