TRAVELMAN INDIA: “In India, you can throw a rock in the air and it will hit a yoga teacher. But most are not true teachers.”

This is my third full day of my month long 200hr study of Yoga. I will be certified to teach yoga when the course is over. I think this is a bit ridiculous. With my 200 hrs of study, that will make about 204 total hours I’ve spent in a yoga class (and you can throw in my twenty or so attempts at the P90x workout program Yoga X workout). I do not believe I will be a yoga teacher in a month; I’ll still be a student. The assistant teacher at my school, who I will call Gunther (because I cant remember his name), believes this to be the case as well.

I heard he was from Greece, but his accent sounds more Austrian to me. He taught our first Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga class last night and he will be teaching us this same class three times a week.

He looks to be in his fifties, has a blonde hairline receding to the Alps, and the cut of it looks like a short Mohawk with a tail that grew out four months ago. He’s more fit than most twenty year-olds, he has the body of a gymnast, and last night we found out that he can put the souls of both feet flat on his abdomen. That’s proof of legitimacy if I ever saw it.

He’s funny and and passionate about his life practice of yoga. His room is next to mine in the motel. A door tram-like screen separates the top of the shared wall of our bathroom. I can hear everything from his room and the room that connects on the other wall. I hear him chanting mantras early in the morning when I get up and go to the bathroom. I often feel like I need to apologize to him for what he hears from my bathroom as he chants and meditates.

Gunther explained that there is no difference between Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga. They are not separate, it is Ashtanga Vinyasa. There is no such thing as flow yoga, it’s just a bastardization of Ashtanga Vinyasa. This type of yoga has the practioner moving silently from one pose to the next, and there’s more jumping into position than in Hatha. It moves faster. Since it moves this way people began calling it yoga flow. Gunther laughs at this.

He voiced a few more of his opinions about what it is, why he loves it, and why it’s the best form of yoga, then ended his proselytizing with “It’s my opinion and I love it!” I believe that in context the “it” to which he referred was the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, but I like to think of the quote as stating that he loved his opinion. Most people are in love with their opinions, so it’s refreshing if someone says so.

He said a lot of inspiring things during the hour and a half. I liked his class so much that I wish he was the main teacher. At the same time, I think it’s best that I start with Hatha, then move into the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa. During class he comes by and repositions me into correct form. I’m very tight and inflexible, he breathes close to me, queuing me to breathe in sync, then he tugs me into a deeper stretch with short sharp tugs and breaths, and it feels awesome. He’ll say, in his accent, “Breathe. Breathe...(tug, tug) ...Good. Good!” Then he walks on to correct someone else.

He told me to eat Ghee because it will make me more flexible. Haven’t followed this instruction yet. Ghee is something like what’s left after cooking down butter.

This morning’s class was great. I got up early and did a little bit of pre-stretching. I’m still not sure about top Yogi Bear in charge (He’s not really a Yogi or a bear, he’s a doctor of Ayuvedic medicine and long time yoga practioner/teacher). He kind of pisses me off sometimes. I feel he should be a better teacher and his materials should be more organized. He’s well known and respected though, so I’m giving him the benefit of reputation. And Gunther is studying under his tutelage, so there’s that validation.

During class, Gunther said that there are very few yoga teachers. They call themselves teachers but most are students, most all are students. He got a big laugh when he said that in India, one can throw a rock in the air and hit a so-called yoga teacher. He asks these “teachers” how many hours a day they practice, not teach classes, but practice. Practice, practice, practice. Four hours a day at last is what Gunther lives by. That’s a bit much for me so I’ll remain a student.