Inner Divinity Yoga Blog

Q: Super Yoga Lady I have a question for you.  The DVD workouts have conflicting information the when you are doing a forward bend i.e. legs straight hand to the floor some say keep your legs bent a little and other say pretty much lock your knees.  Which one is appropriate or are the both appropriate at different times?  Your advice would be much appreciated.

~JP
A:  Thanks for the question!  Either straight legs or bent are fine – and both are appropriate at different times.  For example, my hamstrings are pretty open so most days my legs are straight.  However, if I am having a bad back day, I will bend my knees slightly.  NEVER lock the knees – this can create hyper extension, which is never a good idea.  Keep the thighs engaged instead. We always want to be mindful of the knees and the term “locking” is violent and encourages a hard core approach, which contradicts yoga philosophy to keep the posture steady and COMFORTABLE.

Shanti,

Theresa

Q:  ”What is all this CYT and RYT stuff after yoga instructors names?”

A:  CYT stands for Certified Yoga Teacher and RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher.  This is a way of telling the public that the teacher has taken the “required” teacher training in order to be a safe instructor.  The idea for certification started years ago when some yoga instructors were concerned about untrained people teaching yoga to the public and risking injuring people. While this is a valid idea, it is still no guarantee that your teacher will be safe.  Many teacher training programs are hastily put together and some will even pass people through their program like a fast food restaurant.  Some programs will even accept people who have NO yoga experience.  The reason – yoga teacher training programs are extremely lucrative and a full program equals big bucks.

RYT means that you are registered with the Yoga Alliance.  What is the Yoga Alliance? It is a group of yoga teachers who are supposed to monitor other yoga teachers and make sure that ethics are “enforced”.  Do they actually do this?  In my experience, no.  There are plenty of questionable people on the Yoga Alliance roster and my opinion is that they (Yoga Alliance)  collect money and do little else.  You really can’t enforce anything in yoga nor can you truly organize it.  My question to those who want to “police” yoga is this: who is policing the police and what is the criteria to make sure those in charge are also following “ethical guidelines”?  Personally, I refuse to be a part of it.  But many beginning teachers find the lure of those little initials gives them credibility in the public’s eye (and perhaps confidence about their own abilities).

If you are searching for a yoga teacher, don’t be fooled by the those initials.  Ask the teacher about their experiences, how long they’ve been personally practicing yoga, who they’ve studied with, what their philosophy is and how they feel yoga benefits them.  Take a class in person and see if you are a good fit.  Ultimately, what matters most is how you feel about the teacher, not some fancy (or dubious) credentials.

Shanti,

Theresa

PS Although I refuse to be part of the Yoga Alliance, I do put the CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) initials after my name (this has nothing to do with the Yoga Alliance) as a way to let those who need to see it know that I have had over 200 hours of training.  But my students usually don’t give a rip about that – all they seem to care about is getting their yoga on!  :)