"Though they are beautiful, they are like flowers in the sky...without roots and sustenance. Thus their their fragrance is faint and they bear little fruit."... Anonymous.

It is the continuity of learning that gives one the authority to teach...TKV Desikachar

Yoga is an elegant spiritual psychology extracted from the ancient Indian Vedas. It's foundation text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali offers profound insights and practical strategies for reducing discomfort and sustaining joy in daily life. Yoga philosophy describes the unchanging essence (cit) and ever-changing conditioned mind (citta) in all living things. The formless cit is the source of consciousness, wisdom and joy. The material citta perpetuates suffering by clinging to fixed patterns (samskaras), habits and beliefs, continually misperceiving the nature of things, and substituting its own projections for authentic, intimate relationships with the world.

BOTH SIDES NOW
Yoga's central paradox, therefore, is that although the answers to life's questions and the solution to our problems exist within each individual, when left to ourselves, we often lean toward our imbalance, creating more sorrow for ourselves and those around us. Thus, the self-destructive person makes injurious choices (even in their Yoga practice), and the overachiever tries too hard to overcome their tendency to stop trying so hard.

Because of our boundless capacity for self-delusion, the prerequisite, context, and foundation for Yoga technology has always been a committed relationship between a student and a teacher. Traditionally each teacher had a teacher who had a teacher themselves. This lineage of shared experience, the ‘Atha Yoga anusanam’ of Sutra 1:1, extends back to the first teacher, constituting what Yoga master, TKV Desikachar calls 'the heart of Yoga'.

OLD SCHOOL
Modern students, educated in a consumer culture's factory schools, offered little individualized attention, have been taught to learn in group-class settings from teachers viewed as expendable service providers. As a result, contemporary Yoga education consists of students bouncing from class to class to study with teachers who trudge from workshop to workshop.

Classical Yoga, on the other hand, is a sophisticated science of personal refinement and self-care developed in an ancient wisdom culture. This mentor-based system stresses the need for long-term, dedicated, one-to-one tutelage with highly regarded teachers, to whom students had to prove their intention and merit before even being allowed to study.

MIRROR BALL
One of Yoga's primary components for transformation is svadhaya, or guided reflection. Over time, the attentive teacher can help the student observe, identify, and reflect on their deepest, most subtle, patterns. These unconscious samskaras, whether neuromuscular, respiratory, relational, perceptual, behavioral, or emotional, are often, according to Yoga, the source of suffering in the student's life.

A Yoga teacher also offers an alternative viewpoint (pratipaksa bhavana), an added perspective to the self-limited, habit-hobbled student. As a reliable external reference, the teacher is instrumental in creating the new practices (abhyasa) and contrary actions (tapas), which lead to reduced suffering and sustained joy.

Inasmuch as finding the right teacher can be as daunting as it is important, there are several things to consider before making a choice:
THE GIANT'S SHOULDERS
Because of the emphasis on personal experience, the best Yoga teacher is an acharya rather than a guru. A 'guru', defined as 'one who takes us from darkness to light', is often a person born in an elevated state or suddenly struck wise. The Yoga acharya, on the other hand, has learned their own lessons, over time, with effort, often at great personal expense. The acharya has triumphed over what we are still struggling with, and is a true authority; one who has had the experience, and now knows, embodies, and models the means to overcome any obstacle.

Also, we need to be sure that we really want a teacher, for there is a vast difference between shopping to choose, and shopping to avoid making a choice. Endless seeking is not uncommon, as the notion of committing to a teacher arouses uncomfortable feelings for many, many students.

Mistreatment at the hands of well-meaning authority figures, combined with the solitary hero/martyr mythology has led to the rise of 'defiant dependence', a syndrome in which the student desperately craves guidance and approval, but fears letting someone come close enough to give it.

The result is 'terminal self-reliance', a popular cultural samskara, often accompanied by romantic rationalizations such as, "I learn from the rocks and the wind", or "Patanjali is my teacher", or "We're all teachers to each other". Perhaps. But in Yoga's 5000 year history, a dedicated relationship with one actual person, available to teach us, answer our questions, call us on our stuff, and cheer us on, has proven to be profoundly practical, highly effective, and absolutely essential.

THE RIGHT STUFF
Once the student decides they would like to study with a teacher, they should scout prospective candidates. The classical texts describe the essential qualities of a good Yoga teacher:
Sthitadhi/mauni: mentally and emotionally stable, quiet. Someone reflective and responsible. The teacher shouldn't leak or complain to the students about their own problems (often the mark of a teacher-less teacher), A good teacher has the ability to listen with complete attention, empathize, and give appropriate, non-reactive advice while remaining detached from the results. Jnani/sampradaya sevaka: authoritative, yet knows their limits, has a teacher of their own. A teacher should be quite knowledgeable, yet truthful about what they don't know. They should demonstrate a deep understanding of the Yoga Sutras, and a comfortable command of Yoga's various tools, applications, adaptations, modifications and their effects. While no one is expected to know everything, a teacher connected to a teacher connected to a teacher has access to the entire lineage's body of knowledge and experience, and is constantly having their knowledge and skills reshaped, refined and tested for accuracy.

Teacher-less teachers, devoid of an external reference, are at the top of their own heap, limited in knowledge and resources, and accountable to no one. Such teachers, even the most well intentioned, are far more likely to err, and less likely to admit, or even notice, their own mistakes and limitations. The more popular these teacher-less teachers become, the more they are blindly revered and unchallenged and greater potential for misjudgment and delusionality.

Sraddhavan/abhyasakari: the teacher must have faith in the system, and practice regularly. Yoga teaches that consistent guided practice is the path to lasting change. The teacher committed to their practice (and the teacher who designed it) models devotion, and is a true inspiration to their students. However knowledgeable or articulate, the teacher must, walk the walk and, literally, practice what they preach.

Dharmadikari/jitatmavan: a teacher that's honest and ethical, one that creates an atmosphere of safety. Students generally come to Yoga already hurt and fearful, often with issues on authority figures or the opposite sex. A safe teacher, impeccable in word and deed, willing to apologize if they do make a mistake, has the greatest potential to help students heal, build confidence, and create new patterns of healthy self-care in relationship. Conversely, unethical teachers can leave students far more confused and troubled than when they started. Thus, it is said, 'when looking for a teacher, keep both eyes open, once you've found one, keep one eye open.'

AHHH CHARYA
There are many more qualities of a good teacher: kindness, good sense of humor, generous with their time, etc. Ultimately, however, the best teacher is someone with whom you experience an easy affinity, a natural affection. 'Someone', as my teacher says, 'around whom you breathe easier'.

So, breathe easy, my friend, have a little faith, and if you're lucky, your teacher will find you.