First, Do No Harm (Ahimsa)

Part of our yoga teacher training involves participating in at least two classes a week.  We are encouraged to try different styles and teachers so that we can appreciate and learn from the diversity of instructional methods and yoga 'schools'.  Last Saturday I tried a new studio and a Yoga 1 class taught by a teacher who embraces the kundalini style. It included elements I had not seen before - not just chanting (which almost always unnerves me), but singing; a sequence that included marching in place; and quick movements accompanied by fast breathing exercises. It was different; challenging but energizing.
After class, I met a friend for coffee who lives in the same neighborhood as the studio. She had visited the same studio for a gentle yoga class, but the experience left her in pain and needing two ibuprofens.  She is very fit, but has a shoulder problem.   
When she shared that she had not previously experienced pain as part of a gentle yoga class, it reminded me of the recent New York Times article by William Broad titled 'How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body'.  He is a senior science writer for the NYT; and has a book titled, "The Science of Yoga:  The Risks and Rewards" that is soon to be published.  The article has generated a firestorm in the yoga community.  It speaks of serious injuries (strokes, yoga foot drop and back, knee and shoulder injuries) sustained by even the most careful practitioners of yoga and is critical of under qualified teachers who are oblivious to the needs of their students. 
Teaching is an awesome responsibility.   And while I keep thinking what a significant time commitment it is, the 200 hours of training required to get a yoga teaching credential pales in comparison to that required of most other professions.  I once heard that it takes 10,000 hours (or roughly five years of full-time work) to become truly proficient at a skill. 
And that 200 hours includes time studying theory, including the yoga sutras.  First committed to written form by Patanjali some 200 years A.D., the sutras present timeless principles of daily living.   One of them is called 'ahimsa'. 
Ahimsa is usually translated as non-violence.  It's an expansive concept but fundamentally it encourages us to avoid harming ourselves or others, in actions, speech or even intentions.   
It is giving me great pause as I think of the responsibility of teaching others and the potential that I may have to cause them harm by something I say or do.   And Broad's perspective is making me much more aware of the risks.  Hmmmm.