Paul Reynolds

The Teacher Student Relationship

Was it my second grade teacher that I accidentally kept calling Mom?
Maybe it was my high school chemistry teacher that finally explained the subject so I could understand it. It could’ve been my Uncle Norm whose loving badgering challenged me on. Who was that one hatha yoga teacher, on that one ‘epic’ day that I received my first yogic “ah –haaaa” (that peak [or maybe it’s more like a ‘peek’] of that indefinable connection to a source of being that I knew was always present yet I seem to always be searching for.) Check in with your memory for a moment. What picture or memory arises for you when you define the word “teacher” or guru (dispeller of darkness)

Since the practice of Hatha Yoga has undeniably resurfaced into Western consciousness, the teacher – student relationship has always been in the forefront and the nexus of much revelation and much concern. Teachers seemingly overstepping the boundaries of “social propriety” or even ‘yogic’ propriety scream in the headlines. Add to this the perception whether outwardly stated or not that because of the connection to a spiritual ‘method or practice’ the hatha teacher can be and sometimes is cast into the role of a direct conduit to the Source. (In this humble author’s opinion this is true, just as it is true that we are all such conduits though it may sometimes take a lifetime, or two or three … [and a few gurus] to really embrace that connection)

What are the responsibilities of this person called teacher or ‘guru’
What makes a “good”/ effective teacher? And as a beginning student of Hatha yoga how do I know, trust, that this teacher is “right” for me? What are the responsibilities of the student as they “seek” and practice with a teacher. Is that age old adage reliable?... “When the student is ready the teacher appears, when the teacher is ready the student appears”?

In the Stephen Copes book ‘Yoga and the Quest for True Self’ he comments on the student/teacher relationship;

“Relationships to spiritual teachers and communities are subject to the law of parallel process-they are equally characterized by love and hate, wish and fear, hope and dread, self-love and self-punitive guilt.” Teacher and student grow further and further from an understanding of their complicated unconscious motivations. It is only a matter of time until the situation collapses of it’s own weight. The powerful forces of idealization are suddenly transmuted into a bonfire of devaluation, hatred, and rage, usually coming on the heels of some dramatic revelation that the teacher, the hoped for god-man or god-woman, is really all to human…”

Relationship is a two way street. There are no victims here. It is the responsibility for this phenomenon of learning to be taken on by both parties whether it is in a hatha class, a public or private school classroom, or even a heart to heart talk between parent and child.

What is the responsibility of the student as he or she makes their way through the now convoluted arena of types of yoga and teachers that cover the globe. Do we as students tend to “give over” our bodies, and sometimes ourselves to those ‘teachers’ we feel; ‘have more experience”, come from an age-old “lineage”, have a laundry list of educational references, wrote a book, or talk a good talk? Perhaps psychologically speaking we all have those places in us that are looking for the perfect mom or dad. Are we asking a teacher to ‘fix’ me, heal me, show me the way to a ‘better’ life? This puts an incredible burden on both teacher and student.

In practical terms this can translate into a hatha yoga student saying ‘no’ to a teacher that is adjusting him or her into a pose that she (or he) doesn’t feel is appropriate or difficult or painful or isn’t ready for. The hatha yoga student must be able to tell his teacher “not today” “not right now” and the Yoga teacher’s responsibility is to create an atmosphere to where it feels safe to do so. In class situations one can be carried by the energy of everyone ‘seemingly’ getting the request from the one leading the class- but it is always very important that one be aware of ones own needs and abilities before proceeding. While it is true that at times our mind can limit us to what truly can be discovered, eventually however that discovery will be made (circumstances, another teacher, our own perceived progress into the posture) and another “ah- haaa will be experienced.

The Buddha advised:
Do not believe in what you have heard;
do not believe in anything because they have been handed down for many generations;
do not believe in anything because it is rumored and spoken of by many;
do not believe merely because the written statement of some old sage is produced;
do not believe in conjectures, do not believe merely in the authority of your teachers and elders.
After observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it”

Eventually this line of demarcation between student and teacher disappears as an arena of safety is felt by both. Teacher becomes student and student – teacher and perhaps that is the greatest lesson to take from any relationship – and the essence behind that term we often hear in the hatha yogic classroom “Namaste”. When we finally “become” the other we realize no point of departure, no place of separation, we are one.

“The true teacher has no students, all is Being and only Silence speaks. The perfect teacher has no teachings because he knows that you are free already. So the true teacher’s non-teaching is that there is no teacher, no student, no teaching, and that nothing has ever existed. This teaching must be without words and must land in your heart. If you try to understand, it will only land in your head.” - Poonja-ji

In this author’s travels everything in this experience we call ‘life’ comes forth as a teacher at that time when we are ready to receive the lesson and those lessons continue to be little(or big) hints or revelations or reminders to the questions we all are faced with “Who am I and Why am I here?

“…. But the teaching is not ourselves. It is some explanation of ourselves. To study the teaching is to know yourselves. That is why we do not ever attach to the teaching or to the teacher. The moment you meet a teacher you should leave the teacher and you should be independent. You want a teacher so that you can be independent. So you study yourselves. You have the teacher for yourselves, not for the teacher….. Suzuki Roshi

“May we realize a peace that depends on …Nothing….”

Namaste
Paul Reynolds