Mark Whitwell on the Teacher Student Relationship in Yoga

New York City NY

15 April, 2021

6:32 AM

Description

Is the Yoga Teacher a Special Person? Mark Whitwell on the Teacher-Student Relationship in Yoga [interview] In the early 1990s Mark Whitwell was taking a walk on a beach near Madras with his teacher Desikachar and his wife Menaka. He had just finished compiling material for Desikachar’s first book. But they didn’t know what the title should be. Suddenly, Desikachar declared, “The Heart of Yoga!” The heart of yoga, Desikachar explained, is not the poses, the practices, or the philosophy, but the relationship between the teacher and the student. Without a relationship of mutual affection no yoga transmission can occur. A year later, Mark Whitwell delivered the first copy of the book to his teacher. The Heart of Yoga: developing a personal practice (1995) is now a set text on yoga teacher trainings around the world. In this interview, I sat down with Mark Whitwell to explore the teacher-student relationship in yoga; what equality in teaching settings looks like; what the purpose of the relationship is; and how to be a good yoga teacher. Andrew Raba: You’re fond of saying that the yoga teacher is “no more than a friend, and no less than a friend.” Can you expand on this principle? Mark Whitwell: The intimacy found among friends – be they formally recognized as teachers or not – is the transformative means of yoga. This equal relationship is the necessary means of yoga transmission and personal empowerment of another. Trust in another enables trust in ourselves and trust in life. Mark Whitwell | Heart of Yoga When a student comes to a teacher, trust is already established simply because they have come believing that something is there for them. It is the teacher’s responsibility not to exploit that trust and to teach only what is useful and relevant to each person. Many people who consider themselves teachers or therapists are wounded personalities who use their teaching as a strategy to maintain control of others. Useful teaching can only happen when there is no psychological strategy or social agenda at all. When you feel you are in safe hands, something happens. Read the full article here: Mark Whitwell About: Mark Whitwell has taught yoga for over three decades across the globe, and is the founder of the Heart of Yoga foundation, and the Heart of Yoga Peace Project. Mark Whitwell is interested in developing an authentic yoga practice for the individual, based on the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) and his son TKV Desikachar (1938-2016), with whom he enjoyed a relationship for more than twenty years. Mark Whitwell is the author of four books: ‘Yoga of Heart,’ ‘The Promise,’ ‘The Hridayasutra,’ and, ‘God and Sex: now we get both.’ He also edited and contributed to his TKV Desikachar’s classic yoga text, ‘The Heart of Yoga.’ Mark Whitwell is a father of three and a grandfather. He now resides between New Zealand and Fiji and continues to write, teach, and speak.