yoga information

Could a Blind Man Become a Yoga Teacher?

By Paul Jerard

Recently, I ran into a case in which a Hatha Yoga teacher, who had been teaching for years, was being refused from a Hatha Yoga teacher training course. Before anyone gets stirred up over this, and the Act on the Affairs of the Handicapped, in the United States, this story gets better.

His wife is also a Hatha Yoga teacher, and they teach Yoga classes as a team. Yet, he was still refused the opportunity for certification as a Hatha Yoga teacher. At this point, you might be thinking of the legality of refusing anyone an equal opportunity. I am not an attorney, but this sounds like a viable case to me.

Do you think that the Yoga organization, which refused this gentleman the right to participate in their Yoga teacher training course, consulted their attorney before making such a decision? Honestly, I doubt it, and the idea of a Yoga organization showing discriminatory judgment goes against the purpose of Yoga.

Yoga means union or unity. Where is the “unity” in discrimination? Discrimination originates from a closed mind. Discrimination works closely with intolerance and can lead to unjustified acceptance of blatant lies, or worse.

It is the morality of this issue that should concern us all. It is hard to imagine being blind every day, with so many things that most of us take for granted.

If you want to take a short tour of what it feels like to be blind, close your eyes, and within minutes your other senses will improve. Did you ever notice your hearing improves, when you try to meditate? Try to move around without opening your eyes, but use caution.

When you shut off one of your senses, the rest of your senses will become sharper, as a result of your “handicap.” A blind Yoga teacher will most likely have better cueing skills than most of us. With another Yoga teacher in the room, to assist, a student would get “the best of both worlds.”
This is why we have laws that protect all of us from discrimination. Sometimes, we think that common sense should rule our society, but as you know, it does not always work that way.

Everyone should make an honest effort to understand others.

We do not have to agree on every issue, but different viewpoints, that work together, make a healthier and creative world around us. If a blind man has a desire to become a certified Yoga teacher, who has the moral right to refuse him?

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com/ He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 11:44 AM