I have a lot of experience being the youngest. I am the youngest in my family. I’ve been the youngest student in my class, the youngest intern, the youngest yoga teacher trainee, the youngest teacher… Being young has its advantages and disadvantages–particularly in the yoga community. The older students might smile at the youngsters–possibly envious that we got an early start on the practice, possibly envious that our backbends are deep and effortless (though, that’s not always the case.) It’s all fine and dandy until a youngster decides he or she knows enough the practice to share it with others.
When I decided to blog about my teacher training as a sweet and innocent 22 year old, I was kind of crushed when I received a critical email from someone I’d never met who was “sick and tired of these 20-somethings” who think they can teach something to someone–anyone!–for that matter. I’m still thankful to my editor who smiled and said, “Don’t listen to them.”
When I read the criticism of fashion-model-turned-yoga-mogul Tara Stiles following her recent story in the NY Times, it all came back to me. Of course, I expected the criticism about Stiles breaking from tradition, focusing on the physical benefits/weight loss, and wearing clothes that show her model-icious body (the scandal!)… but I was a little surprised by the collective attitude toward her age. I mean, come on! She’s 29, not 16.
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| Image: NYtimes.com |
In case you haven’t been following, here’s a sampling:
That someone so young, with so little training, but with a big megaphone due to her celebrity, is off training yoga teachers? Sounds like hubris to me. — comment on YogaDork.com
And even with a pro-yoga business plan, the emphasis on youth and beauty puts such young teachers in a position where they don’t have the time to naturally develop their practice to the place where they’re really absorbed a lot of the wisdom that’s come before and then really honestly decide that it’s time to innovate. If they take this time, they will miss their marketing moment, and the lucrative contract will go to someone else. — comment on ElephantJournal.com
Maybe one of these days a little light will shine on in her head and she’ll ‘get it.’ Probably not until she’s 40, but you never know. — comment on FlyingYogini.wordpress.com
What’s with all the age-ism when it comes to yoga teachers? Is it a jealousy thing–that they get to be young, beautiful, talented, AND successful that rubs people the wrong way? I just don’t get it. Some young yoga teachers devote years of daily practice with their teachers (hours every day) and log more time on the mat that teachers twice their age. It’s entirely possible that teachers like Tara Stiles (29), Kathryn Budig (28), and Alanna Kaivalya (30) have more experience teaching and more wisdom than older teachers, too. And thank goodness for them! And even if the younger up-and-coming yoga teachers don’t have more experience, they’re more relatable to a lot of people! I’ve studied with a lot of older, more seasoned yoga teachers … and while they have lots of experience and knowledge to offer, I can’t relate to their experiences at Woodstock or their contentious objector status during the Vietnam War. But here’s the thing…. even though I can’t relate to all of their teachings, I realize that I can still learn something from them. And I certainly don’t go around questioning their teachings. That would be disrespectful, wouldn’t it?
I admire Stiles for saying her teacher training wasn’t up to snuff–many teacher trainings aren’t. I admire her even more for choosing not to publicly disclose what teacher training that was (just because it wasn’t what she was looking for doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else). And I’m glad she’s a successful teacher now with the opportunity to teach every single day if she wants to–because just think about how wise and amazing she’s going to be in a few years!
For the record, I’m 27 … and I’ve spent the last five years of my life (eight hours a day) practicing yoga, reading about yoga, writing about yoga, studying yoga, and pondering yoga. That’s about 10,000 hours if you DON’T include my nights and weekends.
Great post – I was shocked at all the backlash towards Tara Stiles and honestly a little tired of the criticism a lot of people are putting on yoga teachers who focus on fitness or young yoga teachers in general. I think either way, fitness or spiritual, young or old, yoga is still an amazing thing to have in your life and you don't have to be a certain age to teach that.
I hear you sister. I had a young start to yoga too. 🙂
I became a lawyer at 24 so I know what you mean..
And I too cannot BELIEVE the anti-Tara Stiles reaction to that article! Insane and extremely unyogic!
thanks for the shout out.. i'm actually on wordpress (i had to correct it myself somewhere that I typed too. doh! guess that' s my 41 yr old brain not functioning 100% 😉 ). i agree with your assertions and also said similar things on my blog. i'm with you!
Oops! Fixed!
I'm with you!
IMHO, this dismal must have been caused by the scene of mushrooms of 20-something teachers that MIGHT have just practiced yoga for a year or two, completed an over the weekend yoga TTC and started teaching classes. What worsens it, their lack of experience if not confidence might trigger unhappiness / injury in the spine of paying students.
I will be angry too.
That said, I generalize (oh, we are humans) that younger-ish teachers pay better respect in alignments / invest more in bettering themselves while SOME elderly teachers just teach what they have believed in all their life in teaching – which might not necessarily be a good thing.
P.S. I myself have been teaching yoga for 10 years this 2011 and I'm only 28. But I am lucky I have been documenting (OK – blogging LOL) my journey in yoga as early as I discovered blogspot in 2004.
It's OK honey – when we are 40, we'd have (say..) 20 years experience teaching (if not blogging yoga ;D). Who else can say as much?
Love & light.
Thank you!! This was so enlightening for me and I had a similar conversation with a friend the other day.
I am 22 and a yoga teacher (the youngest at my studio, one of the youngest practicers there, and the youngest YTTrainee when I was going through it by 12 yrs). I started practicing when I was 15 and could not even drive myself to the studio. Many times people don't want to listen to me call out sun salutations and think my backbends are the way they are only because I am "young" but I work hard. I practice hard. I put a lot of effort into what I do. Age is merely a number and some people need to understand that.
I commend the fact that younger people are more interested in yoga and lots of kudos for you to standing up to that agism. I know I do!
Hi – I made that second comment that you posted and I'd just like to point out for the record that it was not a mean comment directed at Tara Stiles. In fact, I did not mention Tara at all in my comment. It was a general thought about the potential pitfalls of a culture that worships youth and beauty intersecting with the rise of the big-business yoga marketers criticized by Sadie Nardini in her most recent EJ post.
I don't see that comment as ageism – I see it as a reality that a talented and responsible young teacher would recognize and be concerned about herself.
Really, I haven't made any critical comments about Tara Stiles at all regarding this latest fracas. I was critical of her book marketing last summer, with the "go-from-a-size-8-to-a-size-00" pitch. And I am still critical of that.
Just wanted to set the record straight. Thanks.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for clarifying! I didn't mean to suggest that your comment was critical of Tara (or that it was ageism on it's own)! I think you bring up a good point–that it's agencies and non-yoga people pushing inexperienced teachers into the spotlight before they're ready. I included your comment here because I think that there are young teachers out there who HAVE put in the time to absorb the teachings. (There are certainly plenty who have not, too … but it's not fair to lump all 20-something teachers into that group.)
Lindsey and Ninie, Thanks for your comments, too, and keep sharing yoga!
I've never heard of her, to be honest. Surely the proof of the pudding's in the eating – are people attending her classes getting what they want and need at this point in their lives? OK. Is she being authentic? OK.
I'm 40. I've hit the point where I know that in general terms people tend to do a lot of emotional growing between 20 and 50. I also know that some people do very little of it, and that others have a heck of a head start.
We're all of us great at some areas of our lives, fair to middling at others, and shaky to disastrous in the rest. None of us have it all sussed out all the time.
I've been doing yoga for nearly a year, and what I've got from my teacher, my classmates, and my practice solidifies what I already suspected: that it's the ground between positions that's the most fertile. Venturing out onto it from our safety zones to work it together takes courage.
You're really missed the point of why some folks are not too pleased with Tara Stiles. It's not that she is young, it's her focus on Yoga making you "Slim, Calm, and Sexy." The outward direction of her teachings is what some of us have a problem with.
And to not honor her teachers is pretty unusual would not you agree? Especially with her financial means, if the TT really was that bad she could have trained with someone else.
I have followed all those discussions pretty closely because partly I think people should do whatever works for them and if they love taking classes with Ms. Stiles, why not? But I am also very concerned about her very well marketed message she sends….which really has almost nothing to do with Yoga. And I think it's great that people speak out about this issue.
So ageism in Stiles's case? I really do not think so.
—Sabine
I have to agree mostly with Erica. I've seen this happen alot of other places where the 'experts' dismiss the 'upstarts' – you can see this play out in the colleges among professors, in business, loads of other areas.
I saw alot of resentment that Stiles didn't follow the 'approved way'. Well sorry yoga mavens, I believe in free choice and being able to see what path works best for me. If the 'sacred' way works so well for everyone, why all the anger, hatred, and jealousy. People were dissecting every word of hers in that article like she had brought them carved in stone from a mountain top.
I posted on twitter that media has reduced the time to reach yogastar status and called it the Kelly Clarkson effect. What I meant was everything is sped up, because Kelly is one talented singer and deserved her place. I betcha she had some putdowns because she hadn't paid her dues the way many performers had to. Sorry that's life.
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