NI yoga enthusiasts get 'health' warning

One of Northern Ireland’s leading exponents of yoga has warned on the dangers of classes run by poorly trained teachers.

Norma Duffield of the Yoga Centre of Ireland made her remarks following the publication of a ‘Health Which’ report which warned of the dangers across the UK.

Norma said that the ‘rash of under-trained teachers’ was as relevant in Northern Ireland as anywhere else in the UK: "The over fast growth of the market has led to a too swift expansion in the number of teachers offering courses.

"Many of these are well trained and will do justice to the profession: others are products of a production line approach to a philosophy that could threaten its future," she added.

Norma also expressed concern that the traditional method of becoming a teacher of yoga based upon at least five years study within a centre, or ashram, had largely been abandoned in favour of short-term teacher training courses.

Yoga is a ‘union of body, mind and spirit’ to unite physical health, peace of mind and openness of heart leading to a calm and harmonious life and needs more than a quick fix, she maintained.

"A knowledge that is passed on from one generation to another requires a long term approach to the development of its trainers," she concluded.

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