Wisdom from the mat: truth or scare? Part 3 of 3

So what do we do?

Well, first of all, I think we should keep in mind the safety of our students. A lot of what we teach comes from traditions of injuring the body (sometimes called the movement arts, athletics, exercise, or just ambulation). Generations of human beings have injured themselves, and we pass on the movements and postures that we believe will not injure our students. This is a good practice, but the only way to avoid injury 100% is to not move. I'd prefer to move and get injured rather than live on a floating lounge chair sucking my nutrient goo through my iphone.

Equally important, I think we need to emphasize (to our students and ourselves) that yoga is the search for truth. Sometimes, truth is the main thing missing from directives that are stated with clarity and authority. Our teachings are only guides, not fundamental truths. If we teach from a place of absolute authority, we risk corrupting the entire art of yoga. 

Perhaps we should be teaching our students to question authority in the search for truth.  If our students find a similar answer to our own, then great! We've come to some agreement. If our students find a different answer, even better! They've taken the first step on the path.