Yoga Teachers: Learn a Sobering Lesson from Hilaria Baldwin

Folks, although this post may sound "catty", (it IS catty)  I did write this for the good of the collective "We".  I want to warn you that THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.  No yoga teacher in their right mind would ever want to cause their students suffering, but it's happening more and more, as the world is becoming filled with more and more yoga instructors.  Many studios these days are focusing on the lucrative road of yoga teacher training to make rent and pull in profit and not, what they'd rather have you think, make you a "star". When quantity is the focus, quality almost always suffers.  This is no exception, as this is the true story of what happens when a teacher who believes they are pure gold is teaching to droves of unsuspecting students who are led to believe the same.  Of course, positive affirmations are good.  Keep telling yourself you are amazing, talented, beautiful, skilled and strong, but do not EVER forget to reflect on yourself and see if you are making mistakes.  We all need to leave ourselves room for improvement so that we may overcome the trickery of Ego.  It is not my job to constantly point out other's flaws because I have flaws of my own that need tending to, so don't expect me to rip folks 'a new one' all the time on  here.  Really, I'd rather be more constructive.

There's a few things going awry in this photo. Can you spot them?
(Answers below)

It appears that Alec Baldwin's Wife, Hilaria Thomas Baldwin has been getting by on good looks for a little too long for her own good and now it's catching up with her in a humiliating way.  She is being sued for negligence, which caused a student to be traumatically injured.  Hilaria, who's facebook fan page has nothing to do with yoga and everything to do with how she is an "actress/director", is most likely guilty for that of which she has been accused.  I am noticing a trend in "star" yoga teachers causing those training under them to experience sufferings of various magnitudes. Just take a look at a few of Shiva Rea's studio's disgruntled reviews here. OK, in Shiva Rea's defense. None of the angry reviews are about her teachings.  They're about the others.  I had a similar problem in Brian Kest's studio in Santa Monica.  I quickly lost any interest in taking a class with any of his stable of teachers, as I found them way too egocentric and pretentious for me to surrender my practice to their guidance. 

Hey, last time I checked every man and every woman was a star (thanks for your drug-induced channelings of cosmic wisdom, Uncle Al! & no, I'm not endorsing living by the Liber Al).  There is no reason why any human being under the Sun should be so arrogant to think that just being in their mere presence is enough to give you a truly excellent yoga experience.  Such an assumption should be evidence enough that the teacher in question thinks very little if not nothing of you. 

All in, all I do believe that given Hilaria's circumstances with hurting someone, due to her own egocentric insanity, she should be found guilty.  I can show you now, where she is guilty of chronic neglect because it even shows in this highly public picture.  I give you a chart of Exhibit A.:

1. Arms are up. This is Virabhadrasana (warrior) 1 not 2, so the stance needs to change.  Step that foot out two inches to the left and an inch forward and turn your toes about 35 more degrees forward. This is so you can...

2. Pull that left hip forward, bringing right hip slightly back (squaring both hips to the front of your mat).

3.  Same goes for that left armpit, so the chest/rib cage with hips face straight forward. 

4. NEGLECT: Student is in a lunge. Their foot should be flat just like teacher's, but hey, their stance/hips are better off than hers.

5. NEGLECT 2: Yup, another student was in a lunge and did you even care to let them know that if they practice yoga with socks on, they could slip and tear a muscle?  Not to mention, it makes downward facing dog even more difficult (slip city!). 

I'd hate to become the new Ida Tarbell of Yoga, but someone's gotta do it...

So, she had been teaching yoga since 2005, according to Yoga Vida's website. 

Why did she suddenly decide that she was too good to continue her own education once she started teaching?  Anyone with even a sub-"genius" IQ knows such an attitude makes one an abysmal teacher.  Tsk, tsk.  May an example be made of her for all self-important "rock star" mat jockeys.