I wouldn’t ask for my money back for the class, that’s just about how much I liked the class. I like my teachers lean and inspiring. That way, I know they are practicing their yoga, they are grounded and in touch with yoga and are not just talk. Isn’t the body a telltale of one’s yoga practice?

I would not trust a UI designer whose website looks so bad, who has never bothered to spell check the sample writing or when the links do not work correctly. The website of UI designer or a writer has to be simply good. That is what they do and I expect a high quality product from them.

On similar lines, I think a yoga teacher cannot be fat, essentially because all teachers are students forever. A serious yoga practice needs to be done with mindfulness and the bandhas. Practice with bandhas lead to good muscular control and the body tends to get lean. Unless the teacher is injured or suffering from some health condition, there is no way, a serious student can get fat.

The classic yoga texts are a great help in taking one’s practice from a beginner level to an advanced practice, which an asana teacher must be doing. The astanga yoga in the yoga sutras says clearly that greed is something one must conquer to get serious about yoga. Greed of food and anything else is to be avoided. Moderation is highly recommended. 

Sri Krishnamacharya’s Yoga Rahasya also discusses food and its moderation.

Āhara means food. But the root word har is to kill. You eat food to kill the hunger. If you do not take care, it can kill you in excess. Eat only when you are hungry and always in moderation.

Hatha Yoga Pradipika goes into such details about the diet and how it must be followed to gain a mastery of pranayama and asanas.

What do the readers think? Can a yoga teacher be fat? Or, am I wrong in expecting a teacher to be lean?