But yoga is not about feeling comfortable. Yoga is transformation. Transformation into what? Who can say. If we have an idea of where we're going it's not transformation we're simply heading for an idealised known.
Think of it like a 'Star Trek' adventure - to boldly go where you've not been before. And the role of the teacher is not to take us somewhere she's been and leave us there but to help us on our journey of discovery. To hold our hand or give us a shove when we need it.
A teacher I know who worked with a famous guru at his ashram in India says that he didn't actually like the man but that he stayed for the teaching. Yogananda said of his guru: "Sri Yukteswar's intuition was penetrating; heedless of remarks, he often replied to one's unexpressed thoughts... I daresay he would have been the most sought-after guru in India had his speech not been so candid."
I am reminded of one of Anthony de Mello's stories (in The Prayer of the Frog: v. 1
). A spiritual seeker resisted all the temptations the Devil through at him but failed to recognise God because he didn't like the way he spoke, dressed or behaved. "Such is the fate of those who, in their search for God, are willing to shed everything except their notions of what God really is."That's not to say of course that you can't like the teacher or that she shouldn't play nice music etc! It's just that such things are irrelevant. Incidentally the fascinating story of how Yogananda met his guru is told in his Autobiography of a Yogi
One day we may find our self alone and then we have to find the guru within to encourage us to new understanding. There are few among us who manage to do this. The late Vanda Scaravelli was one and so is her student Diane Long whom I am fortunate to have as my teacher. We would do well to emulate such teachers. By that I don't mean by hanging on their words or slavishly following their actions but rather in adopting their approach to the work.
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