The Art & Craft of Teaching - The Basics

Finding a yoga studio to practice in while on vacation is hit or miss, unless you have a recommendation from a friend.  Every year when I visit my brother in Florida, I always look for a new studio/teacher.  So far, I haven’t found one that I like.  I know that I am a bit of a yoga snob, but there are certain things that can ruin the experience for me.  Because I train people to become yoga teachers, these are skills that I think are essential for every new teacher to know.  These are some of the basic elements I instruct my students in when I teach The Art & Craft of Teaching.

Intelligent sequencing:  You should have a class plan and know when to follow it and when to change course.  If your plan was to teach arm balances, but you have a room full of new students, it may be necessary to alter your plan.  Make sure you properly warm your students up to do poses.  This should go without saying. Doing advanced poses requires time and awakening of the various body parts to ensure safety and success.  You should have an idea of benchmark or gateway poses for any of your peak poses.  If students cannot do the gateway posture, then they certainly won’t be able to do the peak pose.

Enthusiasm: Even if you are a newer teacher, your enthusiasm will help your students get into the sequence you have chosen.  As an advanced practitioner, I can work hard even on basic poses if the instructions are good.  Encourage your students to be interested in the foundation and general form of the poses.

Self-study:  Take pictures of yourself in poses or practice in front of a mirror.  Sometimes the things we think we are doing, we are not.   Develop and maintain a home practice.  Teach from what you know and experience to be true.  Don’t just parrot back the last class you took.  Own the material you are teaching.  Digging into a single pose on your mat could fuel a month’s worth of classes.

Mirroring:  Unless you are showing something that is happening behind your back, don’t turn your back on your class.  If you are doing the poses, face them.  Mirroring is a skill that every yoga teacher should have.  It isn’t hard to do, but it does take concentration and practice.

Teach the class, don’t lead it:  Sure there are times when you can lead a practice, but most of the time, you should be teaching and learning about your students.  Notice when you give an instruction, were they able to follow it?  If not, why?  You might not be able to do anything about it in that moment, but it can help you learn more about how to teach poses.  You can certainly learn much more than if you are simply on your mat doing your own practice.

Put in the time:  To become a really good yoga teacher you need to put in the time.  Author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert.  But meanwhile, there are skills to practice that make the difference between being a mediocre yoga teacher and becoming a really good one.  Strive for excellence!If these concepts intrigue you and you want to perfect your yoga teaching skills and up your game, e-mail me for more information.  I am offering a mentorship program for a small number of yoga teachers in 2018.