If you've been practicing yoga for some time now, you may have become interested in teaching yoga to other people, or in deepening your own yoga practice. But, as you may have learned, teaching yoga to others, or developing your own yoga practice, takes a different set of skills than those of a yoga student.
So, what makes a good yoga teacher? When students feel better about themselves after class than before class, you can feel good about what you are doing with them. On top of that, if you can help your students become more aware of their own bodies and emotions and more accepting of their body and emotions, you've done your job. Besides being a skillful teacher, a great yoga teacher is also an interested yoga student. It's important to establish and maintain your own daily practice to become a better teacher. There are certain things that you can never learn from books or from teaching others, that you can only learn (and pass onto your students) from consistently doing your own yoga practice.
No matter what style of yoga you teach, you can follow certain guidelines to create a wonderful practice for your students or for yourself. By incorporating some of the following teaching strategies, you will improve the overall experience for your students and yourself.
Set objectives and themes. Find out the needs of your class by asking students what they are looking to gain from yoga practice. This will help you determine if it's more important to focus on certain themes, such as stress relieve, improving energy levels, back pain, strength, flexibility, etc. Set themes for your own practice, so you have a different focus each time and keep it interesting.
Learn and share the benefits of specific yoga postures and breathing exercises. Studies have shown that educating students about their bodies and the effects of the exercises they are doing increases motivation and exercise compliance. Learning about specific benefits will increase your motivation too.
Remind students (and yourself) to breath and to focus on their breath throughout their practice. When holding a difficult pose, we all have a tendency to hold our breath. Remind your students (or yourself) to breathe fully and deeply. Focusing on the breath also brings attention inward and can deepen a practice by stilling the mind and putting you more in touch with the present moment.
Practice effective presentation skills. Okay, this one is just for those who are planning to teach others. Remember to make eye contact with individual students throughout the class. Be sure to make eye contact with all parts of the classroom. Stand tall with your arms relaxed at your sides to convey confidence, yet openness.
Know your material. The only way to truly feel confident teaching yoga or to develop your own practice is to know your material. This means understanding the effects of the yoga poses and breathing exercises you teach and practice, and understanding how their benefits, as well as understanding the philosophy and history behind yoga.
Be a good communicator.
Teaching a yoga class is different than speaking with a friend or teaching an individual. It's important to be clear and concise - using too many words can break the flow of the class and cause more confusion than help for your students.
Help students develop their inner awareness (or practice developing your own)
Remind students (or yourself) to focus on the feel of a movement, rather than how it looks or how it compares to others. Encourage students to focus inward on the feeling of a pose and on their breath. This helps students (or you) stay present in the moment and connect movement and breath. The goal of yoga is not to get into certain positions, it's to become more aware of the present moment and more comfortable with our bodies and our movements, as well as to keep our bodies and minds healthy through movement and focus. Being a great yogi means understanding and accepting your mind and body, and taking time to care for both properly.
Experience your own yoga practice. Whether you want to deepen your own practice or teach yoga to others, make a commitment to your own daily yoga practice, even if it's just for 20 minutes. It's the only way you will really understand your students and how yoga can make a life better. I can tell you that in all my time of daily yoga practice, I always learn some new thing that I can then share with my students, or that benefits my own practice. In your own yoga experience, you learn things that you could never find in a yoga book.
Experience the principles of yoga off the mat. This means letting go of judgment against yourself and others, letting go of competition. Letting go of expectations, and making time to simply be, by listening to your breath and being fully aware of the present moment, not caught up in something that has already happened or something you are worried will happen. When you are feeling stressed, learn to stop for a few minutes and simply focus on your breath. You usually find that there are no problems in this moment, only peace if you choose to accept it.
Nancy Wile, Ed.D. (E-RYT500) is the founder of the Yoga Education Institute - a Registered Yoga School that provides 200 hour yoga teacher training programs, as well as online yoga teacher training courses. To learn more about our yoga teacher training programs, as well as our upcoming RYT200 in-person intensive visit: yogaeducationinstitute.com YogaEducationInstitute.com
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