Purveyors of the Obvious

On Yoga Teaching

// August 5th, 2009 // Uncategorized

I am a new teacher and had a chance to teach at the ashram I did my level I at yesterday to sub for the main teacher that instructed me for my 200 hours.  In the grand scheme of things it was no big deal.  She needed a vacation and is doing something cool, she asked if I could sub, so I filled in.  In my head it was an honor to basically be doing seva for the ashram I learned from and to be working with my instructor’s students.

Overall it was nice.  I pushed them.  Had them breathe.  When their faces were grimacing I had them smile.  We set our intention before the practice with the precept of the Niyama Tapas.  During the class we covered a lot of body mechanics and they asked questions as we were in poses and I was doing adjustments.  We also played with some Prasarita Padottanasana on the wall with some chairs and hovered over the chairs holding our abs up high.

The class appreciated the work I had them do.  We focused on hips and hamstrings since those were the areas two students wanted to explore.

After I met up with a friend at the ashram who did her certification with me.  As we strolled the gardens she shared she has not really been teaching or doing yoga.  She has not felt comfortable.  Our teacher training was a really safe space to learn in but she does not feel we were really taught how to teach.  We hardly ever had criticisms of each other.  I can see where she is coming from.  True we each taught 90 minute and 60 minute classes before we earned our certificates, but there was still room to fall between the cracks.  She is also in an insulated space and not exposed to many different teachers since she lives at the ashram.

I have been lucky in my 2 1/2 months since my certificate.  I have taught at the ashram a few times.  I have taught outdoor themed classes.  I have practiced in the community away from the ashram.  I have also attended area-specific workshops and a big yoga festival.  I have seen a number of good teaching styles to emulate.  And if I am being picky I am specific about critiquing the teaching I see before me.

In my class yesterday I did take something from the instructor whose class I subbed for.  She has the broadest, most genuine smile when a question is asked of her.  To honor her I think I smiled a little more yesterday than I usually do.

I think it is great when people learn from an instructor or style and don’t explore beyond those boundaries that much.  That is commitment.  However I think instructors should look beyond their arbitrary boundaries as they learn their own style.  For my friend living at the ashram I suggested she use the main computer to seek out exemplary teaching styles in online videos and give the teaching thing another go even if she leaves the ashram on her day off for classes.

Teaching is an interesting process.  Perhaps if I get too comfy I’ll post my yoga teaching statement here.  I have a graduate teaching certificate I earned in grad school when I taught biology labs so I have pedagogy down pat.  I suppose I take a bit of that into my yoga instruction, but yoga is a totally different beast.  Maybe that will be a different post one day.

For now I dedicate this post to my friend who is lacking confidence in her skills these days.  Not all teachers are the same.  Priority should be safety and beyond that compassion for your students and clear communication.  Here is a little video of a yoga teacher I do not like, she is kind of discouraging to the new student. Even though the new student is disrespectful with his chatter.