What I learned as a beginner yoga teacher

As part of that - surprisingly large - community of yoga teachers that DIDN’T start off already knowing they wanted to be yoga teacher, I started leading yoga classes without having done a lot of research on its business and practicalities.

Completing a 200h vinyasa yoga teacher training might originally seem like a lot, but really it’s just a drop in the vast ocean of knowledge on how to lead other people’s practice.

So here’s my raw, humble account of 6 lessons learned in 6 months of - unexpected - yoga teaching.

1. The delicate balance between preparation and going with the flow

Especially as a beginner teacher, a thorough preparation of the full class it’s a fundamental building block on which you can stand steady and teach with confidence. Let’s face it, for the first couple of classes you will likely feel anxious and mildly overwhelmed while heading to the studio. Heck even after some dozen of classes there might still be that nagging feeling of “What if I forget the sequence? Is it too slow? Is it too fast? Is it too complicated? Are my cues clear?”. Preparation in this sense includes the sequence itself, a short write down of any talk you might want to give before or after class, playlist (if you use music), specific cues, modifications available for specific poses. Also, trying how the sequence flows in your own body. Ironing any kinks. At the same time, the reality of class will always be slightly unexpected. Students might be shuffling in, sluggish after an intense day and, quite frankly, too tired for the powerful flow you had planned. Or you’ll see people fidgeting, talking, distractedly moving around the room, picking up the water bottle, checking the phone, taking off their sweater, no actually it’s too cold let’s put it back on again. You might want to tweak your lesson so that they can let off a bit of steam before, finally, being able to tune in and settle into their own breath.

At-home preparation gives you sufficient grounding and structure to be able to improvise and make last minute changes according to the feelings and insights you get once you are sitting on the mat with your students.

2. It’s about the space you are holding, not about the asanas you are teaching

When your students come out of a yoga practice and they tell you that they felt incredibly touched or at peace with themselves, try asking them which asana they liked best. Likely they won’t be able to tell you. Certainly, different asanas work on the nervous system in different ways and a well-structured yoga class will alchemise them and allow the practitioners to experience those benefits. At the same time, there is some magic that happens during a yoga class beyond the purely physical practice - and other breathwork, mantra or practice you might include. This magic is brought by your unique energy and your ability to create a safe, nourishing space for everybody to let emotions and feeling surface from their inner selves, a space for serious but light-hearted experimentation. If you rush through the class trying to get as many asanas crammed into your time-slot, you are missing the point of why people come to an in-person class instead of following one of the many (and often very good) free yoga videos available online.

During class focus your attention on the people on the mat, providing support and encouragement, rather than on the specific asanas and transitions you’ve planned for the class.

3. It’s about them, not you

It’s easy to fall into the trap of making the yoga class about yourself. It’s YOUR yoga class, is it not? Actually not. It’s THEIR yoga class. As yoga teacher we know that yoga is a very individual and personal practice and the goal - if there is even any - is to help students tune into themselves and detach from distracting thoughts and emotions. At the same time, as new (or even veteran) teachers when you are constantly focusing on the energy of the class and your students, there might be a tendency to second-guess what is happening: is this position too hard or too easy? Has this person a pinched face? Are the moments of silence too long or too short? Should I add a mantra chanting at the end of the class to spice it up a bit? While these questions appear to be coming from a genuine place of care, they are most often than not your ego speaking. Because you don’t know what’s truly going on for the practitioners on the mat. I’ve had yoga classes which I was sure a participant didn’t enjoy, only to find out after class that they were actually led so deeply into their own space that they seemed completely out of it.

So when you are teaching, check your thoughts to make sure they are not directed at providing self-gratification for yourself, but rather allow your students enough space to make this experience truly their own.

4. Don’t take attendance (or lack thereof) personally

Yoga might be a significant commitment in our lives, but that’s not the case for everybody else. Life is life and can always get in the way at unexpected moments. There are times when 50% of people that signed up for the class bail last minute or don’t show up. You might be excited to present an insightful and entertaining workshop but only few people sign up. It’s very easy to take personally the poor performance of our offerings, likely because teaching yoga might be more intrinsically tied to our own self of self than working in other industries, say as a financial consultant (and I’m speaking from experience). Let’s just take things with a grain of salt and a big handful of compassion for the fact that people are people and they should be free to find their own way about life. Things can and do crop up: last minute work requirements, health issues or just frankly being tired or in a poor mood. And it’s up to every individual to decide how much energy they have and what they can devote it to - yoga practice or other.

Teaching yoga and sharing spiritual practices in general is a long-term game and, while you need to celebrate successes, don’t take any perceived failure personally. Go with the ebb and flow.

5. After-class care

People are inspired to step into the yoga studio for the yoga class itself but end up staying longer because they are getting something more than the practice itself. During the previous hour they might have opened up places within themselves that are still tender and might need some extra space and comfort. They might have had realisations - or frustrations - they’d like to share. Their curiosity might have been sparked and they want to know more about a position or a sequence. They might just want that extra emotional connection. And while your role as a yoga teacher is not that of a therapist (see more below), my suggestion is that…

…barring unavoidable commitments, you factor in sufficient time after class to stay and talk with anyone who might need it. Not only this will nicely round up and conclude the class, but it will also allow you to create a more close-knit and supportive community overall.

6. Knowing when to step back

The practice of yoga will likely bring up a lot of themes and questions (physical and otherwise), and the supportive, nurturing space you have hopefully created will lend itself to people opening up to you and sharing some of their deeper issues. While lending an attentive, compassionate ear is always the right approach, you need to know what’s your role (that of a yoga teacher) and what’s not (that of a physiotherapist, doctor, coach or psychologist - unless you are specifically trained and, even then, you might not be in such a relationship with your student). Knowing when to step back and direct your students to the appropriate person is the best course of action not only for them, but also for you. It’s about being morally and intellectually honest so that you can recognise until where your field of expertise extends and that, for people to thrive, a collective of skills and competences are needed.

Your help then, as someone they trust, is to direct them to other competent, compassionate individuals whose offerings you’ve tried and tested so that they can get the help they need wherever that might be.

As I continue to teach and grow in my own practice I’m sure there will be many more lessons (and maybe a need to revise or update these). However these points ring true to the deeper part of my being, so I hope they will resonate and be helpful for other (aspiring, beginners or even experienced) yoga teachers, because we all grow together and elevate each other. And, in turn, the collective.