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Showing posts with label exceptional yoga teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exceptional yoga teachers. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Secrets of Exceptional Yoga Teachers

teaching your students
By Faye Martins

If you are a new yoga instructor, then you will want to understand the secrets of the most successful yoga teachers. Here are a few essential tips from exceptional yoga instructors. 

1: Remember That You Were Once a Beginner

After practicing yoga postures and meditation for many years, it is easy to forget what it is like being a beginner. If you have a condescending attitude toward your new students, then they will feel uncomfortable asking questions or making a mistake. While maintaining a yoga pose is easy for you now, it probably was difficult for you when you were a new student. 



2: Make Your Yoga Students Feel Special 

While teaching your students, make an effort to remember their names. When you are teaching a class, walk around the room to help a student who is having difficulty with a posture and make eye contact frequently. Have an open door policy that permits students to ask questions. In addition, keep track of a student’s special needs such as requiring a bolster pillow for a bad back.

3: Practice Speaking to Your Students

When you struggle with speaking in public, you will need to practice to communicate effectively with your students. Make sure that you understand how to use the correct tone of voice so that the students in the back of a class can hear you while the students in the front don’t feel as though you are yelling.

4: Keep Your Yoga Classes Interesting 

Make your yoga classes interesting by changing the routines or settings occasionally. You can play music during a class while inside your yoga studio, or arrange to take your students outside on a nice day to perform simple postures. By using creativity in your yoga classes, your students will not become bored, and they are more likely to sign up for new sessions.

5: Add Extra Value to a Yoga Class

While your students might want to join a yoga class to increase the flexibility in their joints, you can add extra value to a class by including information about nutrition or other forms of exercise. Permit a current student to bring along a friend occasionally so that you can showcase your classes to a new audience.

6: Maintain a Supply of Specialized Yoga Props

Have a supply of specialized props available for students who need items such as straps, pillows or slant boards. Students needing one of these items can place it near to them before beginning a routine so that they won’t miss out on any of the class’s postures or movements.

7: Accept Feedback From Your Students

Accepting feedback from your students is one of the most important ways to become an exceptional yoga instructor. By listening to your students, you might learn that you need to have more lighting in your studio, or you may learn that students don’t understand some of the instructions that you are providing.

8: Offer an Assortment of Classes

If you want to reach a variety of students, then offer an assortment of classes. One group of students might want to learn how to balance better while another class will want to learn complex poses. In addition, you can offer classes for different age groups or genders. 

9: Never Stop Learning New Yoga Methods

Despite being an excellent yoga instructor, you should continue to learn new methods yourself. Make sure to enroll in continuing education classes at an online school or local community college. Alternatively, you can travel to other regions to take weekend workshops. 

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Secrets of Exceptional Yoga Teachers, Part 1

yoga training
Secrets of Exceptional Yoga Teachers, Part 1

By Paul Jerard

Would you like to know a formula for becoming an exceptional Yoga teacher? What separates the exceptional Yoga teacher from the “pack?” Here is an itemized formula to become an exceptional and successful Yoga instructor.

Continuing education is part of a Yoga instructor’s job description. Although you may teach Yoga, you must accept being a student of Yoga for life. Learn what you can, to benefit your Yoga student’s ailments, and when you have time, learn a little bit more. With 5,000 years of documentation behind it, Yoga is like a great mountain where one lifetime will just not be enough to discover everything.

Patience is the next ingredient within an exceptional Yoga teacher. Be patient with yourself, your family, your friends, and your Yoga students. Do not put pressure on anyone unnecessarily. Some Yoga students have to grow into the practice. You might be unknowingly doing the same to yourself or your loved ones. The key is to become aware of it and always be mindful of others.

Take action and understand the laws of cause and effect (Karma). Most of the world takes no action at all, but exceptional Yoga teachers do not “sit on their hands.” Just by taking action, you will be a success in life. Great ideas mean nothing without action, but your actions should always help others. It is fine to help yourself, just make sure you are not harming anything in the process.

Compassion is needed to become an exceptional Yoga teacher. You must show compassion for Yoga students and for mankind. Treat everyone possible with loving kindness. When this is impossible avoid negative people who seek pleasure through spreading pessimism, bigotry, hatred, greed, and envy.

Passion for Yoga and for helping other people can be found in most Yoga teachers. The Yoga teacher who just “does it for the money,” will not last. If you feel like that, you should find your “real calling,” passion, and true desires. Life is too short to waste time doing a job that you dread. Strangely, I have never met a Yoga teacher who regretted teaching Yoga. If I ever find one, I will let you know.

Courage is required to be your own boss. To wake up each morning and go it alone, without someone over your shoulder is a Yoga teacher’s life reward. Most of the masses like to be told what to do, but the Yoga teacher makes his or her own hours. There is some responsibility that goes with any business, but every Yoga teacher knows the responsibility is worth it.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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If you are a Yoga teacher, studio manager, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Thank you and Namaste, Paul

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