Tips on Teaching Yoga

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Tips on Teaching Yoga
Article by Yogi Ram Director of Arhanta Yoga
Ashram
www.arhantayogaindia.com
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Introduction

• Different teaching styles
• Teaching the same sequence every class
• Practicing while teaching
• Walking around and correcting students
• Structure classes around a certain theme like
  chakra, type of asanas like backbends, an
  phsychological theme like letting go of stress,
• Purpose of this powerpoint
• To give some tips for teaching
• To help you to keep your students motivated and
  loyal to your classes

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1. Give your students personal attention

• Learn the names of the students
• Find out why they practice yoga and what are
  their goals in their practice
• BENEFITS
• They appreciate the personal attention and are
  more aware of the personal benefits of coming to
  your classes
• When you know their goals and ambitions, you can
  help them better to achieve these goals. You can
  give them personal feedback according to their
  personal situation.

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• HOW TO GIVE PERSONAL ATTENTION
• Give your students a form in which you ask the
  students personal data like contact information,
  health history, yoga experience, ambitions, etc.
• After each class talk to at least 4 students
• ? How are they doing, give some feedback on the
  class, When you show you care for your students
  they will appreciate and trust you much more.

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2. Do not practice while teaching

• WHY?
• You cant see the students and their mistakes
• You cant give corrections and modifications
• You cant give the personal attention students
  require.
• TEACHING NEW POSES
• You can demonstrate new poses yourself or you can
  demonstrate on a student
• WALK AROUND AND GIVE CORRECTIONS
• Sit on your mat as less as possible and spend the
  class walking around and observing and correcting
  your students
• Give minimum 2, maximum 4 corrections per class
  to each student

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3. Give well structured classes

• Common mistakes
• Teachers trying to over impress the students by
  giving too difficult asanas
• Keep giving new sequences out of fear that the
  students will get bored
• How to structure a class
• Make sure there is a balance between forward
  bends, backbends, inverted poses and standing
  poses
• It is good to have a fixed sequence which covers
  all the important asanas
• You can start from the fixed sequence and make
  some variations to keep the students motivated
  and chalenged.

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4. Finish your class with a proper relaxation

• HOW TO GIVE PROPER RELAXATION
• In a 1.5 hour-class, you can spend 15-20 minutes
  on final relaxation
• Speak with a soft and slow voice to make your
  students feel completely relaxed
• A singing voice helps students to get into deeper
  relaxation
• BENEFITS OF A GOOD FINAL RELAXATION
• Your students are able to let go of the physical
  and mental tension and feel relaxed and balanced
  after your class
• They want to have that feeling again and will be
  motivated to keep coming to your class

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Thank you

• This powerpoint presents only a few of the many
  ways there are to differentiate yourself from
  other yoga teachers and to keep your students
  motivated and loyal to you.
• The author of this article is a famous Indian
  yoga teacher and director of the Arhanta Yoga
  Ashrams in India and the Netherlands.
• Every spiritual seeker is welcome in these
  ashrams for a yoga retreat or to follow a 200 or
  300 hour yoga teacher training course.