5 Pitfalls of New Yoga Teachers & How to Avoid Them
So you’ve completed a 200 hour Yoga teacher training and you’re eager to share your enthusiasm for the practice with others – sweet! If you’re experiencing self-doubt, questioning whether or not you’re “ready” to teach, or wondering if your teaching is doing the practice justice, rest assured: you are not alone!
In my years of teaching and training new instructors, I’ve witnessed the same struggles and suboptimal habits play out time and time again. Allow me to save you some time and shed some light on a handful of pitfalls to look out for and how to avoid them with more intentional choices.
1. Neglecting your yoga practice
Now that you are a teacher, please don’t say goodbye to being a student. Make a commitment to yourself and your students that you teaching will grow out of your devotion to your own practice. You can’t give what you don’t have.
By the way, I’m not talking about a certain standard for how often you should be rolling out your yoga mat and moving your body into shapes. I’m talking about the internal practice. The magic that got you hooked in the first place and inspired you to share this practice with others. I’m talking about the deeply connected, introspective place inside of you that can only come from time spent in reflection.
For you, this might mean rolling out your mat at home or at the studio, but it could also mean taking regular walks without any technology so you can connect within. It could be a pranayama (breath) practice, a mantra meditation, or time spent curled up with a soulful read. It could be 5 minutes, it could be 60, but the bottom line is you are giving your mind regular opportunities to be still, to digest and create clarity.
We cannot expect to step into a yoga space and guide others to a connection with their breath, their mind, and their body, if we are not deeply connect to our own breath, our own mind and our own body.
2. Thinking you need to have all the answers
Yoga students tend to hold their teachers in high regard, and have great respect for them as incredibly knowledgeable resources. Because of this, you will have students come to you with questions about their nutrition, injuries, lifestyle and perhaps even more personal challenges.
You, as a Yoga teacher, must know your limits of expertise. You are not a doctor, nor a psychologist (unless you are of course). It’s not your responsibility to have the answers to all of your student’s questions. Your only responsibility to your student is to be honest and kind. Provide them with the best answer you have, and be clear about your role as a teacher: to provide tools for students to craft a practice that is best suited for their unique needs.
If you do not have an in depth understanding of the anatomy of the knee joint, do not attempt to answer a question about which poses to avoid for a student post surgery. If you have not experienced asthma and have not yet studied the biomechanics of breath and respiration, do not pretend to be an expert on how to best support your asthmatic student.
Share based on your experiences, both personal and educational, and then direct students where they can find more information or connect with an expert.
3. Talking “at” students
I’ve noticed so many new teachers speaking in class as if there is a “fourth wall” between themselves and their students. Teaching Yoga is not a performance, it's a dialogue. Speak to your students like you are having a conversation, because you are!
You can tell if you’re using a performance voice if the way you cue students in class sounds different than when you chat with your friends. Sure, when you teach a class full of people, you will need to intentionally increase and decrease your volume so you can be well heard, and I encourage a range in dynamics so your voice is capativating, but you already do that when you’re having conversations, so keep it real.
You do not need a special “teacher” voice. Use your unique voice with authority, and you will be set up for success!
4. Regurgitating what you’ve heard in class
“Flex your foot to keep your knee safe”
“Tuck your tailbone to protect your low back”
“Soften your glutes”
Why? Do you actually know the anatomical reasons behind using these cues or are you saying them because you heard a teacher that you respect say them?
If you cannot explain the “why” behind a cue, don’t use it! If you hear a cue in class that sounds nice and feels good in your body, ask the teacher after class to explain the reasoning behind their guidance so you can better understand how the body works.
Just because you hear something in class, doesn’t make it true or helpful for students. Have enough integrity to do your research and speak only about what you know.
5. Complicated sequencing
Have you heard the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)? This blunt advice can go a long way for new and seasoned instructors.
More is not always better. I often see new teachers choose movements because they seem fancy, advanced, or unique. Overly complicated sequences can cause great confusion for students, which in turn takes them away from their practice all together. If your student is using loads of cognitive function to understand what they are supposed to do, they will miss the opportunity to tune inward and connect with their breath.
Keep in mind that a large majority of Yoga injuries occur during transition. Who cares if a transition feels “flowy” if it puts a student at risk of injury?
The first priority when choosing poses and transitions should always be safety. Secondly, should be intention. If you can sequence a class that creatively move students from pose to pose in a safe way, and is ordered in a way that sets the body up for success, fantastic! Never let fancy movements trump a safe, mindful experience, that provides ample opportunity for a student to connect deep within.