For Yoga Teachers: How to Be Interesting
“If your Students are falling asleep, it’s time for you to wake up!”
There are many ways for a Yoga Teacher to keep your Students’ interest, as you guide them each day through the class.
With this short article, I’d like to invite you to do a short homework later on and write some things down for yourself. You’ll be able to USE this homework in your Yoga class right away, and as your Students will confirm at the end of the class – your teaching will be better than ever – your classes will be fuller than ever – and you may then teach less and earn more, which I wish for all overworked Yoga Instructors to get to. I have, and it’s fantastic. I teach classes, make a great living with teaching Yoga and run my own Studio. The best part is that I ALSO have time to practice. And walk with my dogs. And hang out with my friends. And eat and sleep properly. And have time to do absolutely nothing, if I choose to… (My favorite!)
But let’s get back to the Homework.
As I mentioned earlier, you will be able to IMMEDIATELY use the stories and points you can “invent” here in the homework, in the very next class you teach – and this will make a huge difference.
Part 1.
For every posture (asana) in the class, write down ONE thing you can FEEL as you practice that posture. You’ve already been giving plenty of instruction what to do in that posture (square the hips, inhale, as you exhale come forward, stop half-way down, straight spine, etc. etc) Now, you tell them what to FEEL: for example, in a standing forward bend – “Feel the stretch through the back of the legs” or “As you relax the neck, and the head drops down, feel that it is nice to be upside down”. Or anything like that. FEEL is the keyword to use here, and it does not have to be about just a physical sensation.
Part 2.
Write down TWO different short stories about something FUNNY that you experienced during teaching or practicing Yoga. Here’s a tip: keep it SHORT. You’d only have 30 seconds to tell the funny story live. It has to be about you, cannot make fun of others. Here’s another tip: “bad” is funny. “Naughty” is funny. “Completely not funny” is funny. “Good” is not funny. “Good” is interesting, and that’s Part 3.
Part 3.
Yep. TWO different stories about something INTERESTING that you yourself REALIZED, since you’d started to teach/practice Yoga. 30 seconds only to tell that story. Has to be Yoga related (in a broad sense: diet, nutrition, holistic health, anything body-mind-spirit qualifies).
Got it?
Let’s recap:
1. ONE thing to FEEL in every Yoga you teach.
2. TWO FUNNY stories about you and your Yoga, to be told in 30 seconds or less.
3. TWO INTERESTING stories about something you realized since you got into Yoga. 30 seconds.
Later, the stories will come to you naturally, for now you will have created a small library for yourself to go into. You can now use all the points you’ve written down as part of the material you communicate in class. Even if you are (still?) teaching a dialogue-based class, you can incorporate those elements, and that way give your Students a break from listening to the “dialogue”.
You are now able to go beyond the “instruction” and get into “teaching”. That’s something that will totally EMPOWER you on a personal level, AND you will see an increase in your class numbers, AND the positive feedback from Students will blow you, and the Studio owners, away…
Please do the homework and go “live” with this.
I’d love to hear back from you on how it’s worked, and I’m there if you have any questions.
With love,
Tomasz
http://www.evolutionhotyoga.com/
PS. I like to joke around, too. Here’s one for the vegetarian yogis: NAMASTEAK!
Tomasz Goetel, the founder of the “Hot Yoga Evolution” style, runs his Yoga studio in Phuket, Thailand. He is quickly becoming more popular, as he has an amazing ability to pass on his knowledge. Tomasz is well-known for his passionate, inspirational approach, and the light-hearted sense of humor. Tomasz shares his unique teaching skills through workshops, and personal teacher coaching.
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