Don’t get met wrong I’ve learned lots of things in my first year of teaching yoga… much more than just 10! It’s definitely been a steep learning curve and most of the things I’ve learned have not actually got anything to do with yoga! There are 10 thing, however, that stand out for me.
I’m hoping that this post can help new yoga teachers who just start out teaching but maybe it can also give an insight into teaching yoga for anyone who might think about becoming a teacher or anyone who is simply interested in finding out what it’s like to teach yoga.
Here are my top 10 things that I have learned in my first year of teaching yoga:
1. Being able to do fancy poses doesn’t make you a good yoga teacher
Actually the more inflexible you are the better! It is really hard explaining poses to beginners if they are really easy for you. Luckily I don’t have this problem as I’m not naturally very flexible… to get to the above took me 10 years! You need to be able to think like a complete beginner and it’s always helpful to have different ways of explaining a pose to students. Nobody thinks exactly the same way as you and yoga is a very personal experience so be prepared to explain things a few times!
2. Teaching yoga is not the same as practicing yoga
This might be an obvious one but for me it’s definitely been a revelation! I always thought wow, my yoga teacher gets a really good workout while she is teaching! No wonder she is so fit! Yes, you might be demonstrating poses while teaching but you definitely don’t get the same benefits as your students! Your focus is on them and not your own body. I’ve been finding it very hard to find time for my own practice since I’ve started teaching.
3. It’s impossible to go to sleep after teaching a class
Teaching a class can be nerve wracking to begin with but then you get used to it you can relax a little more. As you’re constantly paying attention to everyone in the class, talking through the poses and demonstrating you are creating an energy within your body that takes a while to come down from afterwards! I don’t think that I’m alone in saying that I can’t go straight to bed after teaching a yoga class… It’s like having 3 cups of coffee with lots of sugar!
4. Sometimes less is more
The first few classes I taught were crammed with lots of different yoga poses. I wrote really long class plans and then found that I didn’t have time to do all of them. Doing the poses by yourself and in a group is of course not the same and remember that it takes time to adjust and help people who might be struggling. Students will also appreciate breaks in between poses so I like to give them a little bit of space and silence especially after difficult poses. There is nothing more annoying than a yoga teacher who is constantly talking in my opinion!
5. Filling a class is not easy
…and to fill a class every week is really difficult! Yoga students come and go, everyone has busy lives, they might be ill, they might be travelling, they might have people visiting… All these things that come up. Don’t count on students coming every single week! I don’t think I appreciated how much marketing I would actually have to do to start out with. You need a lot of students to be able to fill your class every single week!
6. More classes doesn’t necessarily mean more income
There are hire costs, marketing costs, travel costs etc that you have to take into consideration if you set up your own classes. I made the mistake of setting up too many classes too quickly and found myself struggling to keep up with the marketing and admin. New classes might often run at a loss to start out with unless you already have an extensive database of clients. It’s definitely good to keep this in mind when setting up a new class.
7. Running yoga classes takes up a lots of time
It’s not only the hour of teaching that you might do. You also have to prepare for your classes, answer questions from potential clients who are emailing you, keep the website up to date, liaise with venues, do your accounts, keep track of payments and do lots and lots of marketing! Running your own classes is much more time consuming than being employed by a yoga studio or a gym of course but even then you have to factor in travel time, invoicing and of course class planning!
8. You’re much more than a yoga teacher
You’re also an accountant, administrator, marketing manager, finance manager. People might also come to you with problems that are not directly related to your class so you might also find yourself to be to a counsellour to a certain extend, however, you are not their doctor so just make sure that this is very clear from the start.
9. Being a yoga teacher is a big responsibility
When you teach yoga, people are trusting you to guide them through their yoga practice which means they trusting you with their bodies. They will copy anything good but also bad and they often get carried away by their egos and will try to do things that their bodies are not ready for. This is actually one of the most important lessons that I’ve learned! It has to be clear that they are ultimately responsible for their own bodies. The teacher is only there to guide and give suggestions. Check out my post Why yoga teachers are a bit like mums of toddlers
10. People come to yoga for different reasons
What I mean by this is don’t assume that they have started yoga for the same reason as you have. And don’t assume that they are looking for the same thing that you are and that they will get the same out of it as you are. A teacher is there to guide and support. Not to preach or judge!
