For some reason I always thought yoga teachers find their own class as relaxing as their students do, but it is actually quite hard work! In fact they are a little bit like parents of toddlers!
Luckily there is no nappy changing or wiping away of vomit but yoga teachers and parents of toddlers definitely have a lot in common:
1. Patience… a lot of patience…
Anyone who has ever been in the presence of a toddler knows that as parents we need a lot of patience. From getting dressed, to deciding which colour spoon is acceptable today, from stopping for every little pebble on the pavement to simply refusing to move at all… EVERYTHING takes a long time and lots of patience!
Most yoga students fortunately know how to get dressed by themselves but a posture that seems very easy to the teacher can be really difficult for the student and it might take a long time until the student has figured it out. The teacher’s job is to be patient and guide the student until he is confident and moves in and out the postures correctly.
2. Being very clear with their instructions
As mums we know that you simply can’t be vague when giving instructions and usually the approach of “do you want to get dressed now?” or “maybe it’s nap time now” simply doesn’t work! You have to be specific and decisive.
It’s the same for yoga teachers if they want to avoid chaos in their class! Good yoga teachers will also lead the students into the postures giving lots of detailed instructions. If it’s done really well the student doesn’t even have to look at the teacher’s demonstrations but can do the postures correctly just by doing what he is told.
3. Repeating things over and over again
How often to you tell your child to say thank you or please a day? How often do you ask them if they need the loo? How often do you read the same book to them? Well it’s the same for yoga teachers. They say the same phrases over and over again until they finally get through to us.
4. Teaching their students discipline
If you’ve ever watched Super Nanny (if you’ve got kids or not) you will obviously know everything there is to know about disciplining toddlers (…it’s much harder than it looks!). Yoga teachers don’t really use “time out” or the “naughty step” of course but there is always one naughty student who seems to be doing the complete opposite of what the teacher is asking them to do so they have to make sure they get it right and don’t hurt themselves. And it’s for the very same reason that we discipline our children – to teach them the difference between right and wrong and to prevent injuries!
5. Being compassionate
For some reasons children and grown ups alike love to talk about their aches and injuries. Have you ever given out plasters to your kids even though they didn’t really need them? I certainly have done it lots of times. Everyone likes a bit of attention and being taken care of. Yoga teachers need to know about injuries of course so they can adjust the practice for the student accordingly but I do think that people also really enjoy the attention they are getting and the feeling that someone takes extra care of them.
6. They are role models
As parents we are our children’s first and most important role models. It is funny when you hear your toddler say phrases that you would normally use “well done, Mummy! you’re a clever girl!” (when opening the box they didn’t manage to open) or “No, Mummy, don’t do that” (with a pointy finger)… They are like a mirror so whatever we do (or what sort of languages we use) we can make sure they will copy it.
A yoga teacher is a role model to the students and of course we want to be as beautiful and flexible as they are. They also know that students we will copy anything they do – if its right or wrong and if it’s part of the posture or not!
…and of course the most important similarity between mums and yoga teachers:
7. They know the importance of nap-time!
I was like a toddler in my yoga class, the lady in front had wind and I had to leave as I couldn’t hold in the giggles whoops x
haha that’s funny! yes, better not to eat chili con carne before a yoga class 😉
I couldn’t agree more! I view my classes so differently now that I am doing my YTT, and hopefully I’ll still get time to be a practitioner too to be on the flip side! At least no one in class has had a full blown tantrum (yet)!
That’s so great to hear you’re doing your YTT too! It’s definitely good to do both, teaching and being the student. I’m only starting to realise how much more there is to learn! Haven’t experienced any tantrums yet either but who knows 😉