As a yoga teacher, there are many things that swirl around in my mind while teaching a class. These thoughts include
remembering various modifications to offer, Sanskrit names of poses,
contraindications, physical benefits, emotional benefits, alignment principles
of each posture, where to offer props, suggestions to add more vigor or ease, the
order of pose sequences, guided meditations, related mudras and chakras, etc.
Those are all just SOME of the standard thoughts of most Hatha yoga teachers. However,
there is one more thing for teachers to keep in mind that is the giant cherry
on top, and will turn your class from a bowl of ice cream to a delicious ice
cream sundae!
Lightheartedness is the key to turning what could become a
rigid and anxiety-fueled lesson into a peaceful, engaging experience.
Just last night, I found myself in a situation that the
anxiety-fueled version of me would have had a field day full of negative
self-talk, loss of confidence, and overall disappointment in myself. I have
taught more than 100 classes since graduating from my training program, and
there has always been one part of class that has come very natural for
me. If an entire rest of the class is full of mistakes, I always know I’ll be
able to pull it all together during relaxation and closing -- up until last
night.
Here are the details of the situation:
Type of Class: Prenatal
# of Students: 6 (including a couple of brand new students)
Time of Day: Evening
Class Theme: 3rd Chakra, focusing on inner confidence
and strength
Goof-Up: Forgetting mid-sentence my English translation of NAMASTE
– “The Spirit in me honors the Spirit in you.”
The funniest part of this goof-up is that this is the one single
phrase that I have said in closing for nearly every single class I have ever taught.
After guiding students through a relaxing body scan in savasana and sharing the
sound of OM, I then close our session by saying “The Spirit in me…. (pause)….” 5 more seconds go by, I take a deep breath… and I start giggling and say “I am
having a complete mind blank right now…” and one of my regulars chimes in from the back of the room “HONORS
the Spirit in you!” OMG, I LOVE HER -- SHE IS TOTALLY GETTING EXTRA FEEL GOOD ASSISTS NEXT CLASS!! And everyone laughed, including me, because honestly… what kind of yoga teacher forgets what Namaste means while teaching
a lesson surrounded by its essence?? THIS GIRL! But I am still a great yoga
teacher. The students were all very understanding, and actually offered me some comfort by saying that they think their pregnancy brains are rubbing off on
me! Haha!
In the heat of the moment, I had a brief second or two of panic,
embarrassment, and self-judgment. But then I remembered that this is all a
human experience – no one is perfect and my students are compassionate,
friendly people who would not judge me (at least not to my knowledge) for this
slip-up. And instead of carrying the weight and shame of disappointment that my
ego SOOO wanted to hold onto, I chose to embrace my humanness and laugh about it.
Luckily, my mentors often emphasized the importance of not taking
yourself too seriously while teaching. This is the kind of mistake that could have rocked my entire
confidence level in my ability to teach yoga. Instead, I choose to embrace my ability to remain true to who I am -- a
nurturing, compassionate, easy-going yoga teacher who occasionally shines my
light in awkward, unexpected ways.
As for the women who came to my class last night for the
first time, at least one signed up for the rest of the classes in the prenatal session
immediately after class ended. And perhaps the other was so incredibly relaxed after
my guided savasana body scan that she had to head straight home to her bed,
instead of signing up for more classes ;)
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