There’s a group of students at our studio who are learning how to teach yoga. It’s fun to see someone at the beginning of their journey. What I didn’t expect it to be was revealing for my own teaching.
There’s a lot more to teaching yoga than just calling the poses. It starts there. Learning the sequence and having a strong foundation to teach with.
I’ve been teaching for a little over two years now. Much like the poses themselves, there is no end to teaching. If you are looking to keep growing as teacher there is always something to be working on and towards.
It usually starts with ourselves. Teaching to growth and expansion for students means we have to be living it. Otherwise, it’s not genuine and it will fall flat.
So as I’ve been watching our trainees get up in front of each other and call poses it has led to a lot of looking inward for myself. How I am showing up to teach and where I can continue to grow as a teacher.
Seeing people step out of their comfort zones and take on the challenge of leading a room is inspiring. It makes me want to be a better teacher. For myself, them and the students at Reach.
I just asked GPT for a quote about this and this one fits:
“When one teaches, two learn.”
— Robert Heinlein
Seeing the students go through the early stages of calling poses brings up the memory for myself. What I didn’t consider is that it would make me question my own teaching. How I call poses, cue and inspire.
The student <> teacher relationship is two way street. There is something to be learned from both parties and something that we can all teach other.
That collaborative and safe space is unique and I find it to be one of my favorite parts of being a little birdie in the room while my wife leads the group.
“The day you think you’ve arrived is the day you begin your decline.”
— John C. Maxwell
