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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Four Great Strategies For Teaching Vinyasa Yoga

yoga teachers
By Faye Martins

Yoga teachers who have recently gained interest in vinyasa yoga may be interested in learning about strategies for teaching vinyasa yoga. By reading the information found below, you can gain the foundational knowledge necessary to excel in this craft.

1. Speak Slowly

Speaking slowly is a big key to success when you're teaching others vinyasa yoga. In most cases, it's a good idea for the teacher to speak slower than they think they should. This is so for several reasons, including the fact that many new teachers are enthusiastic about sharing their new knowledge with others and this excitement precipitates a sense of nervousness. Once this happens, the teacher will likely succumb to speedy cueing and breathing. This can negatively impact the entire dynamic of the class, making people feel fitful and jittery rather than calm and relaxed.

In recognizing the negative impact that speaking too quickly can have in teaching yoga, it is important to master the art of speaking slowly. To do so, aspiring teachers should practice speaking in the privacy of their own homes. They should also take the time to record their own voices and listen to them in order to gauge if they're still talking too rapidly. To gain a sense of timing, it is sometimes helpful to tap one's foot quietly. In short, aspiring yoga teachers should incorporate whatever measures are necessary to remain fully conscious about their speaking speed given that it helps create the mood of the class. 


2. Be Patient With Yourself

The first few months of teaching this form of yoga can be very challenging. During this time, it will be quite normal for teachers to make mistakes. Additionally, they may receive a bit of negative feedback from students who aren't receptive to their mode of instruction. Rather than taking any of these realities personally, yoga teachers should concentrate on learning from the mistakes they make so that they can operate in a dimension of excellence and efficacy.

3. Observe
In many cases, those who teach vinyasa yoga have a proclivity for practicing the movements in unison with their students. However, it's important to note that teachers are more useful to students when they watch them carefully to ensure that things such as form and transitional movements are executed with precision. For this reason, it's a good idea for teachers to develop simple sequences so that they don't have to perform them with the class in order to remember them.

4. Create Great Space

Environment is important at all times and in all places, but it has specific significance within the world of yoga. Given that yoga is about the integration of mind and body for the purpose of producing a sense of holistic life and health, it is important that the student's surroundings be conducive to the cultivation of this psychosomatic state. With this idea in mind, yoga teachers must remember that it is their goal and right to create a student-specific ambience that will yield the desired results. For this reason, vinyasa yoga teachers should make strategic, detail-oriented use of things like music, temperature, and lighting.

Conclusion 

As many wellness experts know, vinyasa yoga is a highly beneficial physical practice that can help optimize health while inducing feelings of joy and tranquility. Individuals who have opted to become vinyasa yoga teachers should note that there are several strategies they can implement in order to maximize the student's learning experience and growth process. By utilizing some or all of the aforementioned tips and tricks, aspiring teachers can help their students make the most of their minds and bodies.
Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA.