hello you all! class was great today! i hope you feel like you had a well rounded and challenging weekend. pranayama, urdhva danurasana and then today...a big weekend, really.
here is the list i gathered from the students who acted as guinea pigs at the July weekend about working with beginners in the 300 hour programme. please be sure to blog any questions you have or feel free to email me any any any time: sarahbell1@mac.com
enjoy your Tuesday night anatomy session. introduction to Injury Management, i believe.
By the way, Chrissy and I think you are doing so very well. and we are all so lucky to have Christy and Paula both around to play the important roles of GLUE ( since they are essentially always present, thank you!) and assistant trainers. they have all kinds of experience, so be sure to ask of them! if they have the time, i know they will share whatever they have to share. ( see below: christy's blog about pranayama)
have a good week you all, and to those of you with the day off tomorrow: ENJOY. when you are teaching yoga you are not likely to have such holidays off--that's really when loads of people come to yoga!
take some rest,
yours, sarah
The Qualities Beginner Level Yoga Students
Appreciate Most in a Yoga Teacher
(From the YW Summer 2008, 300 hr. Training: Teaching Beginners Workshop)
When they "fix" me without embarrassing me!
Repeating/rephrasing the way their students are supposed to be standing/in a pose.
Having a calm voice.
Helping their students to visualize the overall feeling they are supposed to be having in a pose.
Reminding the class to breath.
Reminding the class to focus on where the strength of a pose comes from.
Being encouraging.
Being humorous.
Being compassionate and remembering that it can be hard in the beginning for new students. Without encouragement beginners can easily be discouraged before getting to achieve another level of yoga where they may find true pleasures of practicing yoga.
Guiding students into poses slowly.
Telling their students where to focus and what to focus on.
Telling their students what should be happening in their bodies when practicing yoga.
Encouraging their students to try and hold a pose for one more breath longer but also telling them to be happy where they are (whether they can hold the pose or not).
Taking ample time in Svasana!
Introducing themselves before class begins.
Explaining how to come into each pose successfully.
Adjusting their students according to each students individual needs.
Creating a lesson plan that flows easily from one pose to another.
Demonstrating the poses and also moving around the class to watch their students in the poses.
Being complimentary to individual students and the class as a whole.
Having a sense of humor in class.
Developing a theme for each class: hips, twists, shoulders or inversions.
Focusing on breathing/breath.
Reminding students to breath/Instructing where and when to breath in the pose.
It is important for the teachers of beginners to remember that sometimes it is as helpful to do what is wrong as it is to do what is right.
Giving instructions on how to to hold the pose and how/when to make adjustments to it; allowing the students to grow in to the pose.
Giving an explanation of “what is yoga?” in their class.
Discussing the importance of the mind/body connection in yoga.
Correcting the students breathing; teaching when to inhale and when to exhale/what to do with your body as you breath, such as to elongate or to lengthen the body.
Making contact with each individual student and providing hands on adjustments when a student ’s alignment is off.
Giving specific and detailed explanations and demonstrations of the postures in their authentic/correct alignment.
Showing their students modified poses that often utilize the wall, a bolster, a partner or whatever is necessary to help the body get into and out of the poses safely and successfully.
Giving an explanation of Svasana and teaching meditation/breathing techniques to the class.
It is always very encouraging when the teacher gives praise to their students for doing so well at the end of the yoga class.
I appreciate it when the teacher provides a couple of minutes at the end of the class for the students to ask questions.
I typically choose one yoga teacher’s classes over another’s based on their positive attitude, upbeat personality, ability to motivate their students and fun sense of humor.
Having the ability to modify each pose based on the20varying experience levels and physical abilities of the students in the class and suggesting different ways of doing a particular pose.
I really appreciate it when a teacher gives me one on one instruction, especially when they can see that I am struggling in a pose. I like the fact that they take the time to come to my mat to help me.
Giving their students easy to follow instructions.
Communicating instructions to the class with calmness and clarity.
Explaining the “how” and the “why” of a pose (when I learned why I lift my ribs in a pose, it makes more sense to me & I remember to do it next time).
Not being too spiritual in the beginning (when I first started yoga I had a few teachers that were a bit heavy to start off with- I thought it was kind of creepy, like yoga was “cultish”).
Using the English names and nicknames as well20as the Sanskrit names for the poses is very helpful. ( I still can’t remember all of the real names poses!)
Narrating/instructing the breath and how to get safely into and out of the poses.
Discussing the anatomy of the body.
Having a sense of joy.
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