Teaching Inspiring Yoga Classes
If you are teaching multiple yoga classes a week, it can be challenging to constantly be inspired. So much goes into preparing for a class. Some variables include considering the student population, planning a coordinated sequence, offering appropriate breath practices, creating a dynamic synced playlist, incorporating thoughtful anatomy components, originating philosophical meaning, containing a space of ease, and every other moving part you aren’t able to predict. However, it is most important to show up as a warm, energetic, and welcoming teacher.
Admittedly, I don’t always feel inspired to teach. In fact, some days I feel so uninspired that I question why I should be teaching yoga at all. I think most teachers can relate to this, and it’s probably unlikely (or nearly impossible) to feel inspired every single time you teach. With that being said, I don’t think you need to be inspired to teach a remarkable yoga class.
You need to be authentic. Your authenticity will be inspiring.
My anxious and fearful mind can get in the way of my teaching. The same old tropes of not being good enough or being an imposter rise to the forefront of my thoughts. Students aren’t thinking those same thoughts about you. If they are then they are way too far back on their own peace path, and you do not need to be on that path with them.
When I do show up to teach even when I am uninspired, I am always so grateful that I did. I feed off the energy of my students. That’s because I allow myself to feel. But the feelings are not only what matters; what matters is how the feelings come out of you.
Your authentic feelings are worthy of being felt, but more worthy of how they move through you, and that’s how you teach an inspiring class.
There are also practical strategies to stay inspired with your teaching. You can draw inspiration from specific poses, the Yamas and Niyamas, the Radiance Sutras, the lunar phases, the current season, a routine experience you’ve had, or something silly your pet did. The wonderful thing about yoga is that almost everything in your life can relate back to your practice.
Has there been a theme in your week you can pull from? For example, some weeks nothing goes as planned. Your focus could be how sometimes we approach practice with a certain mindset, and then a sequence or pose doesn’t quite align the way we planned. Encourage your students to abandon a rigid outlook and highlight how this is part of the process. We learn from our “perceived failures” because they are points from which we evolve.
Perhaps you choose back-bending as your inspiration for class. Now you have a wide selection of poses to pick for a sequence and an opportunity to weave a theme about opening the heart.
Stay inspired by keeping a steady practice even if it’s only spending a few moments during your day to close your eyes. You don’t need to write journal pages every morning or do an hour yoga practice every day to be an inspiring teacher.
For many of us, the reason we teach is because we want to connect and make an impact in our communities. When we lead from a brave authentic heart, we will undoubtedly be inspiring. Enjoy breaks from teaching to revitalize your sense of self, and when you aren’t feeling like teaching, start simple. Something will grow from that place.
