When teaching yoga to beginners, it’s important to keep in mind that their working memory is limited. Overloading them with too many details can be overwhelming.
Beginner students come to class with a wide range of fitness levels, interests/reasons for practicing, abilities and limitations, and body proportions. So there is no one-size-fits-all way to teach yoga.
Breathing Techniques
Your new students will likely be a little overwhelmed by all the poses, transitions, and movements they need to coordinate. This is why it is so important to keep your cues to a minimum and focus on the basics.
A good way to do this is to encourage your students to focus on their breath. This is something that can help them to calm themselves, and it can also help them to feel connected with their bodies and the yoga practice as a whole.
You will want to teach your students that breathwork is a valuable tool they can use outside of the yoga studio as well. Encourage them to take their yogic breath with them wherever they go, and to practice breathing as often as possible. This will help them to feel grounded, relaxed, and centered even when they are not on the mat.
As with all things in yoga, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to teaching beginners. However, there are some tips that can help you to create a class that is as accessible and welcoming as possible.
Make sure your verbal cues are clear and concise. This will prevent your students from feeling confused or frustrated and will make it easier for them to follow along. It is also important to demonstrate every pose that you teach, especially when working with beginners.
It is okay to wobble or fall while demonstrating, as this will make you more relatable and will remind your students that everyone struggles at first. It will also help them to see that even the most experienced yogis have moments when they are not perfect.
As you progress through your teacher training, you will develop a unique style that makes your classes special and memorable. Remember to draw on this as you teach beginner classes, and don’t be afraid to experiment with your teachings to find what works best for your class. This will allow you to build on your strengths while also developing the confidence that comes with experience. Then, you can really shine!
Assists
Beginners show up to yoga classes with a huge variety of fitness levels, personal interests/reasons for practicing, preferred learning styles, and abilities/limitations. That diversity means that one approach to teaching won’t work for everyone in the room. As a teacher, it’s your job to be ready to offer a range of poses that fit different needs and abilities. That’s why it is crucial to be able to give clear instructions, whether you are guiding students through the basics of their practice or moving them into more advanced postures.
Assists are a powerful tool in the yoga teacher’s arsenal. They can help guide a student into a pose and give them support while they are in it. However, it’s important to remember that hands-on adjustments are intimate and can feel unwelcome for some students. Teachers should always ask if they can assist a student before touching them, says Gina Caputo, founder of the Colorado School of Yoga. This enables students to express their consent and creates trust between teacher and student.
Besides asking for consent, it’s important to consider the energy of the student before offering an assist. Some students have gone through incredibly traumatic experiences in their lives and may feel that touch brings up negative emotions. If a teacher is unaware of this, it could cause a student to leave the class early or feel uncomfortable during their yoga practice.
Another important consideration is that beginners don’t necessarily understand the cues of a pose simply from a verbal description alone. They may need to see someone demonstrate the pose for them to know how to activate certain areas of their bodies or what to do with their arms, legs, and core.
Demonstrating is also a great way for beginner students to relate to their instructors. It makes them realize that even the most experienced yogis were once beginners themselves, and that it’s okay to struggle or fall out of a pose occasionally. This also reinforces that yoga is a practice for everyone and not just those who look perfect on Instagram.
Transitions
When teaching yoga to beginners, try not to give too many technical cues or explanations. This is because beginners tend to have a limited working memory, so too much information can overwhelm them and lead to confusion or frustration. Instead, focus on safely guiding them into the general shape of the pose (or variation on that), and offer just one or two alignment tips, if needed. You also need to become a certified Yoga teacher in Bali in order to practice this profession.
This approach also applies to the use of yogic terminology. For example, it is generally best to avoid using terms like mula bandha and ujjayi as these are often unfamiliar to beginner students. Instead, use the more common language of yoga: name poses in their English translation first before introducing the Sanskrit names. It’s a good idea to do the same with yogic breathing, so your students can be sure they are performing the breath correctly in the correct way.
In addition, be careful about what you say around your students, as it can affect their perception of the practice. Beginners tend to take what their teachers say as gospel, which can create a sense of unease and rigidity in the practice. It’s also important to remember that every student’s experience of yoga is unique, so if a beginner doesn’t enjoy your class, it may not be a reflection of them or your style of yoga, but rather their personal life circumstances.
Aim for clarity and accessibility in the transitions of your classes as well. For example, if you’re leading beginners through classical surya namaskar, it’s a good idea to break the sequence down into stages to allow each student time to get used to moving their bodies.
This approach is also useful for teaching balancing poses to beginners, as you can easily break down the sequence of movements to suit individual needs. For instance, you can have students float up and down into the backbends of tree pose, as opposed to going all the way into the crow pose that more advanced students might be comfortable with. Again, this allows each student to find a pose that feels doable for them and builds confidence in their ability to move through the practice.
Sequencing
When it comes to teaching yoga, the most important thing is to communicate clearly. This means speaking in a tone that everyone can hear, and inunciating your words so they are easily understood. It also means giving clear directions, including how to get into a pose (i.e., what the basic shape of the pose looks like, how wide their stance should be, whether they should enter on an inhale or an exhale, and so on).
It’s also helpful to offer many variations of a single poses. This way, if one version of the pose feels too challenging for a beginner, they can try another option. Similarly, if someone is having difficulty with a pose, it can be helpful to encourage them to try an easier variation, such as bowing down instead of pushing their elbows out and falling forward. This shows that there is no one “right” way to do a yoga pose and helps students feel empowered to work at their own pace.
Remember, when you’re instructing beginners, that they don’t know you and you have no idea what their bodies are capable of. This is why it’s best to stick to basic poses and transitions, rather than trying to give your class a challenge or to push them into a more advanced version of the same pose. Beginners need to learn the basics first, and you want them to enjoy their classes as much as possible so that they continue to come back.
Finally, it’s always good to let your students ask questions in class. This not only gives you a chance to clarify any confusing cues, but it also lets your students know that you’re approachable and will be there to support them along their journey. Whether they’re asking about a specific pose or the benefits of a particular practice, it’s important for them to know that you’re there for them and that yoga is for everybody.
