How to Become a Good Yoga Instructor

Summary: Learn the virtues you need to have to become a worthy and respected yoga instructor.

"Yoga teaches us to cure what needs to be cured, and endure what cannot be cured"- B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is regarded the lifeline in new age fitness because of its holistic approach towards the matters of the body and mind. It provides a viable solution to the crisis of mounting demands of modern lifestyle and the need for balance. By strengthening each individual’s coping mechanism and sharpening the soft skills relating to attention, concentration power, and inner calm, yoga can prepare everyone for the daily battle of existence and make it a totally joyful experience.

If you are an aspiring instructor of yoga, motivated to spread the wisdom to build a world full of more capable people, swear by an efficient method of instruction, as formulated below:

Be Organized in Your Approach

Yoga is about gaining self-mastery. So, minimize the role of the chance factor in your space as much as possible. Organize your activities for the class, taking one thing at a time, build a fail-proof system.

Whether you are taking two classes a week or all seven days, schedule what you are going to teach. Brief your students about the things you are going to cover—the asana sequences, breath and meditation, an introduction to yoga philosophy, and possible modifications. Ask them to do a prior study. Provide a soft copy of notes, asana charts, and tips for beginners, video demos. This way, when they come for your class, initiation would be more effective and progress will be fast.Be strict about punctuality and attendance. Discipline should be given utmost importance.

Create a Safe Space

To engage with yoga from the soul, one needs to be in consonance with the world around. Make sure you are creating a free-spirited cheerful space in your yoga class where people from all walks of life can come and learn the great art in communion with each other.

Start the sessions with a cordial greeting. Introduce the Namaste-a gesture of greetings in the yoga culture which conveys love, fellowship, and respect to the addressee. The gesture Namaste translates as- the divine in me bows down to the dive in you. Isn’t it a beautiful way to fill the space with love and spirit of humanity?

Encourage New Interpretations

Let your class become a breeding ground for creatively charged ideas. Ask your students to share their experience of doing a certain pose, the areas of the body and mind receiving newly found invigoration and how to deepen the feeling.

Discuss the symbolic interpretation of a posture, its place in the mental map of meanings and invite new interpretations of them. Take dialogues about yoga further by planting a defining mantra in the minds of your disciple. Introduce the idea of invoking spiritual power by the means of auspicious mantra chanting and pronouncements of the yogic yoke. Your greatest reward as a teacher will be when a student can teach you a better way of doing a posture or gaining a depth of mindfulness. Be Dedicated to Your Students

Being a professional is primarily about dedicating unbiased attention to the students. Even if you are holding a community style yoga class, make sure to give individual attention to the participants. Take a walk down the row of bent bodies and observe the details of each. Correct their faults and keep checking for rectification.

Open your session to questions from the students at the end of each class and answer all with an open heart. Hold no reservations to connect with your students outside of class, returning e-mails and calls in a timely way. Work towards building up a community rather than hourly classes.

Incorporate Fun Elements

Once in awhile, break the monotony with something fun. Try a sprightly yoga dance routine, or have your best students stage a posture performance competition. Or, how about holding a yoga quiz to test the length and breadth of yoga knowledge gained so far?

Stay Calm and Level-headed

If you want to be regarded more than a mere instructor, and rather as a true teacher, you need to exude respectability. Hold a personality of depthless calm with a rock solid resolution. Make no example of losing your temper or a tantrum. Define the good virtues that yoga is meant to purport with your own disposition.

The Author is a passionate Yogi, traveler and Yoga Teacher in Delhi. He loves writing and reading the books related to yoga, health, nature and the Himalayas.