getting started teaching

[Guest guest]

Hey everybody,<br>I'm gearing up to offer a

beginner's Ashtanga class and was hoping for input from all

you ashtanguys and gals. I've been practicing for

just over a year now and due to lack of local

instructors have only attended a 10 day intensive and a

scattering of classes whilst away from home. I realize I

don't have an extensive yoga background and this

probably strikes horror in the hearts of purists. But I do

have a lot of experience leading groups in other

unrelated fields and enjoy sharing knowledge as well as

supporting people learn. <br><br>What I would like to hear

from people are 2 things: 1) What you think makes a

good instructor for beginning students. And 2) What

things did instructors say or do that made a difference

for you when you first got started in

Ashtanga?<br><br>I'm hoping to hear from the purists and regulars of

this club but I especially invite all

newcomers/novices/amateurs to post what your opinion is as it is just as

valid (if not more so). I am grateful for all input

(even the Ashtanga Police!). <br><br>Thanks in advance.

[Guest guest]

RCG, I wish you great success in sharing your

astanga yoga experience with others. I hope more people

here who aren't blessed with certified teachers follow

your example and go out there to "teach" (or rather,

share the teaching).<br><br>Perhaps one of the most

valuable things a yoga teacher can share with people new

to yoga is .... how NOT to hurt yourself with

mistaken applications of the practice. Just passing along

the ways of proper form and ahimsa to body and

breathing would be a great service that I'm sure many folks

would much appreciate.

[Guest guest]

The best teachers I've had were very patient and

allowed me to discover yoga. All of them were deeply

rooted in the practice and had faith that the truth of

yoga would come to me in my practice. As a result,

much time was spent watching with some verbal pointers

that increased my awareness to different parts of my

body that may have needed adjustments or attention.

The danger is when a teacher jumps in to correct too

early and has high expectations of students without

knowing the student's limits. This can cause pain.

Information on the breathing, locks, and alignment are

invaluable. <br><br>My first teacher was Danny Paradise and

he stressed that each student make up her/his mind

on when to finish for the day. We can damage

ourselves if we work too hard or when very tired. This

helped me gain greater self-acceptance and takes the

competitiveness out of it right away. We are all at different

levels and it is up to us to decide when to quit. This

small decision expands the practice into the other

realms, other than asana, of the ashtanga system.

<br><br>Good luck<br><br>Namaste,<br>Yeshe

[Guest guest]

I think about this sort of thing alot because I

am also gearing up to offer an Ashtanga class this

fall, as a PE course at the college where I

teach.<br><br>I have a similar background in that I've been

practicing for a little over a year and have has no formal

teachers outside a workshop setting.<br><br>The only

justification I could give to an ashtanga conservative is that

we need to do this sort of thing in order to develop

a constituency for ashtanga yoga. If enough

interested people demand it, then eventually a "real"

teacher will locate in the region or someone will emerge

from our ranks who is a position to acquire "real"

training.<br><br><br><br>With regard to your question #1, I would propose that

enthusiastic but relatively inexperienced folk like ourselves

should:<br><br>a. be proficient in primary series (though it is

probably OK if one cannot push oneself into a handstand

between navasanas, etc.);<br><br>b. be advancing one's

own practice (working on second series or

whatever);<br><br>c. have enough familiarity with the bandhas and

breathing to articulate to students, from personal

expereince, the difference between doing yoga and doing

gymnastics;<br><br>d. charge as little as possible -- ideally,

nothing.<br><br><br>With regard to queston #2: the person who first showed

me this yoga (she insists on not being considered my

"teacher") was a student of Eddie Stern who has done some

teaching for him at his yogashala. Actually, she rarely

showed us anything: we were just in the same room with

her. As we went through the postures at normal pace,

she would whisper these very precise directions

("inhale hands up, exhale fold forward ...") while somehow

managing to carry on her own very beautiful practice. Her

abilty to articulate the movements in real-time was one

of the most amazing aspects of her instruction. She

created a real atmosphere of quiet and intense

focus.<br><br>Good luck, and let us know how your class

goes.<br><br>Peace and Good,<br>Homer

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting this question, RCG. I can use

the input too. Like you, I live where there are no

ashtanga teachers. Lately I have been sharing the primary

series with friends and acquanitances who want to learn

it. I find that I have internalized so much of my

practice that it can be difficult to remember what it is

like to be a beginner and explain things accordingly.

<br> <br>The best teachers I have had could do just

that--remember what it is like to be a beginner. At first there

is so much to remember! The general shape of the

postures can be foreign enough that trying to keep track

of specific body parts can be tough. "Move my hips

where? And do what with my knee caps? And breathe? And

make sure I don't over do it? Mindfullness? What

mindfullness?" I learned very well from teachers who would keep

up a fairly consistant (and relevant) stream of

reminders and suggestions throughout class. This was also

instrumental in helping me practice on my own. To this day, it

is the reminders and suggestions from these teachers

that still guide my practice. It also helped that they

didn't do the postures with the class; they would

observe and make individual corrections when necessary. I

think that being able to demonstrate a posture is of

limited use; it is much more useful to be in the hands of

someone who can talk my body into a posture.

<br><br>Also, I don't think you can emphasize listening to your

body (and taking it easy if it takes a while to be

able to read your body's signals) too much. Try to

create an atomosphere where it is okay to do beginner's

modifications, especially when there are prior injuries

involved. (after hearing that yoga was good for carpal

tunnel syndrome, a friend of mine made her's worse after

doing just a few sun salutations with me--I am so much

more careful now).<br><br>Good luck to you!

[Guest guest]

Best of luck to you in your teaching!<br><br>I've

enjoyed and appreciated the four posts that already

responded to your question.<br><br>I've studied ashtanga

for a couple of years, and prior to that kundalini

and hatha. So I've studied with approximately a dozen

yoga instructors. And as an aerobic instructor, I've

been to many other instructors' classes. Yoga and

aerobics are very different disciplines, but I've found

similar qualities in instructors of both.<br><br>What

I've found to make the best teacher is a sincere

passion for the practice, a consistent focus on safety,

and the ability to work with differing levels of

students in the same class. <br><br>As a beginner, I

wanted to study with someone who I felt was sharing

something they really loved, as opposed to someone who was

showing me how advanced/flexible/fit they were. I was

attracted to teachers who were approachable, earnest, and

led by example (practiced what they

preached).<br><br>Starting out, I also wanted to know that I was doing the

poses safely. I especially wanted guidance on shoulder

stands and other moves that when done improperly could

put excessive pressure on the cervical vertebrae. My

opinion is that you would want to know how to explain

proper technique, how to see and correct improper

technique, and how to manually assist people into and out of

positions. Before you start teaching, you might want to

check into liability insurance. I don't know anything

about yoga liability, but it's very relevant in the

aerobics world.<br><br>Again, best wishes!<br>Nancy

[Guest guest]

although i am not a so-called ashtanga purist i

definitely was a fully paid up member of the ashtanga police

breakaway division until i recently taught a workshop in

dublin where a huge group of ashtanga devotess has

coalesced with beautifully positive energy around one

enthusiastic practitioner who has only two tears ashtanga

experience. perhaps her prevous yoga and her current iyengar

training help, but i came to the conclusion it was down to

her really. passionate dedication to her own practice

combined with sincere desire to enrich others. trayam hits

the main point. ahimsa is the key, to both teaching

and practice. satya, asteya , bramacharya and

aparigraha would help too. not to mention sauca, samtosa,

tapas, svadyaya and ishvarapranidana. thanx again to

patanjali for the sound advice.<br><br>this might work

something like this. be sensitive to your students

capabilities and limitations (ahimsa). be honest about your

own (satya). dont try to profit financially by what

you are doing (asteya). keep your personal energy

field to yourself or youll get snared in others

(brahmacharya). dont be possesive about yourself, your students,

your time or theirs(aparigraha). be committed totally

to their welfare (sauca). be content with the skills

and knowledge that you have(samtosa). let your

enthusiam burn (tapas).keep a close eye on yourself for any

subtle bull(svadyaya). give thanks to the powers that be

for giving you such a great life (ishvarapranidana).

[Guest guest]

Godfreydev--<br><br>Thanks for your post. Could you elaborate on bramacharya?

"Keep your personal energy field to yourself or you'll get snared in others."

What does this mean?<br><br>vita

[Guest guest]

Hi,<br><br>On the subject of charging for classes

I really liked how my first teacher did

it.<br><br>He just had an open box on a table by the

door.<br>There was a list of how much classes cost ( NZ$7 for

one, $15 for a week, or $40 for a month) but he never

asked for the money.<br><br>It was totally up to you if

you put money in the box, and how much. He never

checked, or counted the money or anything.<br><br>It was

really nice, because it totally kept money out of the

yoga practice.<br><br>Another thing he did was

absoutely no beginners classes. I learnt yoga by just

following the class. His philosophy on this was that you

don't want to think too much about your yoga, just do

it, and you will learn everything.<br><br>He

definately wasn't a purist, or certified by Guruji, but they

were good classes, and I have been hooked every

since.<br><br>But mainly because he was such an inspiring

guy.<br><br>Also he had 5 classes a week. 5 classes a week ( of

which I'd got to 2, 3 or 4) is so different to 1 class

a week.<br><br>After going to 5 classes a week for

$US 7.00, I've never really been able to appreciate

going to one class in London for $US 12.00<br><br>Liz

[Guest guest]

brahma charya = all that there is mastery. in

practice it means being centred and selfcontained so as to

not waste energy. ashtangayoga in particluar

generates massive energy. this spreads itself across your

being amplifying whatever you got. if you got a big

heart it gets bigger, if you got a big head it gets

bigger, etc.then you are in effect more exposed to the

machinations of others. until you learn the art of

brahmacharya. many people come to yoga looking for salvation,

looking for a saviour. this can easily be you. if your

energy field is expanding but not balanced and

selfcontained you can get caught up in this at everyones

expense. how to learn brahmacharya? practice ahimsa,satya

and asteya on your mat,and in your teaching. be

sensitive to yourself and others, be honest with yourself

and others. be open to yourself and others. practice

them within a devoted, passionate and commited

selfreflection. you will then become unpossseive about what and

who you are, and noone else will have anything to

hold on to. namaste...

[Guest guest]

i think it's great that you are considering

teaching...it sounds like your intentions are in the right

place.<br><br>i think for beginners, feeling welcome in class and

un-intimidated is important--we're all just practicing and when

the facilitator puts out a calm energy during class,

it can put everyone at ease<br><br>also, my teachers

have read short inspirational messages before/after

class and i think it helped me become more interested

in doing more of my own reading/research on yoga as

well as helped me slow down and set my own intentions

for practice...

[Guest guest]

I am always interested in how other teachers

teach and your teacher sounds interesting but could you

expand on what you mean by "I learnt yoga by just

following the class." Do you mean the class was all (or

mostly) doing the same postures together or were they all

doing them at their own pace? And surely you got some

individual instruction also?<br><br>Yours, Simon

[Guest guest]

At this moment in time I don't consider myself a

purist. However I do not think anyone is qualified to

teach this yoga after just 1 year. I suggest sticking

to your practice for awhile & practising with

others. I have been practising for three humbling years

now. IMHO you need to understand the internal aspects

of the practice very well and that takes time. The

outer postures are compelling and for some people they

are easy to master. It's the inner posture that is by

far the most important. I have been to classes where

the teacher is teaching prematurely and this means

that the students are not learning true ashtanga yoga.

I would suggest studying with a senior teacher for

awhile if possible.