All About Teaching Yoga Sessions

By Faye Martins

Teaching yoga can be both rewarding and relaxing. The important part is to prepare yourself before your first lesson. Learning about teaching yoga sessions is something that should begin within your own practice.

More than Asanas

Yoga is a holistic practice that encompasses much more than just the physical movements. Even if you never incorporate the other aspects of yoga into your personal classes you should be aware of them. There are eight limbs to yoga. The positions are just a single aspect.

The first limb is Yama, or the universal mortality. The second limb is Niyama, your personal observances. The third limb is Asanas. This is the physical part of yoga that most know. The fourth limb is Pranayama, the breath of life. These are also practiced in many yoga classes as breathing exercises. The fifth limb is Pratyahara, the control of your senses. The sixth limb is Dharana, the cultivation of your inner awareness. The seventh limb is Dhyana, one's meditation on the Divine forces. The eight and last limb is Samadhi, your individual connection with the Divine.

Read a little on the other limbs of the practice. Be knowledgeable about the historical and cultural important of the practice. It won't seem to be knowledge that is useful in day-to-day teaching. This is not the case. You will have students ask questions about the practice. You will also find the deeper understanding helps you in your own teaching.

The Eternal Student

Understand that the more you learn about teaching yoga sessions the more you will know that yoga is a lifelong learning experience. Your students expect you to live the truths that you are teaching them. Those who practice yoga are often held to a higher standard than their merely mortal students. Try to live your ideals while being yourself. In other words, don't pretend a persona that is not your own. If you eat GMO foods every day or enjoy meat, then be that while you are teaching. Your students will respect you for it.

Select the Right School For You

There are many different types of yoga practiced today. From traditional schools to the most modern forms of hot yoga, there will be a right one for you. While you may have found a school of yoga that you are comfortable practicing it will still benefit you to try out other types of yoga. Take a few classes in a number of schools of yoga. Incorporate elements that you enjoy into your own practice. A fully developed personal practice will help make you a more well-rounded teacher.

Be an Individual

In the beginning of your teaching practice you will probably mirror that of your own instructors. You will probably take those parts that you admire most in your teachers and use them to run your own classes. This is perfectly natural. As your confidence increases you will find that you naturally move towards those practices and actions that feel most natural. Teaching yoga will be as much of a learning experience for you as it is for your students.

Starting off on your teaching journey will be a rewarding and positive experience. It will lead you to discover things about yourself that you would have never dreamed of. Enjoy every minute of it.

Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA.