How do we develop our skills as Yoga teachers?

And can we differentiate between being a good yoga practitioner from being a good yoga teacher? After 26 years of being the person in front of the class, (teaching) and 30 years of being in other people’s classes (learning), I can say it is definitely a process. It flows. It peaks. It crashes. We succeed. We fail.

Becoming an awesome yoga teacher takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. Our skills develop slowly. Gradually. Stealthily. Often by trial and error. Sometimes by accident. And sometimes through divine guidance, intuition, a direct download from a higher source. Some days you finish your class with a feeling that magic happened. You see the radiant glow and peaceful smile on your students’ faces.

Some days you finish your class with a feeling that you didn’t quite hit the spot. It was a mess. It was disjointed. The energy was low. We learn from each and every experience on, and off, our mats. And we learn from each and every person we share our yoga spaces with.

2.  We learn from our Own Practice

We can only teach what we fully understand, what we have taken the time to unpack, to delve into, to unravel.

Every time we step onto our mat and into the blank canvas of our personal practice, we give ourselves the opportunity to learn, to grow. Personal practice in this context means your home practice. When you are by yourself, on your mat, or your zafu, discovering and unfolding. No tutor, no DVD, no podcast. Just you.

What does your personal practice consist of?

Your personal practice is the ideal training ground to test out new ideas, new theories, new techniques. It gives you the opportunity to dig deeper into an area that interests you. If you want to teach meditation in your classes, develop a personal meditation practice. If you want to teach pranayama techniques, integrate them into your home practice. Yoga Nidra? Put on a CD and give yourself the gift of half an hour to completely relax and experience the bliss of stillness.

Your personal practice is where you put in the hard hours, so that you can transfer the knowledge and wisdom gained into your classes. It forms the backbone of developing your skills as a yoga teacher.

3.  We learn from Other Teachers

There are several ways to harness the wisdom of other yoga teachers to develop our own teaching.

Explore other Classes in your Area

When you first start teaching, every other tutor is a source of inspiration. You are a sponge, soaking up everything you can find. After 10 or so years, you start to become a little more discriminative, seeking out those tutors who have something more to offer you, something you don’t already know.

You can be creative with your CPD accrual. Many internationally acclaimed Tutors come to the UK and run weekend and week long trainings. You may have to travel and stay overnight, but how else would you get the opportunity to work with Shiva Rea, Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, Donna Fahri……….

You could even spend some time at the Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales and experience yoga in its truest form. They run in-depth courses that will enhance your deeper understanding of yoga. With great walking opportunities in the beautiful Welsh hills.

A week long course here will fulfil your CPD requirements for a year and still have some spare to carry over!

Dedicated Yoga Teacher Classes

You may be lucky enough to have a dedicated Yoga for Teachers class in your area, or regular sharing groups where you can find support, wisdom and inspiration. These are great opportunities to experience other teachers in action and to observe a range of teaching styles and skills.

Yoga : Beyond Asana Monthly Classes

I also run an online monthly class for Teachers to explore the inner limbs of yoga. These sessions are a wonderful opportunity to go deeper into the theory and practice of Pranayama, Meditation, Yoga Philosophy, Sanskrit and Mantra. We have regular discussions and explorations into the tools and techniques that make us better teachers. You can find out more HERE.

Developing our skills can be interesting, rewarding, sometimes even mind-blowing and enlightening. It takes time and energy, but it will ultimately make us better teachers, which in turn means our students have a better yoga experience.