After you have got your basic yoga teacher training certification, you may still feel that there is something amiss. Planning a class confidently, may not come naturally to all yoga teachers. The foundation level program in yoga, mainly gives you a comprehensive overview of the entire yoga realm. When you are entrusted with the responsibility of ten students, who want to learn yoga along with solutions to their body injuries, then it can get challenging. The 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in India will make it easy for you.
In the Yoga Teacher Training in India, you will learn about some of the pedagogical aspects to make it easy for both you and your students.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
As a part of the 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in India, you will learn about some sequencing mistakes, which can create hassles if you are not careful. Your career as a teacher may also be jeopardized.
- Starting with Static Asanas – This is one of the first sequencing mistakes that most new teachers make. When a student enters your class, the incumbent may be wanting to move some muscles here and there. The aerobic activity is important, as it acts like a warm up. Moreover, the muscles and joints will be mobilized, through some sweat-inducing poses or asanas. You, as a teacher may have a different setup. You may want to start with static poses, so that the body parts open up. However, the ultimate motto, to be a good teacher and trainer gets a downside. The students may find it a quality of neglect. So, ideally, you should start the class with movements. Surya Namaskar is a great way to open the muscles and joints, apart from warming up the body. You can also try the cat or the cow pose.
- Starting with Complicated Asanas – That is something, you should avoid. If you are taking classes for a beginner group, they might get miffed. Beginning a class with a difficult pose may just be as detrimental as staring with a slow asana. If you start the classes, with difficult asanas, a lot of time is spent in guiding, understanding and instructing. The students will not enjoy the classes, if they are confused from the beginning. That is the reason, why you will find many students cancelling the course, after the first class. You can ideally choose the simpler poses or asanas, in the beginning of the class. The main aim is to bring in breath-initiated movements. Your students will also be able to focus more on their breathing, rather than the asana instructions. You will get to know about all these aspects in the 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in India.
- Tweaking the Rules – In the basic level of your yoga ttc, you may have received a basic guideline of how to conduct the classes. But you may need to improvise and look better. So, most new teachers start making changes, without any valid reasons. This may be necessary in the long run, i.e., to create a unique style of your own. But you may be going wrong somewhere, which your students may not find right. You have to plan in a proper manner, so that all goes well, with the class and you. At times, it is best to go with the guidelines, that you got from your teachers, to make the most of the session. Ultimately, you should create some amount of value for your students.
- Hurrying to go into Paschimottasana – Sometimes, people have the notion, that the seated forward pose, is something, that you need to practice before moving on to more difficult poses. It acts as a hip opener, so you might be tempted to introduce it at the very beginning of a class. However, it is an advanced pose, which should come much later. You have to get your hamstrings opened up, to be able to do the course. Your spine also needs to be elongated, to be able to get into the pose. Save the pose or asana for the end of the class, when the students have warmed up a bit, and are moving towards slowing down.
- Too Much Variety – Although, you may feel, that variety in asana will keep your students interested and focussed, you may be wrong. There are poses that have to be done on both sides. They can be a problem for students, in the beginning of the class. You should choose poses like Uttanasana, Virabhadra asana, Garuda asana, and Padhastasana. The students will feel more comfortable, as the poses sync with one another. Moreover, the students can practice the poses one after the other seamlessly. Moreover, too much variety can scare off the students. So, you should give them knowledge of a few easy ones, initially. That way, your students will develop more focus and can memorize them better.
- Taking the Savasana for granted – This is another mistake which new trainers and teachers make. It is actually very detrimental in the long run. Getting the time right is important, when you are taking a class. You have to cue the class to slow down towards the end of the practice, so that the body becomes more relaxed and you can move them to the last pose, corpse pose. Savasana may look simple, but is one of the most difficult poses. You have to be relaxed as well as aware of the surroundings, in this pose. Many students dose off to sleep, while performing the asana.
All in all, planning is an important class, towards developing a great sequence for your yoga class. You should always take some time out to find out about the students. There may be beginners, intermediates, and advanced practitioners in the same class. You have to think about each and every student in your class. You will learn about the above aspects in details in the Yoga Teacher Training in India.
The 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in India is a comprehensive course that will help you to go deeper into your practice. And that is absolutely necessary, if you want to develop conviction in your students.