This is the second article is this series looking all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. In this article Adhyatma shares how the Yoga Education in Prisons Trust (YEPT) got started, what the challenges have been and what she's learned from the experience. by Adhyatma, Yoga Education in Prisons Trust After I finish teaching my Yoga classes, the men in my class often come up respectfully and shake my hand … [Read more...]
Here you'll find the collected wisdom of a wide range of yoga teachers, who have been generous enough to share the many things they have learned from teaching yoga.
Why Yoga Studios Are Not Enough: The Community Yoga Project
My book The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga got me thinking about all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. Much as we like to think yoga is accessible for all and inclusive, the reality is that there are many barriers which prevent large numbers of our populations from benefiting from it's practice. I wanted to highlight the work that is being done to bring yoga to all the people and hopefully inspire other yoga … [Read more...]
Are there Ethical Issues to Consider Before Teaching Family Members?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: "I've got my RYT 200 and have been teaching once a week for about a year. I've got a family member who could benefit from some yoga. She is not able to attend classes because of physical limitations resulting from surgery and ongoing health conditions so I think … [Read more...]
How do I Deal with Different Levels of Students in the Same Yoga Class?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly, one of our go-to senior teachers, answers questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. If you've got questions you'd like to be answered in our blog, email us at editor@theyogalunchbox.co.nz. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: “How do I deal with very different levels of students in the same class? As much as I would like to have all the students of similar levels in one class, it never seems to work out that way. Also, how do I … [Read more...]
What do I do when a Student Complains about Wrist Pain and Wants to Leave Class?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher's Question: “There it was yesterday: my first and rather frustrating setback in my teaching experience. I have a student who suffers from a lot of wrist pain. She comes along to my 45 minute class that is short, sharp and energetic. Because I know she requires special … [Read more...]
How to Get your First Yoga Teaching Job
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Typically when you finish your first yoga teacher training it can feel as though you're bursting with equal parts fantastic information to share and uncertainty about how or where to share it. Unless you've completed teacher training with an organisation that rolls new teachers onto an existing schedule, it can be a challenge to figure out how you can get into teaching in your town. Often studios will want teachers with previous teaching experience and/or … [Read more...]
My Worst Yoga Class Ever
By guest author Zahir Gilani I have been doing Hot Yoga for six years. I have been nomadic in my practice and have tried many different studios and instructors. Some classes have been great, and some instructors have been amazing. I have left classes feeling tranquil, and have even carried on the rest of my day in an ineffable euphoric state. But even if I do not achieve an inner peace while there, at the very least I’ll know I have got a good workout in and had a chance to … [Read more...]
Why Older Yoga Teachers are Often the Best Yoga Teachers
By Susan Grbic, Growing Younger So many younger people are taking to yoga these days, as opposed to forty years ago when I was cutting my teeth as a student and yoga was still considered way too esoteric for your average citizen. Nowadays there’s a dizzying confusion of yoga ‘styles’ to choose from. And precisely because yoga is attracting so many young people, hundreds of young yoga teachers are emerging. I started teaching when I was forty-five, pretty old by today’s yoga teacher … [Read more...]
Five Ways to be a Better Yoga Teacher
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga After almost a decade of teaching yoga as my full time career, I have had the privilege of watching some of the students who have come to my classes eventually become teachers themselves. I have had the honour of fielding their questions and helping them through those uncertain first months and years of teaching. Plus, as a huge geek when it comes to neuropsychology, yoga anatomy, yoga physiology and yoga alignment, I often help new teachers from other lineages … [Read more...]
Five Mistakes I Made As a New Yoga Teacher
by Seka Ojdrovic-Phillips, Spirit Fire Yoga Yoga in all its forms has brought me head-to-head with my greatest challenges and the satisfaction that comes from working through them. My own brand of yoga evolution led me to teaching, first in New Zealand and now in the States. As with every evolution, I learned tons each time I showed up to teach. Showing up at anything is all it takes. While making mistakes as a teacher, I grow and learn to become more connected to others, and kinder to … [Read more...]