I had 7 students, of which half were brand new or fairly new to yoga. It definitely changes the experience beyond words from all the practice teaching with very experienced trainees! Overall, I'd say it was a success, I didn't screw up noticeably (I forgot one pose, oops!) and I got some great feedback. My studio doesn't officially run community classes, so rather than making it free I asked for donations to the Africa Yoga Project. I'll do one big donation at the end of the month and the end of my practice classes!
What I need to work on:
-still pushing the class through tough poses while making adjustments
-not assuming new students know what "comfortable" or "good" is supposed to feel like in class
-not getting flustered at the VERY END of class and forgetting to explain what "Namaste" means to new students!
and the big one for me... varying the tone of my voice!
That last one is challenging because that is how I speak, very evenly without much variation. It can be good, as I've had lots of complements on how soothing and laid back my voice is, but that might not be what the students want during a 60 second dancers pose!! I'll keep pushing away at it.
Just a little drawing I made in Kids Yoga this past weekend!
If you teach, what were your struggles when you first started?
(Don't forget to enter the Ultima Giveaway... last chance to enter tomorrow! )
Namaste, Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com
