You have done the Yoga Teacher Training, got the certificate and are buzzing to share your knowledge. Now it is time to get over the nerves and put your skills into practice. Getting class confident is a three way balance of planning, flexibility and ‘faking it’. Every teacher’s class you have ever sat in, has experienced a crash of confidence at some point in their career, but with your training behind you, you have all the foundations ready, you just need to integrate these few points.
- Planning. Have a theme or focus to give you a centre point to come back to. Do you have a goal posture to work towards or a piece of philosophy to focus on? Have all your sequences ready and plan any music ahead of the class. This will ease the pressure and help you feel more confident as you deliver your class. It doesn’t matter of you go off on a tangent – see point 2. Here is a sequence you can try ‘Restorative Yoga Sequence’.
- Be prepared to be flexible and change your focus. During one of my trainings the Trainers specifically told us to misbehave and throw in sudden unexpected heckles to ensure our colleague was present and ‘thinking on their feet’. If, during the class, you are acutely tuned in to yourself and your students, don’t be afraid to veer away from your chosen plan. No matter how much planning you do, you can never be prepared for what your students may bring to the class. Perhaps a student is going through a break up and some heart healing is required rather than the handstand workshop you had planned, or maybe they are overworked and stressed so a more yin style class is needed. There is no such thing as perfect, so have your plan, but be ready to be flexible too.
- Faking it. You know the saying ‘fake it until you make it’. As I mentioned, every teacher has experienced nerves at some point. Remember, through your training, you are equipped with all the tools and techniques to calm those nerves. My first ever class was in a school assembly! The fear of standing in front of a whole school. I was frozen with fear, so I used it in the class. I knew that I had to shake the fear off so we did a big shake out to loud music. It relaxed me and the children loved it. Think about what you need and use that to calm you and move forward through the class.
Your students will feel equally relaxed when they see you relax. Then as they relax they will instil the confidence in you to be the incredible teacher you are – it is a beautiful energetic circle.