Here is an oxymoron for you: Some of the best Yoga teachers are great listeners. This is a general guideline for Yoga students who aspire to teach some day. Listening skills, in Yoga, start when you take your first class, as you learn by hearing, watching, and doing.
The Yoga student who learns predominantly by listening will be able to verbally communicate the finer techniques to others in the future. This is not to say that other methods of learning have less value, but a skilled Yoga teacher must be a communicator and be able to reach into each individual student?s mind.
Therefore, not all Yoga students can learn from you in the same way. Some will learn by listening carefully to your cues, others will gain more from an assist, and some will be able to copy just by watching. As a Yoga instructor, you still have to be a good listener when it comes to all of your students? questions.
Most Yoga teachers do a good job with handling student questions. However, here is something to think about: Do you try to clarify why a question is being asked? Consider that your student may not be clear in his or her communication skills and you need to ?get to the heart of the matter.?
The motivation behind a question is more important than the question itself. You don?t want to waste your time giving unrelated information before, after, or during a Yoga class. So, get a clarification about what you are being asked, and learn why your Yoga student is truly asking you this question. This will benefit the both of you and avoid wasting your student?s time, as well.
If a student asks you a simple question, with a ?yes? or ?no? answer, you can still find out the motivational source by saying, ?Yes, but why do you ask?? This technique is really that simple, and you may find the question is much deeper than you originally perceived.
Another mistake some Yoga teachers make is handling a question defensively. Your student thinks enough of you to ask for your opinion and is interested in your answer. If he or she had no respect for you, your opinion would not be important. Now, whether you perceive an objection or not, you should ask for a clarification before answering.
There is a positive side to all of the questions your Yoga students ask, but you must clearly see the motive behind the question in order to give the best answer. The bottom line is: Even though you are now at the front of the Yoga class, your listening skills must be better than your best listeners in your class.
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Showing posts with label Good Job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Good Job. Show all posts
February 23, 2009
What to Look for When Hiring a Yoga Teacher (Part 1)
How can you tell which Yoga teacher is the best fit for your health club, ashram, spa, or wellness studio? Does it depend on a particular diploma, style of Yoga, or who their Guru was? Let?s go over a bit of credential history and a checklist for finding the ideal Yoga teacher.
Lately, there has been a scramble amongst Yoga teachers to gain higher credentials. This is understandable because Yoga became much more of a mainstream pursuit. As Yoga became more and more popular, many experienced Yoga teachers found themselves ?out of the loop.?
Some Yoga teachers, with decades of Yoga teaching experience, had no credentials, diploma, or ?paper trail.? The ?paper chase? was on, and when it came to credentials, a new ?playing field? had been created.
With all the liability suits out there, credentials have become very important, even in Yoga. Credentials make liability insurance much easier to get. Therefore, all Yoga teachers have to jump through the new ?flaming hoops.?
What Guru or Yoga Master trains the best teachers? Competence has little to do with who a Yoga teacher?s Guru - is or was. The Guru is not teaching this Yoga teacher?s class. The real question is: How will this Yoga teacher perform within your facility?
Have you ever met a graduate from an ?elite? college who was an under achiever? Of course, and we have all seen over achievers from colleges, which are not as prestigious. You might also want to think about the many over achievers who never went to college.
Is there a particular style that trains Yoga teachers the best? Not really, most Yoga teacher training programs, of all styles, produce competent Yoga teachers. To credit one particular style, would take away the credibility of the rest. However, if, for example, you are looking to establish a Yoga class that is vigorous, you might seek out teachers from particularly vigorous Yoga styles.
Most Yoga teachers do a very good job of teaching, but students of any subject will always think more fondly of a particular teacher. This is human nature to make comparisons, but there are much larger issues when it comes to teaching skills and making your best selection.
The real issues, and skills, that count when hiring a Yoga teacher, are safety, compassion, communication, assisting, alignment, listening, modifications, ethics and continuing education.
? Copyright 2005 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
Lately, there has been a scramble amongst Yoga teachers to gain higher credentials. This is understandable because Yoga became much more of a mainstream pursuit. As Yoga became more and more popular, many experienced Yoga teachers found themselves ?out of the loop.?
Some Yoga teachers, with decades of Yoga teaching experience, had no credentials, diploma, or ?paper trail.? The ?paper chase? was on, and when it came to credentials, a new ?playing field? had been created.
With all the liability suits out there, credentials have become very important, even in Yoga. Credentials make liability insurance much easier to get. Therefore, all Yoga teachers have to jump through the new ?flaming hoops.?
What Guru or Yoga Master trains the best teachers? Competence has little to do with who a Yoga teacher?s Guru - is or was. The Guru is not teaching this Yoga teacher?s class. The real question is: How will this Yoga teacher perform within your facility?
Have you ever met a graduate from an ?elite? college who was an under achiever? Of course, and we have all seen over achievers from colleges, which are not as prestigious. You might also want to think about the many over achievers who never went to college.
Is there a particular style that trains Yoga teachers the best? Not really, most Yoga teacher training programs, of all styles, produce competent Yoga teachers. To credit one particular style, would take away the credibility of the rest. However, if, for example, you are looking to establish a Yoga class that is vigorous, you might seek out teachers from particularly vigorous Yoga styles.
Most Yoga teachers do a very good job of teaching, but students of any subject will always think more fondly of a particular teacher. This is human nature to make comparisons, but there are much larger issues when it comes to teaching skills and making your best selection.
The real issues, and skills, that count when hiring a Yoga teacher, are safety, compassion, communication, assisting, alignment, listening, modifications, ethics and continuing education.
? Copyright 2005 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
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