 |
OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Teaching Reflections |
|
|
|
Creating
a Positive Challenge in the Classroom What
is a yoga teacher's obligation to students - simply to create a feel-good
experience? Or to challenge students with a yoga practice that expands
their perspective? Is there a way to challenge students without creating a
negative or stressful experience? These
questions have come up in recent conversations with several yoga teachers.
One teacher described an entire class of students who get visibly
irritated whenever she gives them a pose that is not immediately
accessible for them. She want to give them the experience of possibility,
and exploration, and acceptance that a challenging pose can provide.
In my own teaching, I often run into students who want the hardest
practice possible. I enjoy challenging students, but I don't want to
create a competitive or discouraging practice. Another teacher described
students who reject the idea that yoga is anything other than an
opportunity to round out their workout. These students complain whenever
the teacher crosses their "woo-woo" threshold. She doesn't want
to suppress the spiritual side of her practice and teaching, but she
doesn't want to scare off her students. We
all have a sense that we're sometimes holding back in their teaching. We
all want to figure out how to give our students a truly positive
experience, while teaching what we love. It is a challenge to give
students what they want, while still expanding their ideas about what
makes a 'good' yoga practice. Most students walk into a classroom with a
very specific, and often limited goal - to touch their toes, to lose
weight, to escape the anxiety of their work. We obviously need to keep
students in the classroom - we can teach whatever we think is good for
students, but if they disagree, we'll never see them again. So we need to
meet their needs. But it doesn't do us, or our students, any good to fall
into the trap of giving students whatever they want - especially if
what they want is a practice that reinforces non-yogic attitudes and
behaviors. How
do we offer students a positive experience, without ignoring our own
instincts about what creates an authentic and beneficial yoga experience?
I use the following strategies in my teaching. 1)
Ask students what they want from their class experience. You don't need to
hand-deliver an entire class designed to fit one student's needs, but you
can always include a pose, breathing exercise, or meditation that reflects
the students' current needs. Do this consistently, and students will be
more open to the entire practice that you teach. 2)
Beginners always need some kind of success experience, or some kind of
positive reinforcement. You cannot be too generous with beginners. Don't
try to "fix" beginners or give them too much corrective personal
attention in class. Instead, simply reinforce them whenever you notice
them breathing deeply, looking focused and steady, or responding well to
instruction. 3)
Leave room for students to adapt the class to their needs and interests. I
often use the word "consider" in my teaching. As in,
"Consider trying this....", or "As you practice this pose,
consider this idea....." Give students the freedom to reject a
certain aspect of the class, without feeling like they need to reject the
entire class (and never return). 4)
Explain the value of what you teach, in terms that your students will
appreciate. Find out why your students practice yoga, and describe
practices in those terms. Sometimes I ask students before class, "Why
do you practice yoga?" I'm always surprised by the answers. Once you
know, you can focus on health benefits, physical benefits, stress
reduction, or whatever students are interested in. You can still teach the
practices that you want to teach - simply introduce them in a way that
students can hear, and understand. Make the practices student-friendly.
The practices will work, as long as the students approach them willingly.
You create the willingness when you approach students where they are. 5)
You can create positive learning experiences that are not necessarily
'feel-good' experiences. As long as students understand that class is an
opportunity to learn something about themselves, you have tremendous
freedom to create interesting experiences. For example, in some of my own
classes, I have noticed a huge increase in students' willingness to
practice poses that they don't "like". I see genuine enthusiasm
for poses that used to elicit groans - and not because the poses have
become any easier for the students. I think this change reflects my
ongoing explanation - and exploration - of the benefits of
practicing challenging poses, and 'non-favorite' poses. When students can
latch onto a specific idea, i.e. that there are real-world benefits to
learning how to be happy in their least favorite pose, their enthusiasm
for the practice increases. In my teaching experience, the longer students
have been practicing yoga, the more open they are to this kind of a
positive - but not easy - classroom experience. 6)
Model yoga ethics and ideas, even if you think that students would not be
receptive to hearing about them. In a setting where students want
primarily a work-out or spa-like experience, you can teach the bigger
picture of yoga through simple demonstration. You can give students the
gift of your own compassion, enthusiasm, honesty, and contentment. 7)
Welcome every student, and treat every student with respect. You may ask
them to do something that challenges them physically or mentally, but do
it with a friendly attitude. Return to Teaching Reflections
Enjoy these ideas? Sign up to receive monthly ideas for your yoga teaching in the free Open Mind Open Body Newsletter.
|
|