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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Teaching Reflections |
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What
Do You Teach? As
teachers, do we identify our teaching by our training, our practice, or
our students?
Recently, I was asked to write a bio for a workshop flyer. I'm used to
this; I have a standard bio for yoga studio web sites and promotion.
"Just say something about your training," the studio owner told
me. "So students know what to expect from your teaching."
This is the typical logic behind teacher bios - if students know where the
teacher trained (hopefully including at least one well-known teacher or
teacher training program), then students will have a sense of the
teacher's style and philosophy. I'm not sure this logic is true,
especially for experienced teachers who have a long history of yoga study
and personal practice. Teacher training is like a starter set - it gives
you practical tools and teaching ideals. But it is through a lifetime of
teaching and practice that a teacher finds her voice. For me, listing my
teachers is an act of respect to my teachers - but it isn't exactly
helpful advertising to students wondering what my class will be like.
So what how do we communicate the heart of our teaching, if not by listing
our "credentials"? After some reflection, I've decided that the
best way to understand my current teaching is: 1) to understand my current
personal practice, and 2) to meet my current students.
These are the same kinds of things I want to know when I think about
taking a class or workshop with a teacher. I most want to know: What is
her own practice like? Why does she practice yoga? How has her practice
changed over time? What are her long-term students like? What are her
students' practices like? How have their practices changed over
time? What do they think they have learned from her?
Not one studio owner, conference organizer, or potential student has ever
asked me, "What is your personal practice like?" There is
very little discussion of personal practice in the yoga community.
Certainly we hope our yoga teachers have a personal practice. But how many
of us have any idea what and how our teachers practice? In teacher
trainings, I tell the teachers-in-training to teach what they practice,
and what they have learned from their own practice. Teacher trainings can
help you understand the art of teaching, but your personal practice
determines the content of your teaching. In yoga, you can only effectively
teach what you understand from experience and have integrated into your
own life.
Similarly, I'm not sure anyone has ever asked me about my students, or my
relationship with my students over time. I've learned the most about my
teaching by observing my students' practice over time, and by noticing
which students are attracted to my teaching and which students do not
return. I judge my own teaching by observing my students and listening to
them. When you are asked to describe your own teaching, do you describe your training, or your actual teaching? Consider writing a teaching bio with this in mind. If you take me up on this suggestion, please email me your bio. Include whatever you think is most revealing and honest. I’d love to read it! Return to Teaching Reflections
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