Quick recap
Karen Fabian, host of "Conversations for Yoga Teachers," discussed common scenarios in yoga classes and offered approaches to handle them, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's teaching style and adapting it to suit individual students. She covered topics such as maintaining confidence, preparing well, and focusing on effective communication and cues during classes. Karen also addressed professional boundaries, handling unexpected situations, and encouraged teachers to explore different teaching methods while staying true to their intentions.
Next steps
• Yoga teachers can experiment with one of the discussed scenarios in their classes over the next 2 weeks and share with Karen via Instagram DM if they wish.
• Interested teachers can send a DM to Karen on Instagram requesting the cues training video.
• Teachers interested in learning the "walk and talk" technique can send a DM to Karen on Instagram to find out how to get started with this approach.
• Listeners can download the free "Concepts in Movement" PDF from the link in Karen's Instagram bio, @barebonesyoga
• Teachers interested in enrolling in Karen's Yoga Anatomy Blueprint Learning Program can take advantage of the new payment plan before January 1, 2025 and get started for just $367!
Summary
Handling Yoga Class Scenarios
In this episode, Karen Fabian, the host of "Conversations for Yoga Teachers," discusses common scenarios that occur in yoga classes and offers approaches to handle them. She emphasizes the importance of understanding one's own teaching style and not being afraid to adapt it. Karen also introduces a new format for the show, where she demonstrates the content at the beginning to ensure the listener knows what to expect. She encourages listeners to share their experiences via DM on Instagram @barebonesyoga if any of the scenarios resonate with them.
Dealing With Negative Feedback in Yoga
Karen shared a story she saw on TikTok about a Yoga teacher in Chicago who shared that someone, a student, publicly ranked her favorite teachers based on their classes. Karen expressed her thoughts about this and emphasized that teachers can't control how others perceive their classes and shouldn't be worried about negative feedback. Instead, they can focus on teaching their best.
Maintaining Confidence in Teaching
Karen discussed the importance of being prepared and confident in teaching, regardless of the students' backgrounds or levels of experience. She emphasized the need to stick to a well-prepared sequence and not be swayed by unexpected situations or student reactions. Karen also shared a hypothetical scenario where a teacher encounters a class full of new faces with varying levels of experience, and advised against changing the planned sequence on the spot. She stressed the importance of maintaining a non-reactive mindset and focusing on one's own preparation and delivery.
Adapting to Student Needs in Yoga
Karen emphasized the importance of adapting to the needs of individual students in a yoga class. She suggested that teachers should not feel obligated to change their prepared sequences unless they can easily do so. Instead, they should focus on helping students who are struggling by getting off the mat and walking around to provide clear cues. Karen also recommended using action-oriented phrases to effectively teach a mixed-level class.
Accessible Yoga and Teacher Intentions
Karen discussed her cueing method and its application in teaching yoga. She emphasized the importance of making classes accessible to students of varying levels of experience and flexibility. Karen suggested that teachers can focus on offering modifications to make postures more accessible, rather than presenting advanced variations that may not be suitable for all students. She also encouraged teachers to be intentional about the type of yoga they present, aligning it with their vision. Karen concluded by urging teachers to reflect on whether their classes are a reflection of their true intentions or merely a replication of what they were trained to do.
Understanding Yoga Styles and Confidence
Karen discussed the importance of understanding the style of yoga and the class setup when covering for another teacher. She emphasized the need to familiarize oneself with the regular teacher's class before taking on the subbing role. Karen also highlighted the need to avoid putting oneself down when covering a class, as it's a service to the students. She stressed the importance of being confident in one's own teaching abilities and not comparing oneself to others.
Maintaining Professional Boundaries in Teaching
Karen shared a personal anecdote about a time when she had to substitute teach a popular class, highlighting the importance of maintaining professional boundaries with students. She emphasized that a teacher's role is to focus on the practice, not their personal relationships with students. Karen also discussed the issue of students leaving class early, advising against taking it personally and instead focusing on sending them off with positive thoughts. She stressed that students' actions are often driven by their own issues, not the teacher's performance.
Adapting Teaching Methods for Students
Karen emphasized the importance of adapting teaching methods to suit individual students. Karen also discussed the issue of cues not working during a class, suggesting that teachers can revert to clear, short action phrases and spend more time observing students to correct any misalignments. She offered to help teachers who want to improve their teaching style through a direct message on Instagram.
Adapting Teaching Methods for Students
Karen discussed the importance of adapting teaching methods to the needs of students. She emphasized the value of observing students and adjusting cues in real-time, as this helps students feel seen and learn better. Karen also shared her personal experience of feeling called out during yoga practice and suggested that sharing cues to the room versus a specific student is very effective.
Empowering Yoga Teachers
Karen emphasized the importance of feeling confident teaching yoga classes. She stressed the need for teachers to be aware of their sequence and not be swayed by special requests from students. She encouraged teachers to explore different teaching methods and styles, and to not be constrained by traditional norms. Karen's goal is to empower teachers to be the kind of yoga instructors they truly want to be, rather than being driven by consumer expectations.
Final thoughts
Karen ended the episode by encouraging listeners to experiment with the new approaches over the next two weeks and share their experiences via Instagram DM. She also offered a free PDF on her Instagram page, titled "Concepts in Movement," and a new payment plan for her program, The Yoga Anatomy Blueprint Learning Program, offering a discounted rate of $367 to get started, with 5 more similar payments after that. This offer is good until the end of 2024.
