Ep 43: Students & Class Expectations – Yoga Teachers Questions Answered

In this episode, I have more questions from teachers that I want to answer that center around students feeling frustrated or irritated with their practice and how you as a teacher can help them. Just as a side note. I realized as questions were coming in, how they were similar in themes, these questions are about the energy that students give off in class and how we can address them in different circumstances.

In episodes, 38 and 39. I shared different exercises for you to teach your students to help them feel and learn to regulate their nervous systems. In episode 41, I answered a couple of questions from two teachers who were concerned that their students weren't relaxing in Savasana and wanted some advice on how to help them.

If you haven't listened to those episodes, I highly recommend it because there's so much juicy information, tips, advice, and some practices that you can try in your classes too.

Transcript

Yeti Stereo Microphone: 0:00

In episodes, 38 and 39. I shared different exercises for you to teach your students. Whether it's in a group setting or with a private client. To help them feel and learn to regulate their nervous systems. In episode 41, I answered a couple of questions from two teachers, Janice and Valerie, who were concerned that their students weren't relaxing in Shavasana. And wanted some advice on how to help them.

Yeti Stereo Microphone-1: 0:30

If you haven't listened to those episodes, I highly recommend it because there's so much juicy information, tips, advice, and some practices that you can try in your classes too. Although we can't always know for sure if what we're teaching is working. I mean, yeah, we can get feedback from students. For example, they might report that after your restorative class, they slept so good at night. That's proof that it is helping them to balance their nervous system. And settle into the parasympathetic side of their nervous system. It is important to note that we need both sympathetic and parasympathetic, right. I've said it before, because we have to protect ourselves and we need the ability to react to threats and dangers in life. But we also have to be able to climb down from that threat response. Finding balance in the autonomic nervous system is important and it doesn't mean equal. It means that we have the ability to react to threads appropriately and also recover from stressful situations in a healthy way. Living in stress and the health risks from that sort of lifestyle is a whole separate conversation. That I could dedicate an entire episode to. But in this episode, I have more questions from teachers that I want to answer for you. These questions center around students feeling frustrated or irritated with their practice and how you as a teacher can help them. Just as a side note. I realized as questions were coming in, how they were similar in themes. I thought these questions were about the energy that students give off in class and how we can address that.

2:35

Welcome to the Essential Conversations for Yoga Teachers podcast with me. I'm Monica Bright, and I've been teaching yoga and running my yoga business for over a decade. This is the podcast for you if you're a yoga teacher, you're looking for support, you love to be in conversation, and you're a lifelong student. In this podcast, I'll share with you My life as a yoga teacher, the lessons I've learned, my process for building my business, and helpful ideas, tools, strategies, and systems I use and you can use so that your business thrives. We'll cover a diverse range of topics that will help you whether you're just starting out or you've got years under your belt and you want to dive deep and set yourself up for success. I'm so glad you're here. Listen, I don't take myself too seriously, so expect to hear some laughs along the way. Now, let's do this together.

Yeti Stereo Microphone-1: 3:43

Welcome back to the podcast. First off, before we get started today, I want to give you a gift. I am inspired to gift give by my youngest daughter, who is the best. Most thoughtful gift giver. I know. I've learned a lot about giving gifts from her. So we've been talking a lot about pain and injuries lately. And I have stressed how important I believe it is for movement teachers. To understand the human body, especially because we are teaching movement. I created an ebook for you because I realized that learning this information might be super interesting but it might also feel like a lot to learn. So I say baby steps. You'll learn bits and pieces here and there. And then you'll start to put it all together. And that's how you integrate this information. Okay. The ebook is sequencing for different injuries. And I'll leave a link to it in the show notes below. Download it. I promise you it'll begin to lay the foundation for you. So let's get to the questions. The teachers ask that that really revolve around the energy or reactions. Uh, student gives because they are. Either struggling or find it difficult to relax. Or attain their desired goals in class. Remember, I'm a huge believer that there are never any stupid questions. And that if you're asking the questions, there are likely other teachers who have this same question. As well. I've got more questions. So if you love this episode, let me know and send in your question too. I would be so happy to answer it. Okay. Question number one is from Mary and she wrote. I had a new student in my year, in class last week, who said she needed to relax. I taught her and the rest of class. All of my go-to solutions for relaxation. After class, she said she hated it. And that it just irritated her soul. She did tell me before class that her work life is stressful and that she's stressed out all the time. What can I do to help her? This is such a great question, because I think as teachers we're always trying to help students enjoy the benefits of yoga. Which we know can include mindfulness awareness and a regulated nervous system. But sometimes teaching that is hard. We're teaching students who have their own ideas and challenges when it comes to relaxing. So while it may be easy for some students, It's not easy for others. I'll be honest. The first yin class that I took, I was irritated to partially because I didn't know what to expect. But also because the teacher put us in a pose and said, okay, we're here for the next 25 breaths. 25 breaths. Immediately, I thought. What am I supposed to do for the next 25 breaths? And that's exactly what I thought about for the next 25 breaths. I thought, is she serious? I thought, what number are we on? I thought, should I be counting? I thought maybe I'm breathing too fast. There were so many thoughts swirling through my mind. That I didn't relax. Not one bit. So, this is what I'll say. And I'm sure Mary, that you are a skilled teacher who is teaching wonderfully. I would advise you to think about the language that you're using in class. We cannot control people's thoughts in response to what we say, but we can ask questions, like, is your mind racing? And help students become aware of that and try to redirect their thought patterns. The second piece of advice I'll give is offer something for your students to focus on. Some teachers guide students to focus on a ball of light, for example. You could do some light guided imagery or visualizations to give students a point of focus. I've taught body scans during Yan classes, but you could also theme your classes and touch on the theme throughout the class. I've also offered angel cards for students to choose from before class so that they have their own messages that they could focus on. And I would redirect their thoughts to the card they pulled and the message on it as the class progresses. So that they have something to focus their minds on. If that's a challenge for them. It's good to remember that relaxing resting downregulating is not one size fits all. So if you can encourage her to keep trying restorative practices. Even tried different teachers, studios, yoga at home and other practices, not necessarily restorative, but maybe it's a flow and yin class because that might support her better as it helps to transition her from her stressful life to a more still practice. Don't give up on her and try to encourage her not to give up on herself. She knows that she needs a, some form of counter to her stressful life. Which is why she showed up for class in the first place. You got this Mary. Thank you for asking that question, because I know you're not the only teacher who has experienced. And irritated. Student. Okay. Question number two is from Tanya. Tanya says she doesn't know how to handle a student of hers. Who becomes visibly frustrated during challenging poses. She gets overwhelmed, huffs and puffs, and audibly grunts sometimes. I've tried to create a compassionate and nonjudgmental space, but I don't think she hears what I'm saying. I hate that she feels this way because yoga is supposed to be good for you. Tanya you are correct. Yogurt is supposed to be good for us. I think that that message is what we're trying to teach students. Right. In addition to breathing Asana mantra moodra does. Self study and so much more. We're also trying to teach students to give themselves grace and understanding, but everyone's different. Imagine someone with a type, a personality who strives to be the best at everything. And then in yoga class, the message or your theme is you don't have to be the best. I would imagine that their internal response is oh, really? Watch me. Again, we can't control people. All we can do is our best to create a supportive environment for them. What would I do in this situation? I would create sequences without peak poses and without really challenging transitions for a little while. And you might be thinking, but Monica. That sounds crazy. I teach power Vinyasa. and it's expected in my classes that I make it hard and I have a peak pose. And I would answer that concern by asking you, are you sure? If you're teaching at a studio, ask if that's the expectation, because it very well may not be. And if it is talk to your manager and explain to them that you have a student with this quote unquote issue that you're trying to address. Now here comes the good part. How are you addressing her issue? Well, number one, you're not speaking to it directly in class, which she might ignore anyway. And number two, you aren't trying to change her reactions by having a one-on-one conversation with her. Sometimes people tend to get defensive. So instead of putting her in that potential position, I would advise that you created environment where she can feel something different. When you create sequences without a peak pose. It can change the arc of the class. So instead of having this one big frustrating pose to work towards you create an entire class that simply flows from beginning to end. Thereby reducing the chances that she'll get frustrated because she can't do a peak pose. If she wants a challenging class, you can make it challenging in different ways from holding poses longer, going deeper into them And variations that make what might seem like a simple warrior to. More challenging. The key here is that you're giving her the experience of pulling back a bit. Without announcing it and guiding her and other students. To notice how they're feeling. Notice what's coming up and notice any differences. You never know, they might tell you that these classes are a refreshing change of pace. Okay, Tanya, I hope that that was helpful. For you. Try it out and let me know, you can always, uh, send me a text through the podcast. All right. One more question from Lydia, who has a student who is overly focused on achieving. Perfect. Alignment and is self critical when they cannot perform poses. Quote unquote, correctly. When she talked with the student after class one day, they told her that they got the book light on yoga by BK S I N Gar, because they wanted to see how the poses are supposed to look. And they are trying to do yoga the right way. Lydia is a teacher that teaches body autonomy and that everyone's body looks different imposes because no one's body is the same. Lydia said that she doesn't know what to say to this student because they believe. That they have to force their body to make certain shapes. Lydia. I think that there are so many yoga teachers who have this same concern. As you do. First, let me just say that as yoga teachers, I am so glad that more and more of us understand that alignment is personal. And we aren't trying to teach students to look a certain way. If you're a teacher who still teaches strict alignment rules. I would just invite you to soften a bit. And while you're teaching and looking at your I really pay close attention to what's happening. Do you notice that some students can't achieve. A particular alignment queue. Or if we go back to Tanya's question. Do you notice if any of your students are getting really frustrated or irritated in class? This could be an indicator that they're striving for. Perfection. Or that they think that a certain look in oppose means that they're practicing it right. Okay, how can we address this issue? One of the tactics I used when I was teaching in studios with mirrors is to change the orientation of class. Instead of facing the mirrors. The mirrors were behind the class this way, it made it difficult for students to peek at themselves in the mirror, which is exactly what I intended. Because I wanted to remove the visual aid in class. Then what I did was I got a really intentional. About the language that I used in class. I used a lot of feeling and experience. It'll language, like go inside and notice what it feels like or make any adjustments that make the pose feel better for you. And I'd even ask, what would it feel like if you moved your leg here? And then give them time to get curious and to actually feel it And discern what it is exactly that they're feeling. And finally follow all that up with. Did it feel better here? Or there. Removing the visual feedback from the mirrors and teaching students to go inside and ascertain what feels better without trying to look a certain way, help students discover that their I may in fact be different than what they thought it should look like. Of course being skillful with your queuing. And the mean can help in this situation too. However I've found much success in showing instead of telling. I admit, I kind of have a love, hate relationship with light on yoga because the pictures of the poses. Are unattainable for so many yoga practitioners. And it says some students up for failure. I just think as yoga teachers, we could take on a little bit more responsibility and help them find. The alignment that's right for them. Okay. How are you feeling about the questions that I've answered in this episode? Do you feel like you have a little more guidance on how to help your students? I hope so. I have a few more questions to get through and I want to answer them. Invite size episodes. So that you have a chance to understand integrate and even incorporate some of the suggestions that I'm offering. In your classes. Also, if you have a question, please ask it because I will definitely want to share it with everyone else. I love being in conversation with you and answering your questions. Is even better. I don't think we talk about the energy. That we feel in classes enough. I've added a link in the show notes for you to send me a quick message about your thoughts on this episode or any other. I would love it if you used it to send me more questions. I love reading your questions. I won't know your phone number. It's just an addition to the platform that I use. That allows for you to communicate with me. Once you click on it, it will take you to your messages. Don't delete the code. That's how your message will get to me. And I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. And any questions you may have. I love diving into these conversations because there are so many important discussions to be had in the teaching world. You know, that my goal is for you to love the yoga teaching life. And allow it to be fulfilling and rewarding, and sometimes it takes a work and a few conversations to get there. If you loved this episode, let me know. Subscribe to the podcast. So you're always in the note when a new episode drops. And share it with another yoga teacher who you think would love to be in on these conversations. Thank you for helping to spread the word about this podcast. And don't forget to download. The ebook that I created for you sequencing for different injuries. If you've been taking notes in your journal, as you listened to these episodes, I'm so glad you are. And I'd love to hear about it. When you download the ebook, you'll be joining my newsletter. That's just for yoga teachers. And I've got some exciting teachings coming soon. So I want to tell you all about them. The link is in the show notes below, and I would love for you to join it so we can always stay connected. All right, that's it for now? Bye.

21:41

Mhm.