Ep 90: Yoga Rules That Don’t Hold Up

When you finished your 200-hour yoga teacher training, chances are you walked away not just with a certificate but with a list of “rules” about how to teach. Rules about sequencing, alignment, hands-on assists, and even how you’re supposed to show up as a teacher. At the time, those rules might have given you confidence and structure. But the truth is, many of them simply aren't true, are opinion-based, or have been discredited.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the myths, outdated teaching rules, and misconceptions that still show up in yoga classes today. We’ll explore how sequencing isn’t one-size-fits-all, why alignment should never be rigid, what pain science teaches us about injury and movement, and how to move away from fear-based or authority-driven teaching.

You’ll hear how to question what you were taught, how to keep learning without overwhelm, and how to shift your mindset so you can teach with confidence, flexibility, and compassion.

Let's get to it...

Transcript

Monica: 0:00

When you finished your first yoga teacher training, you learned so much new information about yoga, its history, philosophy, and its sister sciences. You were also taught a list of rules, often taught to you as non-negotiables, the dos and don'ts of sequencing, alignment, assisting, and in some cases the kind of teacher you were supposed to be. Let's unpack these rules together and talk about how you can shift from being a rule follower to becoming a more discerning and thoughtful teacher who gets comfortable with questioning and evolving. 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 are 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 wanna dive deep and set yourself up for success. I am 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. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Monica, and I'm so glad you're here. Here we talk about the anatomy, the injuries, the nervous system insights, and all the real life knowledge you wish had been included in your yoga teacher training. You know when you completed your very first yoga teacher training, you received a lot more than just a certificate. You also learned so much new information about yoga, its history, philosophy, and its sister sciences, but you are also taught a lot of rules. These rules were often handed to you as non-negotiables, the do's and don'ts of sequencing, alignment, assisting, and in some cases, the kind of teacher you're supposed to be. At the time, these rules gave us structure and confidence. They were kind of like scaffolding to hold us up while we took our first baby steps as new teachers. But the problem is many of these rules don't hold up. Some are oversimplified, some are based more on tradition or opinion than evidence, and some can even cause harm to us and our students when you apply them without question. So let's unpack these rules together, and more importantly, let's talk about how we can shift from being rule followers to becoming discerning. Thoughtful and empower teachers who know how to question, adapt and evolve. One of the first big rules many of us were taught is about sequencing. You may have learned that there's one single correct way to build a class. If we take Vinyasa style as an example, there's a warmup. With Sun salutations, then we build intensity as we build up to a peak pose, then cool down oftentimes with forward folds and Shavasana. And while this framework can work, it isn't the only way to design a safe and effective class. Sequencing isn't about following one formula, it's about making intentional choices based on the students in front of you. The goal of the class, and maybe even the time of day or the season. However, when we're locked into a rigid formula, we lose the ability to adapt and adaptation is what makes teaching sustainable, especially when students are dealing with pain injuries or nervous system sensitivity. The next rule is about alignment. Alignment is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas of yoga. Many of us were told there's one correct alignment for each pose, and that our job is to guide everyone toward that ideal. But here's the truth. No two bodies are the same differences in bone structure like the. Depth of the hip socket or the angle of the femur bone mean that one student's safe alignment could be impossible for someone else. Trying to fit all bodies into one mold is not only unrealistic, but it can be harmful. A more supportive approach is to teach alignment as a tool for self-awareness, not as a set of rigid rules. Instead of saying, your foot must be here, we can say. Try shifting your foot and notice what changes. That subtle shift in language empowers students to explore and find alignment that works for their unique body. Next rule, assisting hands-on adjustments where one's presented as an essential part of teaching. When I finished my initial yoga teacher training, I had an assist for every single pose in the sequence, and it was assumed, and dare I say, required that I give every student an adjustment in class. The unspoken assumption was that students needed to be corrected and that I knew best, but we now understand that touch can be complicated. Some students welcome it, but others find it intrusive or even unsafe. Plus, no matter how experienced you are, you cannot feel what your student is experiencing inside their body. So the old rule of fixing alignment with your hands. Doesn't really hold up anymore. Instead, we can reframe, assist as options. Sometimes the most supportive assist is offering a prop, a verbal cue, or even affirming that what the student is already doing is enough. And when we do use touch, consent is a non-negotiable. Okay. Pain science also pulls the rug out from under some of the old rules that we were given. You may have been told that pain and yoga means a student is doing the pose wrong, or that if they just strengthen or stretch the right muscle. The pain will disappear, but pain is far more complex than that. It's not just about tissues, it's about the nervous system, past experiences, even emotions. Understanding. This changes how we teach. Instead of rushing to fix pain or making students feel broken, we can help them explore movement with curiosity, safety, and compassion. That shift alone can reduce fear and empower students to stay engaged in their practice. Another outdated belief is that yoga teachers should be rigid about tradition and never innovate. But yoga itself has never been static. AANA practice has evolved significantly over the last hundred years. Borrowing from modern movement science. To pretend that yoga hasn't adapted is to ignore its history. Our responsibility as teachers is to honor tradition while also bringing in current knowledge about anatomy, pain, science, and accessibility. Tradition isn't a cage. It's a foundation that we can respectfully build upon. Finally, there's the rule about authority, that as teachers, we should always have the answers, never admit uncertainty, and present ourselves as flawless. This is one of the most damaging myths in yoga. The truth is, students don't need a perfect teacher. They need a human teacher. They need someone who can say, I don't know the answer to that, but let's explore it together. Vulnerability builds trust. When we pretend to have all the answers, we reinforce power dynamics that can alienate students or even create shame. So where do we go from here? How do we begin to unlearn these rules and shift into a more discerning mindset? The first step is curiosity. When you encounter a rule, whether it's from a training, a podcast, or even from me, pause and ask yourself, is this a universal truth or is it a perspective? That one question opens the door to deeper discernment, discern. The second step is education, anatomy, nervous system science, and pain research are constantly evolving. Continuing education helps you separate outdated myths from current understanding, but it's not about memorizing every fact. It's about learning frameworks that help you ask better questions and adapt your teaching in real time. The third step is humility. It's okay not to know everything. In fact, admitting what you don't know often creates more trust with your students. It shifts the focus from you as the guru or the all knowing teacher to the student as the expert of their own body. And the fourth step is flexibility, not the physical kind, but the teaching kind. Are you willing to shift your sequencing? Change your cues or offer new variations when what you plan doesn't work for the students in front of you. Flexibility in teaching is what makes yoga safe, accessible, and deeply supportive. The evolution from a rule following teacher to a discerning, empowered teacher is a journey. It's not easy. It requires unlearning, questioning, and willingness to sit with the discomfort of not having simple answers, but it's also incredibly freeing. When you let go of rigid rules, you gain the ability to meet your students where they are. Whether they're managing persistent pain, navigating an injury, or simply trying to find a little more ease when they move in their bodies. So the next time you hear a yoga rule, I would encourage you to pause. Ask yourself, does this apply to everybody in every context, or is this just one way of seeing things? That habit of questioning is what will make you not just a more knowledgeable teacher, but a more compassionate one. So what rules can you let go of now? What rules can you decide to do more studying on? The goal here is to question what you know now and what you learn going forward. Again, there are so many advances in our understanding of anatomy, human movement, injury recovery, the nervous system And pain science that you should always be open and willing to learn. I hope this episode helps to spark some curiosity with you on what rules you may have been taught that you might be able to move on from now, Understanding anatomy, biomechanics, and the effects yoga Asana have on the body helps you help your students. If you've been enjoying these episodes, I know that you're a yoga teacher who's ready to teach with more intention and less. Fear around pain injuries and new students. Let's continue to raise the bar for how yoga supports real bodies in real life. It's so important for us to have these conversations so that you remember that students of all shapes, sizes, alignment, and abilities come to your classes and you can serve all of them. You know that my goal is for you to love the yoga teaching life. It's important to understand movement and the issues students come to your classes with. Subscribe to the podcast so you're always in the know when a new episode drops. And share it with another yoga teacher who you think would love to be in on these conversations. And finally, thank you for helping to spread the word about this podcast. Alright. Thank you for listening. That's it for now. Bye.