Dear Humans,
Almost seven years of teaching under my belt and I still get butterflies before I teach.
That driving to class feeling of “I hope it’s a good class…”
Teaching yoga is a public act. There’s no way to get around that. You are the host of an experience, and your voice is the one filling the space. That comes with pressure.
So here is my trick for dealing with nervousness.
When I’m heading to class, I remind myself:
This experience is about your students, it’s not about you.
As yoga teachers, it can be easy to lose yourself in the “performance” of teaching. We want to deliver a great class. We want to flex our teaching skills. We want to try new things, and generally, most of us want to be liked.
But all those thoughts of “I hope they like the class,” “I hope I don’t mess up,” “I hope they think I’m a good teacher,” or even “I hope this is the best class they’ve ever taken and they love me and keep coming back…” – often that’s not about the students, it’s about you, and your desire to be perceived in a certain way. No judgement! We all do it. I certainly do.
But at the end of the day, you don’t want to be the main attraction of the yoga class. You want your students to go so deeply inward that the experience they are having is much more about them than it is about you.
To me, teaching yoga is about giving your students the gift of the practice. It’s about allowing them to find safety and peace on their mats, and move their bodies in ways that both challenge and restore, ultimately leading them to a quiet mind and sense of connection with something greater.
In this day and age of teaching yoga, where there’s so much chatter online about how to do it well and right; how to teach creatively, how to enhance the experience, how to stand out – it can be freeing to remind yourself that as long as the students get what they need, you’ve done what you need.
I like to think of my yoga teaching as an offering. Teaching from a place of “seva,” a Sanskrit word that means “together with,” which is often used to describe acts of service.
I like the idea of “together with” because it’s a reminder that the experience is always co-created. There is what you offer, and then there is what the student creates internally. We are each playing a role.
Sometimes when I’m nervous, switching from the lens “what will they think of me” and into “how can I give them what they need” helps prepare me for how I want to show up. It helps me think about the pace of my voice, the compassion in my tone, the messages in my intention setting. It reminds me to gaze outward. It lets me off the hook a little bit, because the practice can often speak for itself.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t have those nerves, or desires, or that you won’t want to do a good job and excel. Because all of that likely exists. But as you teach from a service mindset, you lessen the pressure that you’ve put on yourself.
You can give the gift of yoga. I know you can. Sometimes that means simplifying your plans, and really asking yourself: How does this serve them?
Sometimes it means turning the knob down on your own voice, and giving your students space to expand.
Our flow this week is twisty! I like the transition in particular from reverse warrior to wide leg fold with the hand slice. I cued it like this:
“From reverse warrior, slowly straighten your front leg. Press into the heel of your front foot and lift your front toes. Pivot your front toes to the long edge of the mat, then slice your front hand down the center and into a wide legged forward fold. Place your other hand on your sacrum and start to twist from the core, stacking your shoulders.”
The idea of this flow was to teach students to twist in an engaged way. That’s why I think blocks are such a helpful tool, so the students can focus on their engagement, rather than their balance.
For my paid subscribers this week I share the “peak flow” that I taught at the end of class, which highlights all the twisty action and engagement that we’re working on in the main flow. Find that at the bottom of this letter!
Teachers – how do you think of being “of service” to your students? Let me know in the comments!
Remember, just by showing up, you’re doing the work. Thanks for being here.
Sending love,
Izzy
Izzy Martens
author, yoga teacher, sequence enthusiast
www.yogahumans.com
What I Taught in Yoga This Week | July 24, 2024
the write-up
three legged dog
knee box
cross knee to opposite elbow
knee to wrist
knee to opposite wrist
knee to same elbow
three legged dog
low lunge
easy twist
open arm twisted high crescent lunge
one leg mountain with twist
step back to twisted lunge
step forward to one leg mountain with twist — extend the leg
step back to twisted lunge
warrior II
reverse triangle
triangle
half-moon
reverse warrior
“pivot and slice” to wide legged fold
easy twist
low lunge (face the back of the mat)
warrior I
leg press
pyramid
revolved triangle
revolved half-moon
shiva squat
optional: solider pose
step back to low lunge
three legged dog or three legged dolphin
knee to nose
vinyasa
otherside: take your left leg around to the front of the mat!
If you’re new here – hello!
Let me introduce myself! My name is Izzy Martens and I’m just a human who teaches yoga, writes, hangs out with her two cats, hikes around Colorado, and enjoys creating yoga sequences.
I teach three yoga classes a week and I started this publication to simply share what I was teaching, in the hopes that other yoga teachers would find it helpful. My real flows designed for real yoga teachers.
My style and study background are mostly vinyasa, power, ashtanga, rocket, and hatha. Though I have a touch of training in yin, dharma, iyengar, and yoga nidra as well.
My husband and I started yogahumans.com because we were new-ish teachers and we found we had so many questions about the actual act of teaching yoga after our 200hr training. We started Yoga Humans to provide some of the answers we were finding and create a sense of community around teaching yoga.
Many years later and my husband, Kyle, is now tattooing and just opened his own tattoo studio in Fort Collins, Co (foundtattoo.com) – a space for intentional and beautiful tattoos. I’m primarily posting on this newsletter now and on social media (@yoga.humans on IG).
Ethos. I believe that yoga is a beautiful practice and the more people who have the opportunity to practice it, the better. I believe in deeply honoring the traditions and history of yoga. I also acknowledge that much of the modern yoga we teach now has evolved away from the original teachings. I, like much of the modern yoga world, am working to find the best way to continue to practice, breathe, move, play and evolve, while also honoring the deep roots of the yogic practice. It’s not always a perfect attempt. I am by no means an expert. Just a human, trying to figure it out as I go. One of my main goals for this publication is to come at it from a place of love and compassion. This is a place where we can discuss our ideas and ask questions without fear of retribution or judgement. I notice a lot of critique and anger online in the yoga world. Honestly, it’s disheartening and I know prevents people from sharing. You’re always welcome to send messages and leave comments, but please do so from a place of curiosity. First and foremost, let’s extend love and empathy towards one another. Let us remember that we’re all humans, walking this path together. A key principle of yoga in ahimsa - non-harm - let’s seek to find that online as well as in our real lives.
Who are you, dear human? Leave a comment and get into the discussion! My door is always open. I’m so glad you’re here.
Bonus for paid subscribers | Twisty Peak Flow
So where do we go after all this active twisting from the flow above? Well, lots of places!
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