How to Teach a Beginner Yoga Class
A regular yoga practice has many benefits. It can enhance your flexibility and strength, improve balance and reduce muscular tension and stress. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions about yoga. If you are a yoga teacher, potential students may tell you that they cannot do yoga because they are not flexible enough, they do not like to sit still, they are too old or a host of other concerns. Yoga can be done by anyone, at any fitness level, at any age. Offering a beginners yoga class can help members of your community, who may not have previously tried your class, to feel comfortable about coming. Labeling a class as a beginner class sounds more inviting and manageable for those new to yoga.
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Instructions
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Instruct your students that the goal of yoga is not to be more flexible or to achieve the perfect posture. Instead teach them that yoga is about learning to listen to your body's needs and being willing to honor them. Create a noncompetitive atmosphere where students feel comfortable to find the expression of the posture that works for them, even if it is different from everyone else.
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Teach your students to do deep diaphragmatic breathing. Let them know that the breath is what helps to connect the mind and body, and deep breathing helps to relax the muscles as they hold the postures. Instruct your students to breathe as slowly and deeply as they can while holding the postures, and that they should never hold their breath. On each exhale encourage them to let go of any tension in the body. Tell your students that learning to connect the breath with the movement is the most important step in learning to practice yoga.
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Let your students know that the next step in a beginners yoga class is to learn to keep the mind in the present. Teach them to be fully present when holding postures, and if they find their minds wandering to other thoughts, just simply bring their attention back to the yoga pose. Guide them in learning to be mindful about how their body is responding to the pose and then to accept any modifications they may need to make. Help them learn to sense areas in the body where they tend to hold tension, and then teach them to let the tension go.
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Remember that your body is used to doing yoga, but the poses will feel foreign to many beginning students. Keep in mind that many of your students may have been leading sedentary lives or have medical concerns that have kept them inactive. Use a lot of props such as chairs, blocks, bolsters, blankets and yoga straps to ease your students into postures. Using blocks during forward bend and lunge positions is helpful for beginning students that may not be able to get their hands to the floor. Teach your students to use yoga straps for leg stretches in standing and lying as well as with postures such as yoga mudra. Remember that these postures can be difficult for those with tight hamstrings and shoulders. Instruct your students in the use of bolsters and blankets for floor postures that require a lot of hip flexibility. Teach the proper way to sit on a blanket or bolster for seated postures that require a straight back. Let your students know that by sitting up on a blanket or bolster their back is in a better position.
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Try to not overwhelm your students with too many postures during their first few classes. Spend time on just a few postures and make sure they understand correct alignment and what the benefits of the poses are. Allow time for students to ask questions and discuss how they feel in the poses. Give your beginning students the time and space to feel really comfortable in a few basic poses to give them the confidence to try more challenging poses.
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Tips & Warnings
Start slowly and easily. Many times what an instructor considers a beginner class can still be too challenging for those who have never done yoga before. Study the websites in the Resources and become familiar with using props. Props will be the beginner yoga student's best friend.
With yoga gaining in popularity, you may have students in their sixties and older who have never done yoga before. You may have students with joint replacements, recent surgery or other conditions and some postures may be contraindicated. Take time to research your students' medical conditions and always have them obtain permission from their health care provider before starting your class.
