Teaching online yoga from the camper isn’t actually very different to teaching from home. Apart from figuring out how to charge my laptop and make sure the signal is strong enough. But the teaching aspect, how I guide the class, that’s pretty much the same.
In September and October 2020, I was guiding classes by demonstrating. I had set up a wide angle camera and brought the laptop near by so I could try and see how students were following. At the end of each class, I had this funny feeling of not really knowing how they had experienced it. What they had learnt. How they had moved.
I came across a podcast called The Mentor Sessions with Francesca Cervero. In it, Francesca advocates teaching without demonstrating and she talked about how really beneficial it is for the students.
I realised I had a story in my mind, that if I stopped demo-ing people would think I was lazy. I also thought that I needed to demo almost to prove I could do the poses too. Funny old mind eh, but that’s the truth. When I realised that was what was going on (and how false those stories were), I decided I needed to sit.
It was quite a big leap, I had gotten used to describing what was happening in my body as I moved. I would say as I felt which muscles were working, which limb was lifting or reaching, and where to look for space. So not having that seemed as though it was going to be very difficult, and would make my teaching less effective.
But, I went for it. I started in my 1:1 classes. I told students they could close their eyes and that I would be guiding with my voice, that I’d see how the postures felt for them. At first, since it was new for students too, some said they’d feel self conscious about me watching, or they’d worry I’d see they weren’t getting it exactly right. And I love that about yoga, it really isn’t about what it looks like. So I told them, if it feels right in their body then it is right. Better that, than for it to look ‘right’ but give discomfort.
And as for knowing how to guide, it definitely took time and I am still finding ways to improve. I practice the flow before, and really concentrate on how it feels in my body. But, also I am learning to see how it feels for students. Noticing how quickly they move, the angles they hold, the expression on their face and the quality of their breath. Teaching this way is helping me grow as a teacher in ways that surprise me. Helping me feel more connected to students’ journeys.
Now I have been demo-ing, sitting and observing for 6 months or so and students are telling me how much they enjoy it. How freeing it is, how mindful of their bodies they are becoming. I am so thankful for this style and over the moon that it means I can teach while I travel!
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