Tips for teaching beginners

The other day, I was teaching my friends. One of them is a beginner beginner, her very first time practicing yoga.

Do you think teaching beginners is easier than teaching intermediate or advanced students? Because you don’t need to teach fancy poses? Because you keep everything simple? Actually nah, it’s not true. I actually learnt a lot from my this first-timer friend. The followings are what I learnt and some points that we need to keep in mind when we teach beginners:

🔹Explain each pose as detailed as you can, even like Sukhasana/easy seat pose. Beginners are usually not familiar with those terminologies. They won’t get this if you don’t explain. . 🔹Let their bodies be at their “natural” position. Adjustment would be nice but sometimes seems unnecessary because their bodies are not ready yet. 🔹Observe and offer modifications. 🔹They are usually the peekers in the class since they don’t really know how to do even if your cues sound quite enough. Try to demonstrate as much as you can. 🔹Savasana is quite challenging for them since it’s subtle. It’s hard for them to empty the mind and simply rest there. My friend told me she was thinking about tons of tasks she’s gonna do after. So maybe try to use guided meditation for beginners at savasana instead of leaving the quiet space for most of the time. 🔹They might not be used to or comfortable with barefoot yet. So just let them leave socks on. 🔹Encourage them to rest at child’s pose as much as they want during practice. Even Down dog could be challenging for them. 🔹Emphasize breath at all times. For beginners, it’s the first and most important thing to start. Each time I teach, I learn something from my students. We are yoga teachers, meanwhile, students are our teachers as well.

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