Two weeks before I taught my first two classes, I had a hard time deciding what type of class should I teach. I asked Jess about her opinion during the class, and she told us to teach something that we would like to teach in future after we graduated. I started to ask myself few important questions: What type of yoga do I enjoy practising and teaching? What kind of instructor would I like to become? What do I want my students to gain from my class? Should I teach different type of classes to gain different type of experiences?
With the answers on my mind, it became much easier for me to choose the theme. I decided to teach:
- Themed Class: Yoga for Heart Opening
I want to teach Heart Opening because I want to share my love with my classmates on Backbending. I think it makes sense to practise how to conduct a backbending class because I want to teach that in future.
- Intermediate to Advanced: Strength and Flexibility (Focus on body strengthening and hip flexibility)
I want to challenge myself to conduct a more advanced class. Strength and Flexibility always complement each other in yoga, other sports and everyday life.
- Beginner to Intermediate: Yoga Flow for Strength
Strength is one of my biggest weaknesses. I want to get out my comfort zone because I want to be an all rounder yoga teacher someday.
Next step: Plan the sequence
I took very long time to decide my sequence. I watched many youtube videos; I borrowed books from the library; I tested my sequence repeatedly; I asked my yoga friend to practise with me; I asked Alexis for her opinions; still, on the day before I taught my first class, I changed my sequence again. Whenever I close my eyes, I would kept thinking about the poses, how to improve the flow, do I cover all the warm up they need for the final pose, how to let the sequences make more sense (or perfect). But there is no such thing as perfect, I am still at my learning stage (and we can never stop learning), just nice for my body could be too much for others body. I gave myself a lot of unnecessary stress sometimes. I start to appreciate meditation a lot and doing it more often. Dhyana is my favourite hand gestures because it will help me feel more grounded and focus. I am a highly sensitive and emotional person. I can cry in less than a minute when I watch an ad; feel the pain when I watch movie or even read a book; I always overexert or over worried because I want things to go smoothly and I want to do a better job. Meditation really helps me to calm my mind whenever I am worried or insecure or have too much of other emotions.
Finally, I taught my first two classes. I didn’t do a perfect job. Some of the parts I did better, some of the parts I need some improvement. I received some constructive feedback from my teacher and classmates. I tried not to blame myself too hard on the mistakes I made; at the same time, I reminded myself it is impossible to please every students who attend the class. All of us have our own favourite teachers and it could be due to many reasons: Teaching style? Sequencing? Adjustment? Voice? Attentiveness? And more.
A special thanks to Mario for giving me advice on music after I conducted my two classes. He suggested me to remember which song for which stage of the class (standing, seated, prone, supine), so it will be easier for me to keep track of time.
Many said, grass is always greener on the other side. I need to remember how I feel at this moment. If I can become a yoga teacher one day, I must always maintain my love for yoga and help my students to learn something whenever they attend my class.
17th and 18th November
Charis Lam
