How To Start Teaching Yoga Off The Mat - 3 Simple Steps
Step #1 - Let Students Know
Set up students by telling them how you plan to teach the class and why. Maybe it’s an injury that led you to this point or somethings inspired you to try a different approach. For myself, I stumbled upon a yoga studio during the early stages of my yoga practice where this type of teaching was the norm. It was actually more than the norm. It was a standard for every teacher that wanted to teach in that space. The owner had a vision and a belief that this way of teaching was more empowering for students and safer for teachers. Once I experienced it as a student I knew if I ever taught yoga that this would be the method in which I chose to offer it. It was THAT powerful. If you’re a yoga teacher reading this and you’ve never experienced a class where you don’t have to look at the teacher (or the screen) then check out my Virtual Yoga Membership and sign up for the 30 day free trial. There are over 80 yoga and meditation classes that are audio only so you can experience the difference for yourself.
One you have the experience you can speak to your students more authentically about how you felt taking such a class and why it’s important for you to make this shift as a teacher. If you don’t know why it’s important to teach off the mat then check out this blog post.
Encourage students to:
Practice with their eyes closed
Trust their listening is correct
Feel their practice rather than trying to copy
Keep their attention inwards
Be more present and attentive
Take breaks when they need it
Glance at other students (if in person) if they need a visual at any point
By teaching yoga off the mat you are teaching students to be more focused and develop their innate intuitive nature. You are teaching them so much more than downward dog alignment and they will appreciate this so much.
Step #2 - Teach from the Back of the Room
The common fear is getting the blank stare from your students and the awkwardness that comes with the “WTF are you talking about” look. This is a leadership moment. Great leaders know when to step in front to take charge AND they know when to step back, let go and get out of the way. It’s a balance. Start class by facing your students, set them up for success by following step 1 above and get them in their first shape. I often start with childs pose, then walk the space, deliver a few soothing hands on assists and settle towards the back of the room. I love this walk back during the opening moments of class to get myself grounded in the space and get a feel for the collective energy in the room.
As you start to move through your sequence you’ll notice teaching from the back of the class helps you tremendously with cueing left and rights without having to worry about mirroring. If one person doesn’t respond to a cue then you are in a great position to step in and assist that one student while still teaching the rest of the class. If several students don’t respond to your cue then you can probably guess it’s an opportunity for you to clear up your communication and/or repeat your instruction in a different way. It will take time for you to understand what works and what doesn’t while you refine and strengthen your verbal cueing skills.
Step #3 - Simplify Your Sequence
The transition to teaching yoga off the mat requires you to think about how you sequence and structure your classes. You will have to adjust your sequence by taking some of the trickier poses or transitions out to help you ease into this new way of teaching yoga.
Simplify to Strengthen
Simple is often thought of or associated with ‘easy’ or ‘not enough’. Naturally as humans who are more distracted than ever we seem to have a tendency to over complicate and overthink. It’s not just yoga teachers - it’s everyone and it’s everywhere. I’m here to tell you simple doesn't have to mean easy AND can actually be more effective and challenging. As you get more practice and confidence in this method you will slowly start to expand and experiment with some of the trickier things and practice how you can teach them verbally without demonstrating.
Understanding the Definition of Vinyasa
The key to simplicity is in your pacing. Vinyasa classes are getting way to closely associated with fast paced movements and this is not the intent yet teachers are increasingly becoming attached to quicker paced classes to make sure they are ‘hard enough’ and ‘advanced enough.’ This is not the purpose of yoga nor is it what Vinyasa is about. Understand that nothing in life will last longer and perform better if you move faster. Think of cars, think of us, humans and how that would translate. The faster and harder you go the quicker you will burn out and breakdown. Vinyasa means stringing poses together. That’s it. No one said you can’t hold each pose for 5 breaths or 30 seconds before moving on to the next. Holding a pose is HARD and BUILDS strength. Have you tried a one minute plank lately? How are your legs doing in warrior two or runners lunge after 5 breaths or 30 seconds? Have tried lowering from plank to the ground over the course of a 5 second count? The slower you go the more strength you will build.
Creativity is Unlocked Through Simplicity
Many folks hear the word simple and think easy, boring, unimaginative. You want me to go slow? Who wants to go slow? I want to have freedom and creativity! If that’s you then consider this for a second: what if simplifying things was efficient, effective and creative? Can you think of any other area of your life that is improved or better when it’s complicated? Imagine a blank canvas versus a structured outline. Too much freedom and lack of structure or boundaries can leave someone feeling overwhelmed with choice, decision fatigue, worry and anxiety. When there are clear boundaries in place or a structure is provided our creative power actually gets unleashed. Furthermore, consider how many times you may have stressed out about creating a new sequence? Daily? Weekly? Ask yourself, why? There are several lineages of yoga that have built massive followings using the exact SAME sequence every time. There’s an element to structure that is very powerful and within set boundaries you can get extremely creative with how you challenge students and meet the needs of the beginner student all while teaching verbally and never having to demo.
Tips for Simple Sequencing:
The next time you plan your class ask yourself “can I teach it without demonstrating on the mat?” This will help you keep your classes simple and leave you room to slowly grow into. As mentioned earlier there will be room for you to add in poses as you get stronger with your verbiage and gain more confidence. For the time being you will have to eliminate a few shapes out of your sequences and cut down the amount of poses you teach per class as you build this new muscle.
For me personally, I started classes with slow warm ups, sun salutations, both a and b, a warrior two to reverse warrior type of series, some balancing posture, some prone backbends like locust and a cool down like pigeon, twist, savasana. I remember seeing how difficult it was in a group class setting to teach proper Chaturanga form. No matter how I explained it or demonstrated it there would be students who would push themselves to do it with poor alignment. The resistance to take it easy, place knees down and keep core tight is too much of an ego hit for most people.
Don’t Worry About the Advanced Yogi
Now you tell me who is the advanced yogi - The person who can do chaturanga perfectly or the student who has the awareness and humility to understand their body’s needs? What about an avid crossfitter who can hold chaturanga or a gymnast who can flip up into a handstand in their first yoga class? Are they advanced yoga practitioners?
The point here is that if I wasn’t teaching verbally and watching intently I never would have realized how much potential for injury exists here and how much damage I could be doing to someone’s body. I don’t need to worry about the more experienced yoga students because they’ll know intuitively when to dial it up or when to dial it down. The new students who have less body awareness need more of your attention and guidance.
I ended up making a conscious choice to stop teaching chaturanga entirely unless I can visually see everyone in the room is able. I had to realize that I can still teach ‘advanced’ yoga and keep bodies safe. When I made this shift the newer students listened to exactly what I was saying while the experienced students knew exactly how and when to level up their practice and introduce chaturanga into their flows without me ever having to say it. All of a sudden, we have a class suitable for all levels. I didn’t have to add anything into the mix or the recipe, I just had to learn how to keep it simple..
Suggested Structure for a 60 Minute Class - My Perfect Recipe
Start slow with a 10-15 minute warm up. This includes any talking you do at the beginning of class, theme introductions or opening meditations. By the 15 minute mark students are ready for the heat building portion of your class.
15-30 minute mark is your flow that will leave your students worked, energized and warm. This time will prepare students for any peak moments or poses in your sequence.
30-40 minute mark is where I like to add in either balancing, backbends, and/or core. I won’t have time for all three so I’ll pick and choose what makes sense for the day, the intention, or the time of year. EG: Tree pose followed by Malasana/Crow, down into Bridge/wheel. This is where you could add in your peak pose if that's how you sequence your classes.
40-50 minute mark is your Savasana preparation. Your last few shapes before complete rest. Think long pigeons, seated postures, juicy twists and happy baby. Mostly stuff on your butt or back.
Last 10 minutes for Savasana and closing meditation.
This may seem like ‘not enough’ for one class and you simply cannot teach it all in one hour. There are thousands of years of ancient wisdom and philosophy behind yoga so leave some room for mystery, for growth, and for the slow absorption of the practice. Ideally, you are setting student up to have a lifelong practice and this type of sequencing is built for longevity. It will leave students feeling energized and it’s well rounded. I strategically follow this structure in every class while finding a balance between the following concepts - think of these as the seasoning to a great recipe.
Silence - Shut up more than you speak up.
Move the spine in all 6 directions - Twists, Lateral Flexion (Side bends), Extension and Flexion (Forward folds and Backbends).
Count your breaths - If you ask students to stay in a pose for 5 breaths, take those breaths yourself before you move them into the next shape.
Questions? Comments?
If you enjoyed this post or have any feedback please let me know in the comments below. Need help teaching yoga off the mat? Check out my mentorship offerings and see if they’re for you. Reach out to me for a free consultation call anytime.