All of the teacher trainees get an opportunity to teach community classes once a week for a two month period…and I was fortunate enough (or unfortunate depending on the day you ask me) to be put in the very first group. I found out I was going to be teaching in this first group over a month ago, so I had plenty of time to mentally prepare myself…and by prepare myself, I really mean shove the idea to the back of my head and forget about until 2 weeks before when it actually hit me that I should probably practice a wee bit.
So, for the past two weeks I over compensated with my denial and instead have been extremely over-preparing, as most first time yoga teachers probably do. I perfected a playlist on my iPod (which admittedly was one of the most exciting parts), wrote out my sequence multiple times, and got some guinea pigs to practice on. I was super nervous for the entire week spanning up to my class, and literally felt as if I was about to walk into a final university exam, studying my notes over and over again. A million what if’s ran into my head and I would literally dream Vinyasa. In one such dream I threw up on a student. Ok, I was a tad stressed? So what?
The truth is, that nothing can prepare you for teaching a yoga class until you actually do it. No matter how well you know your sequence, or how well timed your class is, the true learning only happens once you finally get into that room. I was so incredibly lucky to have some amazing friends and family members willing to get up early on a Saturday morning to surrender their bodies to me, and I am so very thankful for all of their support. With 7 close friends facing me on their mats, I immediately got into my element and guided them through their practice with ease. There was even one man that came into the class that I didn’t even know, and I was so excited that he showed up, because I didn’t want to be too too comfortable with the fact that I knew everyone in my room. Focusing on him and his reactions to my cues and demonstrations was one of the most enjoyable parts of my first time, because as amazing as my friends are, having a complete stranger to teach is much more significant.
I did of course mess up a couple times with directing my rights and lefts (mirroring is so hard!), and I had to improvise and throw in some extra poses at the end because as it turns out, I went a bit too fast. But all in all it was a true success, and actually so much fun. After just one class I know that I am truly meant to do this, and I cannot wait to teach more and more. It was so very rewarding to see the smiles on my friends’ faces after the class and to see them all so relaxed, and I was literally buzzing with positive energy for the rest of the day. So I guess I did something right!
For whoever is reading this and wants to test me out, I’ll be teaching every Saturday at 10am at Yoga Space for the months of January and February.
