Hello! I teach at a large gym and teach large classes which sometimes will scare off budding yogis. I am going to teach a basics class for the month of
January to provide a safe haven of sorts for people who are new to the gym, or want to jump start their health plan. You know how gyms get really crowded in
January. 
I plan to teach it more workshop style with lots of instruction and talking and walking around and getting in and out of poses not necessarily in a
vinyasa style. (All of our classes currently at the gym have 30-50 people, and are taught vinyasa style.) The idea of the classes are to get them comfortable
with some basics so that they feel more comfortable joining our regularly scheduled classes.
I am thinking of focusing on the basics of pranayama and teach awareness of the breath and 1:2 ratio breath. I also want to teach the basics of a sun
salutation and modifications & a nice down dog while talking about how the wrists really do get stronger. I will go into proper alignment in any pose and
safety for the back and neck in poses. Also bandhas (the treya bandhas). I will teach them to go into child's to rest. I will hit vira 1 & 2 and side
angle. I will also go into the importance of savasana. I will emphasis honoring the body and how we all look differnet on the mat from each other and how our
practice will grow and change in time.
Is there anything you can think of that I should make sure to teach these new students? The new people almost always have trouble with wrists, and ego.
Thanks for any tips. I want this to be a good experience for the people at my gym.
- Questions on using this board
- Introductions -- Why You Came to Yoga
- 2009 Live Gathering
- 2007 Live Gathering
- Questions for Erich
- Asana
- Amazing asana sequences
- Health and Yoga
- Breath of Life
- Meditation
- Remembering to Ask for Guidance
- Energy
- Classical Texts (Sutras, Gita, etc.)
- Yamas and Niyamas
- The Business of Yoga
- Teaching Questions
- Video, book, and audio recomendations
- Workshops and Training Opportunities
- MIS Goods & Services Exchange
- Technology
- Yoga Poetry
- Martial Arts, Gymnastics, Hypnosis, Contortionism, Body Building, & Other Related Disciplines
- Everyday Sacred
- Food & Recipes
- The Environment
- Socrates Bar and Grill
teaching a yoga basics workshop style class in Jan
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 KimTX |
teaching a yoga basics workshop style class in Jan |
Lead | |
|
Posts: 51 (12/13/08 08:56:37) |
|
||
|
Erich Schiffmann |
|||
|
Posts: 3446 (12/13/08 09:59:51) |
Keep telling them, over and over and over, that it should never hurt. If it hurts, it's wrong. If it hurts, change it. If it hurts, bounce off it, adjust
it, tweak it, somehow. Tell them that you're telling them this so that they don't hurt themselves.
|
||
|
omcasey |
|||
|
Posts: 8113 (12/13/08 10:46:18) |
After telling them that it should never hurt, align them with the sound of their breathing through Ujjayi.. Let their own inner sound be the primary guide that
brings them perfectly into-and-through each of the poses. They'll love it. You can really dive into Ujjayi. For beginners, and everyone really, I do it in
stages like this--(youtube video).
|
||
|
lightdancer |
|||
|
Posts: 10139 (12/13/08 10:52:23) Asst. Administrator |
Yes. I would also make sure to do plenty of easy poses that are do-able for most people so that can get a nice zing of being "successful," so to
speak, in many different poses. Dog pose and the viras are pretty hard for most folks and side angle (parsvakonasana) is actually a very difficult pose.
It's been my experience that poses that are hard for people tend to give them the feeling that "I just can't do yoga." Give them lots of
things to help them feel successful, even though you know it's not about the poses. It will be totally about the poses for them, at first. I would spend
lots of time in things like tadasana, tree, cat pose, half dog rather than full dog. Do lots of easy, friendly poses.
|
||
|
sifumary |
|||
|
Posts: 494 (12/13/08 14:02:58) |
I like to tell my newbies:
"Its okay to learn by just watching." "You can go into childs pose at anytime during class." "Honor your body, don't do anything you are not ready for." "I understand when a person learns something new, they forget to breathe, be patient, breath and movement will come in time." "Give yourself at least four classes to feel the change in your body." "If my class doesn't suit you, please try another instructor, each instructor has their own way of teaching yoga, take the time to find the one you are most comfortable with." I like to go slower for my beginners and to keep compliementing them on their efforts, not only their alignment. Good luck on your classes, it sounds to me like these newbies are in good hands 
Mary Watson
"Energy Flows Where Attention Goes" |
||
|
Lillylulu |
|||
|
Posts: 3124 (12/14/08 06:57:25) |
it sounds like you want to just prep them for the vinyasa style class?
sometimes the best way is to encourage them to just jump in there and try to go with the flow, but that can be too much for some (usually the pace), so it sounds like you have done a good job in breaking down that particular style into working elements... one of the most popular classes where i teach is a gentle power yoga class. it follows a full power class. it really isn't gentle, but it is modified. (many full power yoga peeps take this too and just spin into the full pose even though it is slower pace). so maybe you can help them to do modified forms of each pose until they build strength and endurance. give them the tools of how to build vinyasa over time. and that modification is ok. Or, maybe there is room to have an actual gentle (modified) vinyasa style ongoing class? Or, a different style altogether too? i guess it all depends on where you are headed with the workshops. lil |
||
|
KimTX |
|||
|
Posts: 52 (12/14/08 09:30:04) |
Thanks so much for the replies.
Erich, yes, getting the point accross that there is a differnce between effort and pain is something a lot of people need to hear-I appreciate you pointing that out. "Going slow gets you there faster" , says ES, is one of my fav's. And, "the pose is anywhere from 0-100". Mary, I like what you said about watching. I have heard some teachers get pretty hyper about keeping your eyes on your own mat, and I have even been barked at for looking around (which *really* irritated me at the time b/c I was looking at my own dang foot in pigeon behind me), but I believe the opposite. Sometimes looking around can fee like looking at a beautiful scene, like the Grand Canyon. There is beauty in yoga, and when you look out and see people expressing
the asana, it can be very lovely. I think as teachers, we should not presume that someone is looking out at someone rocking a pose & experiencing envy or
frustration as a result. It can be like looking at the Mona Lisa. Ok, I've made my point!  It's obviously something that matters to me.  But, I
might not have thought of mentioning that, so thanks.
Carrie, I see your point. The thing is, we do all those poses at our gym, and I'm hoping to get them familiar enough with it, with me right there (as I could not necessarily be with 40 students) so that they can join the large classes and not feel so lost. At the same time, if they are a total train wreck, I can talk to them and teach them an alternative. For side angle, maybe a light bend at the side waist with a hand on the thigh rather than down to forearm. The other thing is to tell them to rest anytime in child's when it gets uncomfortable and join back in when they are ready. I'm not sure if this class will stick or not. Traditionally, the "easier" classes at our gym don't make. We end up have super small numbers and the class gets cancelled. I hope it does stick around, but if not, I'm hoping to at least run it 2 or 3x's per year for new members to the gym. We have 9 yoga classes per week at our gym, which is pretty good, and they are full popular classes, so we shall see. I think it's necessary to have a gentle class, but I don't get to make the decsion. I'm just glad to get to do this in January. Again, thanks for all your thoughtful replies. I learned something from each of you. |
||
|
yogini db |
|||
|
Posts: 4347 (12/14/08 09:40:23) |
kim, don't forget to tell them to RELAX!
i see many beginners so anxious to get into poses.... and they will "muscle" (or fight) their way into the pose. relaxing in a pose is SO important. 
great suggestions everyone! sit down before facts like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - thomas huxley |
||
|
lightdancer |
|||
|
Posts: 10141 (12/14/08 11:20:19) Asst. Administrator |
Good luck with it, Kim and have fun! Let us know how it goes.
|
||
|
omcasey |
|||
|
Posts: 8115 (12/14/08 12:01:33) |
Better yet, film it!!! I'd love to look in.. Very FUN
|
||
|
purnayoga |
|||
|
Posts: 319 (12/17/08 11:19:03) |
So it's only beginners that have trouble with wrists and ego? Sounds like alot of students and teachers I know. If these students are beginners then I would water them with a sprinkle. If the hose is turned on full blast their petals will likely be ripped from their stalk. I personally do not teach pranayama to beginners. For beginners it is enough to come into their bodies and have an experience. I don't fuss with them too much and I give a couple of simple alignment cues. Never more than three (with beginners especially). I'd also like to add something to the concept of "hurting". To me there is a difference between hurt and injury. There is also a difference between discomfort and hurt though that difference is often a much thinner line. Students who first come to yoga from a sedentary lifestyle may have a lot of discomfort in many of the poses AND they may misinterpret that as hurt and/or pain. If they are steered clear of that it may be very challenging for them to grow through asana practice as no range of motion would be explored at all (for those people). So just be very, very clear with them Kim. Those that are aggressive in their practice, ease them off. Those who need a gentle prodding in their posterior, give them one. Generally speaking, that which you teach would be based on your style of asana, your training, and your understanding. ========================== The spoken word is your master, the unspoken word your slave.
Last Edited By: purnayoga
12/19/08 15:52:17.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
gaileee |
|||
|
Posts: 78 (12/17/08 11:27:15) |
re: Keep telling them, over and over and over, that it should never hurt. If it hurts, it's wrong. If it hurts, change it. If it hurts, bounce off it,
adjust it, tweak it, somehow. Tell them that you're telling them this so that they don't hurt themselves.
Shouldn't this be said in all classes? gaileee
Yoga with
Gaileee
|
||
|
yogini db |
|||
|
Posts: 4374 (12/17/08 11:42:25) |
oh, for sure!
not only for beginners. although, in intermediate classes, or people that have been practicing asana for a while, they usually know that you should not experience pain. but, i still remind them from time to time. sit down before facts like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - thomas huxley |
||
|
downdog1 |
|||
|
Posts: 9 (01/15/09 03:41:38) |
How is your basic class going? I am curious what you did for your first class of your workshop? I just started my own 8 week workshop as well. I have 21
students of mixed levels, but mostly beginners. I had my first class last night. I started them lying down with a 3 part breath, and then a warm up. After I
hit the following poses -- high lunge, drop the knee and add a twist, pyramid, warrior I, warrior II, triangle, reverse warrior -- I also added a few vinyasas
in between some of the sequences.
On the floor, we did locust, bow, figure four, seated twist, seated straddle, knees to chest, supine twist, shivasana. The class was supposed to be an hour but I went over by 10 minutes. It's so hard to fit it all in in one hour. I am a new yoga teacher, and I really want my students to love yoga. I'd love feedback on my first class and what my second class should look like. Jill |
||
- Questions on using this board
- Introductions -- Why You Came to Yoga
- 2009 Live Gathering
- 2007 Live Gathering
- Questions for Erich
- Asana
- Amazing asana sequences
- Health and Yoga
- Breath of Life
- Meditation
- Remembering to Ask for Guidance
- Energy
- Classical Texts (Sutras, Gita, etc.)
- Yamas and Niyamas
- The Business of Yoga
- Teaching Questions
- Video, book, and audio recomendations
- Workshops and Training Opportunities
- MIS Goods & Services Exchange
- Technology
- Yoga Poetry
- Martial Arts, Gymnastics, Hypnosis, Contortionism, Body Building, & Other Related Disciplines
- Everyday Sacred
- Food & Recipes
- The Environment
- Socrates Bar and Grill
