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By Amy Patee
2011 Amy Patee www.amypatee.com Page 1 of 31
Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Table of Contents
Introduction, Pages 3-4 Chapter 1, Page 5-6 The 4 Tiered Process Chapter 2, Pages 7-8 Tier 1Primary Actions: Building the Foundation Chapter 3, Page 9-10 Tier 2Secondary Actions: Executing the Pose Chapter 4, Pages 11-12 Tier 3Going Deeper: Fine-tuning Alignment Chapter 5, Pages 13-15 Tier 4Coming out of the Pose Chapter 6, Page 16-17 Practice Writing Your Script Chapter 7, Pages 18-22 Adding Imagery Chapter 8, Pages 23-24 Adding Descriptive Words Chapter 9, Pages 25-26 Verbal Pacing Chapter 10, Pages 27-30 Voice Projection Chapter 11, Page 31 Putting it all Together
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Introduction
When I first started teaching yoga, I wrote my own scripts out on note cards on how to guide students into each posture. Whenever I had a spare moment, I would pick a pose to review, rehearsing the script in my head. As time went on, I read every yoga book I could get my hands on. When I came across a new instruction that seemed effective, I would try it out in my own practice. It if worked for me, I would jot it down on the appropriate note card and then add it to my repertoire of instructions. As the white space slowly disappeared on the note cards, my dependence on them also lessened. Although I had memorized most of the scripts Id written, I no longer recited them verbatim. I started to guide my students based on what I perceived they needed in the moment. I became more spontaneous, assured, and trusting of the words flowing out of my mouth. I developed a level of confidence in my own inner understanding of how to execute and be in the postures. Several years later, I began teaching and mentoring others on how to teach yoga. I was reminded of the challenges I once faced in finding the right words to instruct my students effectively. Even people who have practiced yoga for years frequently encounter difficulties in effective communication after assuming the role of teacher. If you are currently struggling with similar challenges, know you are not alone! I have developed a simple, effective, fourtiered process for creating your own yoga pose teaching scripts. In addition, Ill
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
explain how to make your teaching scripts more engaging and dynamic through using imagery, descriptive words, verbal pacing, and voice projection. Ultimately, you will feel more confident instructing any yoga pose and be able to do it with a high degree of effectiveness.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
1. Breath Let the breath be the guiding force for all of your instructions. 2. Simplicity Keep your instructions short and to the point. Minimal talking allows more time for your students to connect with their personal experience in the pose. Limit yourself to three instructions for each tier.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Tip: Rather than reciting memorized instructions, bring your students deeper into a pose by speaking directly to what you are seeing in their bodies in the moment.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Tip: Every posture is a journey in and of itself. Encourage your students to remain equally present throughout the beginning, middle, and end of their practice.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Tier Four instructions for transitioning can be applied when you are teaching vinyasa-style yoga in which you are not asking your students to hold poses. In this case, notice if your students stay tuned in, moving in an integrated way with their breath or begin to check out and become sloppy. This frequently occurs in yoga practice, especially when a movement, such as the sun salutation, is extremely familiar. Students can turn on auto-pilot, thus setting themselves up for greater risk of injury. If you witness this happening, its time to slow them down and add Tier Three instructions to help them reconnect to their bodys alignment and the integrity of the pose. This will ensure students remain safe and free from injury.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Pose/Asana:
Instructions Tier One Primary Actions: Building the Foundation 1. 2. 3. Tier Two Secondary Actions: Executing the Pose 1. 2. 3. Tier Three Go Deeper: Refining Alignment 1. 2. 3. Tier Four Coming Out of the Pose / Transitioning 1. 2. 3.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Tip: When you are coming up with imagery, use these phrases to help: Imagine, As if, Like, Visualize.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Examples of Imagery
Mountain Pose with Hands over Head/Urdhva Hastasana Standard Tier Three Go Deeper 1. "Exhale, draw your navel in and up towards your ribs." +Imagery: Imagine you are holding a marble in your navel and draw it inward and upward securely, as to not drop it. 2. "Press the tailbone down towards the floor." +Imagery: Let your tailbone reach towards the floor like a long lizard tail 3. "Relax your shoulders away from your ears." +Imagery: "Let the shoulders fall away from the ears as if you are carrying 20 pound weights in your hands."
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Tier Three Go Deeper: Refining Alignment 1. +Imagery: 2. +Imagery: 3. +Imagery: Tier Four Coming Out of the Pose / Transitioning 1. +Imagery: 2. +Imagery: 3. +Imagery:
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Next time you teach, test out the use of imagery and notice the impact on your students. Do their bodies transform before your eyes? Also, observe the shape of the poses; do they resemble an animal or earth structure that you can reference with the use of imagery? As a student, Ive noticed that when a teacher employs the use of imagery I experience greater alignment and a sense of overall integration within my body. I also have more fun because imagery engages the creative aspect of my mind and reveals what a powerful influence it is upon the body. In addition to imagery, you can keep your instructions engaging by using a variety of descriptive words instead of repeating the same word over and over again.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Common Yoga Words Inhale Exhale Stretch Go deeper Relax Engage Soften Focus Feel
Instead Try Inspire Expire Lengthen Go inward Let go Contract Melt Concentrate Be aware
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
As you begin to explore the use of descriptive words, notice how your students respond. Does it impact their practice? Let their responses help you develop a library of great scripting. When you are attending other teachers classes, make a mental note of how they use descriptive words, how they work for you, and then perhaps add them to your own library. Periodically invigorate your teaching by reading through your list. Your underlying instruction for a pose may stay the same, but changing one word might impact your students in a completely new way. Keep things fresh and let your language continually evolve. Using imagery and descriptive words can dramatically increase the effectiveness of your yoga teaching script. However, if the instructions are offered to rapidly without enough time to assimilate and integrate, the potency of your guidance can become lessened. Learning how to appropriately pace your instructions will ensure the importance of what you are saying is not lost.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
4. Know how much time you want your students to hold a pose and develop a system for gauging this length of time Beginning students generally have less stamina. They are just learning the postures and may find them quite demanding. Have them hold more vigorous poses for a maximum of 3-5 breaths. More advanced students can explore demanding postures for up to 10 breaths. When you develop your cueing, understand what you can actually fit into the short window of time available. Create a speaking gauge so your students experience postures for a balanced amount of time. In some instances, it may be useful to demonstrate the pose first and offer more detailed instruction on technique while your students watch. That way, when they execute the pose you will have less pertinent information that you need to share with them and your instruction can remain simple and short. I have found that when I articulate clearly and at a relaxed pace, students are able to fully integrate the instructions, achieve deeper alignment, and find greater body awareness. Even though there is always more to say, sometimes one or two simple instructions can impact the whole pose in a positive way. Understand that there is a definite learning curve to the practice of yoga. It can take years for students to develop the body awareness and heightened sensitivity to really be in the positions. Be patient and give them time to build the pose with integrity from the ground up. Now, it is time to apply everything youve learned with a live audience. This requires you to be able to project your voice so your students can hear what you are saying.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
You can establish adequate voice projection by doing the following: Ask for student feedback about your voice level. For example: Can you hear me in the back of the room? Watch for confused looks or random glances from your students that might indicate that they did not hear your instructions. Make an audio recording of your class to gain more objectivity about your use of voice. Once you are confidently projecting your voice for all to hear, you can expand your vocal repertoire to induce more profound effects upon your students such as softening your voice to help your students relax or intensifying your voice to energize and awaken your students. Here are four types of vocal projections to explore: 1. Personal Projection This projection is your natural speaking voice and it underlies all other variations well explore. It is conversational and utilized when you are greeting your students, telling a personal story, or when you are perhaps laughing and just being yourself.
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
2. Neutral Projection This projection is used when you do not want to draw any attention to yourself. Your voice maintains a background quality that allows students to go deeper within as they receive your instruction. To achieve this effect your voice must maintain a balanced tone and pitch without a lot of fluctuation. You may find this level of speaking useful when students are attempting to do a standing balance pose or seated forward folds.
Be a fly on the wall: Let your eyes focus on a point as you balance on one foot
3. Enthusiastic Projection This projection can be used when you want to invoke more energy, enthusiasm, and excitement in your students. This comes in handy when students are moving through a strong series of standing poses, attempting arm balances, and/or while moving through an inspirational set of sun salutations. Your voice may become louder and/or deeper. Be a cheerleader: Two more breathsyou can do it!
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
4. Soothing Projection This projection is relaxing and can be used anytime you want to support your students in feeling peaceful and at ease. Your voice will be soft and you may utilize longer pauses between your words. This projection is great for guiding savasana. Tell a bedtime story: Feel your whole body letting go as you completely relax your muscles.
Have you ever taken class from someone and felt annoyed by the sound of their voice? Was it actually their voice or maybe how they were projecting it? Would you consider going back to that class? We cant necessarily change our natural voice but we can influence how we choose to project it. Be clear about where youd like to guide your students and then let your voice carry them there. For example, a loudly guided savasana/relaxation can keep students in hyper-alert mode and unable to relax, whereas a soothing, relaxed voice can lull them into deep peace. At this point, youve now written the script, developed a good speaking pace and rhythm, and established a range of vocal projection. What do you get when you put these things all together? A transformational yoga teacher!
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Teaching Yoga 101: A Handbook for New Yoga Teachers Developing Your Yoga Teaching Script
Amy Patee
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