An important part of our yoga teacher training programs are the ethics of a yoga teacher. It’s our primary aim to pass on the values of a yoga teacher and encourage our students to teach spontaneously with authenticity. Hence, we provide diverse, challenging and motivating classes with modifications, explanations and interaction. The ethics of a yoga teacher are the key towards a prosperous path in the field of yoga. But what are the ethics of a yoga teacher exactly besides the basic yamas and niyamas?
Besides speaking your truth, staying faithful and clear you should know that you are a role model to many others out there who are seeking a little peace and happiness.
That brings you into a responsible and vulnerable position that can be mastered through compassion, awareness and calmness.
Here are a few tips that will make your yoga teacher life a little easier:
- Give your students attention but stay in your own space
Be there, look around, help and motivate! While giving a class you should be aware of each movement and see what’s going on with your students. Are they keeping up? Do they need a little extra moment to re-adjust their breaths? Giving your full attention is important, but you need to find the balance between that and staying in your own space.
- Teach what you really know well to be authentic
Teach what you feel confident with and know well. Teaching something you only recently learnt and are not very familiar with may lead to creating some tension during the class. It’s always better to teach what you preach and feel 100% comfortable with it. This will lead to more authenticity.
- Learn from your mistakes and surrender your ego
We are all humans and make mistakes, yes. That’s not bad at all and sometimes you might notice a small error here and there. It’s important to use every opportunity to grow and learn from it so taking notes after each class and reflecting yourself can help you to surrender your ego and get better in what you love to do!
- Don’t compare yourself with others
A fatal mistake of many yoga teachers and practitioners is that they forget that life is not a competition. You should never compare yourself to other teachers, students or people in your life generally. Everyone is unique, different and beautiful as he or she is. Social media and especially Instagram makes it a little difficult to see away from all the superficiality. However, it is important to know that you should invest your energy in your personal growth and not in comparing thoughts.
- Manage any situation with coolness and avoid stress
Stay calm and the rock in the storm. Sometimes a class can get tricky or there might be someone in your class who is not 100% happy. That’s fine and human. You can’t expect everyone to love you so just keep cool and stick to your plan. Avoiding stress and tensions is the key for your yogic establishment.
- Inform yourself about who wants to be adjusted during class and who doesn’t
Before the class starts, make sure to know about any student’s injury or wish to be adjusted or not. In some countries there are very strict regulations in terms of hands-on adjustments and illnesses. So make sure you know beforehand to avoid any complications. In case someone doesn’t want to be adjusted, you can use explanations to convey your message.
- Ground yourself and stick with your daily personal practice
Your daily practice is as important as teaching others. Only when you actually practise yoga for yourself and work on your own improvements, you can be a good teacher. Take your time to hop on the mat all by yourself, take classes with your favourite teacher to learn new techniques and incorporate all of that into your teachings.