Guidelines for Teachers of Mixed-Levels Yoga Classes

I created the following guidelines for teachers at studios who participate in Yoga Bear's Share a Mat Program (offering free classes/studio passes to cancer survivors). These guidelines as particularly important for participating studios, but are helpful reminders for all yoga teachers. Enjoy!

Guidelines for Teachers of Mixed-Levels Classes

Mixed-levels classes typically contain students with a variety of abilities, experience, injuries, and illnesses. The following guidelines help ensure that all students, including Yoga Bear participants, feel safe and welcomed in your class.

1. When a new student walks into your classroom. Welcome every student, and be ready to offer assistance setting up or answer questions about the class. Don’t make assumptions based on age or appearance about what they can physically do and what they are looking for in a yoga class. A young student who looks physically fit may have a serious injury or illness and need encouragement to rest or modify as needed; an older or overweight student may be an experienced yoga practitioner ready for a challenge.

2. When a student appears to have special needs or require extra instruction. Not all new students, students with injuries/illness, or students who don’t fit the typical profile of your class (e.g. obese students or seniors) will want continuous extra attention. They may be self-conscious enough and already feel like they stand out. Offer one-on-one attention and support as you would with all students, but try to offer a variety of options to the entire class, rather than constantly singling out one student for special instruction.

3. When a student isn’t following your instruction. There are many reasons a student might choose to modify a pose or refrain from a practice. Don’t make assumptions (e.g. laziness, fear, confusion about instructions) about why the student is not participating fully. Check in with the student and offer information or alternatives, but don’t pry. Student with injuries, symptoms of illness, or side effects from treatment may not want to explain why they need to modify, especially if they are in class to experience some freedom from being a “patient” or a person with cancer (or other illness/injury).

4. Use informed and intentional touch. Students with injuries and illnesses may enjoy supportive touch in a yoga class, but—like any student—may also be wary of getting hurt by an adjustment, or be sensitive to being touched. When you offer touch to students, make sure they have an opportunity to give you permission and feedback. Remember that adjustments can be confusing to students. When possible, explain what you are doing, why, and what you want the student to do in response (e.g. relax your shoulders, bring the knee over the heel, let your torso turn).

5. If you use partner work in your class, give students an easy way to choose whether they want to participate. Just as with touch from an instructor, many students have concerns about being supported or adjusted by an untrained student. Have an alternative for students who consciously choose not to participate in partner work.

6. When emotions come up in practice. In yoga practice, students may experience strong emotions, especially if they are going through a difficult time or dealing with a health challenge. This does not necessarily mean that anything is wrong, or that the student needs special comfort. If you notice a student is upset, privately and discretely ask if there is anything they need, or offer a tissue and give them permission to take care of themselves.

Compiled by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, (www.kellymcgonigal.com) for Yoga Bear (www.yogabear.org).

The Ethics of Teaching Yoga: What would you do?

In the last session of the Avalon Yoga 200-hour teacher training program, I lead the teachers-in-training through self-reflection and discussion on common ethical dilemmas that yoga teachers face.

Below are the dilemmas I used this session. I'd love to hear from yoga teachers about other situations that have challenged them, or what you'd do in any of these situations. Drop me an email or add a comment!

1. You have the opportunity to sub a class in a style that is very different from yours. Further, you don’t think much of this style. Should you take this opportunity? If you do, how do you approach the class and students? What thoughts, emotions, and behaviors do you need to bring special awareness to?

2. You teach yoga in a studio or gym setting that offers many different types of yoga classes. A number of students coming to your class have complaining of getting injured in another instructor’s class. What, if anything, do you do with this information? What is your obligation to your students, the studio/gym, and the teacher in question?

3. A student in your class invites you out to lunch “to talk more about yoga.” You suspect he or she is interested in friendship or possibly a romantic relationship. What do you do? Should it matter whether you find this person interesting or attractive? What does your decision say about how you perceive your role as a yoga teacher? Does having an outside relationship with a student change or limit how you interact with them in a class setting?

4. You teach a class that is advertised as mixed-levels or “open,” but nevertheless attracts a mostly athletic and experienced crowd. One day an obese student you do not know arrives for class. How do you react to this student? What are your assumptions? What are your obligations in a class listed as “mixed-levels” or “open”? How confident are you that you know how to teach bodies that don’t fit the stereotypical yoga-studio mold?

5. You have gotten very busy teaching yoga, and are excited to have so many classes to teach! Unfortunately, this is getting in the way of your personal practice. You haven’t attended a class in a few months, and you aren’t practicing formally at home. You tell yourself that your life is your yoga practice, and you don’t really need to practice asana, pranayama, meditation, etc. Is there an ethical component to this decision? What are the risks in this situation?

6. You witness one of your favorite, most inspiring yoga teachers outside the classroom doing something that really strikes you as “unyogic” but not necessarily illegal [e.g., smoking, eating meat, trash-talking other teachers, talking about how they lie on their taxes, apparently cheating on his/her spouse, or some other behavior that conflicts with your yoga values/ethics—pick something that would really surprise you]. How does this make you feel? Will you tell others about this? Will this person continue to be an important teacher for you? What standards do you hold yourself to as a yoga teacher? How will you feel when you fail to live up to your own or another person’s standards?

7. You get together with friends from this teacher training program, several months after you have been teaching regularly. The other teachers begin to complain about some of their least favorite students, sharing stories about annoying and inappropriate behavior in the classroom. It seems to strengthen the bond between the group and make everyone feel better about their experiences. How might you contribute or react to this conversation? How might you use this conversation for later private reflection on your teaching?

Yoga Lesson Plans

The second in my new series of yoga lesson plans for teachers is now up on inneridea.com.

Bonus: There's a free guided meditation/relaxation you can download for each lesson in the series.

Description of the series:
"The benefits of yoga go beyond more flexible hamstrings, a stronger core, or less back pain. Yoga has the power to make you more resilient to stress. It reminds you of your inner strength. It can give you back a sense of joy and purpose in your life.

You already know this. But as a teacher, it’s usually easier to plan a class that focuses on stretching the hamstrings than reawakening joy. Each lesson plan in this series will help you plan a class that empowers your students—body, mind, and spirit. We’ll consider not just pose choice, but all aspects of teaching—from sequencing to touch to verbal cuing—that contribute to a cohesive class experience."