The Teaching Paradox

As a yoga instructor, it's common to fall so in love with the act of sharing this beautiful practice that you eventually want to do nothing else. So, naturally, you pack your schedule with stacked classes, teaching double and triple classes, sometimes even twice a day, traveling between studios to make ends meet doing what you love the most. You find yourself accepting any and every available weekly time slot and even get trained to teach new styles (that don't necessarily resonate with you) in hopes to add more value and, in turn, get scheduled even more frequently. Unfortunately, this often leads to a fast, hard burn out that can, in the worst cases, rob you of your passion entirely.

You might argue that you'd rather just accept this fate than work a corporate job that feels inauthentic and drains you in other ways. Or you may end up realizing it's too much, and you'd rather salvage the love and passion you still have for teaching by returning to your full time job and only teaching one or two classes a week.

But what if there's a secret third option?

While the two situations above are common, they can easily be avoided with the right tools.

Here are some ways to maintain your love and passion for teaching while simultaneously maintaining (and evening heightening!!) your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Black Out Days

As a "freelance" yet full-time yoga instructor, it's easy to overpack your weekly schedule-especially when you're teaching at multiple studios. One of the most important things I've learned in my time as a full-time yoga instructor is the importance of FULL DAYS OFF. It's common to think "Well, I'm only teaching an hour today... so I basically have the day off, right?" Noooooo. Taking an entire day to yourself allows your nervous system to reset and gives you at least a full 24 hours to fully decompress from work-related stressors. As teachers, we tend to forget just how much we give energetically to each class. It's best if you can block out at least one day (preferably two days, back to back) to rest your physical, mental and emotionally bodies so that you can return excited and rejuvenated. Say you have another job, or that you simply value your own health and see it as a priority to be fully rested in order to offer the best version of yourself. If an incredible class slot comes available on a day you've marked out, do your best to move things around so that you can continue keeping that time for yourself, even if it's on a different day.

Create time for your personal practice

Whether it's staying after to take class right after you finish teaching or blocking out time in your schedule to practice at home, do what you can to stay consistent with your personal practice. It's easy to feel as though you don't have enough time or that teaching the practice is plenty but remember, you can't fill anyone else's cup if you don't first fill your own. If you find yourself tired of being at the place you work, venture out! You can try new studios, maybe entirely new styles of yoga to keep things interesting or just free flow at home which happens to be one of my favorite ways to learn new things about my body.) However you can, schedule an hour for yourself every single day to nurture YOUR practice. Not just your students.

Cue With Your Words, Not Your Body

It's so important to ensure you feel confident cuing your students throughout the entirety of class as often as you can without the need to demonstrate poses. I can't even begin to count the injuries that could have been prevented for not only myself but other teachers I've mentored/taught with over the years had we not demoed poses without warming up our own bodies. This is also helpful in maintaining your mental and emotional energy by remembering that we are teaching the class for our students, not for ourselves. When we teach most of our classes with the physical body, we not only wear ourselves out quickly, but we also tend to forget that we still need time to practice when we're NOT teaching. We start to feel like we're getting a "two for one" (a chance to exercise/get our own movement practice in WHILE teaching) which robs us of the chance to be fully present and really reap the benefits of a personal practice.

If you don't love to take the class, why teach it?

This one can be tough. While it may seem enticing to get every certification under the sun to ensure you can teach whenever the opportunity arises, it's extremely draining to teach class styles that we don't actually enjoy ourselves. Not only does it make it difficult to stay consistent and become a better teacher over time when you're never practicing the style in your own body, but it can lead to feelings of inauthenticity overtime which takes a toll on your mental health. Get as many certifications/trainings as you'd like, but do yourself a favor- teach what you love the way you love to teach it! Stay true to what made you want to share the practice with others to begin with.

REST/RESET

Similar to vour blackout days... but this one needs to happen every single day. Such a common, ironic thing that happens in the yogic community is genuine, physical burn out due to ignoring the body for too long. We're so quick to tell our students to listen to THEIR bodies, but we have to ensure we're taking that same advice. Restorative activities like yin yoga, breath work, meditation are so imperative when you're consistently picking up different energies in the studio, giving so much love, care and thought to hundreds of people- make sure your nighttime and/or morning routines include something that allows you to feel lighter and refreshed.

Sincerely resetting. You can't offer the best version of yourself if you're too exhausted in any facet (not just physically.)

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