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10 Ways to Elevate Your Yoga Teaching

Teaching Yoga | Yoga

According to the 2012 study by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College, the Polk-Lepson Research Group surveyed 629 human resource and management professionals for their "Professionalism In The Workplace" study.

One-third of the HR and management professionals surveyed believe that professionalism has declined over the past three years. That which happens in the corporate world echoes in the yoga world: we are facing this same decline.

Is professionalism going extinct?

The three main indicators of professionalism are:

  • Interpersonal skills (33.6%)
  • Work ethic (27.3%)
  • Communication skills (24.9%).

Making professionalism important in one’s teaching will help garner more respect and will elevate yoga’s respectability. Focusing on further developing interpersonal and communication skills makes a difference towards increased professionalism.

How to Elevate Your Yoga Teaching and Profession from Good to Great

  1. Be prepared—demonstrate competency by being organized and professional.
  2. Remain a student—practice yoga, take classes, workshops, and trainings.
  3. Create a safe, honest, and comfortable environment for students.
  4. Give gratitude to your teachers.
  5. Serve your students—your work is primarily about them. Maintain student confidentiality and appropriate professional boundaries.
  6. Make yourself available—connect with students after class and return emails and phone calls in a timely manner.
  7. Keep it real—be a positive example of authenticity. Don’t just pretend to be a yoga teacher. Instead be yourself. Demonstrate what it means to live your yoga and never knowingly misrepresent professional qualifications or certifications.
  8. Remember, this is not a popularity contest—stop competing with fellow teachers and avoid the humble brag or other ways of comparison.
  9. Show up and be present—put aside your drama and tune in to those students in front of you.
  10. Get healthy, stay healthy—practice radical self-care and build a therapeutic support system outside your students. Your students are not your therapist.

Are you a yoga teacher? How many of these items do you already practice, and which ones do you find yourself struggling with? Share your thoughts with me below!

Featured in New York Magazine, The Guardian, and The Washington Post
Featured in the Huffington Post, USA Today, and VOGUE

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