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Teaching New Students / Beginners – Clarity of Teachings


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Lesson Overview

In this lesson, we explore the art of teaching students who are new to hatha yoga.

Objective

Be prepared to teach students who are new to hatha yoga using teaching methodology specifically to support common needs of beginners and avoiding common teaching pitfalls.

Description

Explain fundamental ways that you can help to avoid overwhelming new students. Provide an example of “yoga-speak” and how you can phrase an instruction differently for new students. Describe an advisement when using anatomy terminology. Describe a risk when using Sanskrit with beginners, and how you can make it less likely. Discuss an aspect of yoga philosophy that you might hold off on teaching until students have some personal experience. Provide considerations related to the number of teachings for a pose. Note something you can do if you see that students aren’t “getting” a teaching. Explain how teaching student autonomy is different from teaching choices and why this is important with beginners. Explain why repetition is important with beginners.

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