Module 6 Techniques and Tools for Teaching Yoga

Module 6

Techniques and Tools for Teaching Yoga

88

Module 6: Techniques & Tools for Teaching Yoga

An effective first step to successful teaching is gaining the students’ trust, and to do this you must remember that some very valuable communication techniques are nonverbal. The ability to create an inviting setting and construct a welcoming atmosphere for your students are just two such nonverbal components you can incorporate to establish an optimal first impression.

The setting concerns the physical layout of the room, and most importantly, your presence as the instructor. The old adage of “first impressions last” has evolved from the voice of experience. Discovering your students’ history and determining their present mood upon arrival can be significant indicators for the tone and tempo you set in class.

Room SetupWith the growing popularity of yoga, classes are occurring in an ever-increasing variety of settings. The places I have taught range from the formal yoga studio to health clubs, to corporate board rooms, wineries, and living rooms! There is also a large demand for yoga classes taught online. When you are instructing in these different places, what can you do to create a teaching space that invites students in and is a reflection of your personality? Wherever you are, make some effort to prepare the environment as an extension of you and your practice.

A clean, uncluttered area is necessary for yoga. Whether it is a class of one or more than thirty, there should be ample space for students to set their mats so they have room to open their arms wide and still see the teacher demonstrating. By arriving early to class, you can take time to make sure that obstacles are moved to the side and determine the optimal placement of the students’ mats in relation to the room orientation.

Carefully consider where you decide the front of the room will be. Mirrors can be a source of stress for the student, because there is the tendency to compare themselves to their fellow students as they watch themselves, which also creates a lot of self-judgment. Having a moving focal point also makes balance more difficult. If you situate the front of the room near the door, the movement of people coming in and out both at the beginning and end of class can be very distracting. It might work best if you place yourself where you have the greatest visual vantage to the majority of your students, or where you can easily access most of the class.

Very often, in smaller classes, the regular students will position themselves closer to the instructor, while a new or newer student will choose a location far in the back or off to one side. Invite that student by name to move into the proximity of the others (using their names as well) to create a more relaxed atmosphere and to make it less obvious when you go to make adjustments. Some students may prefer to remain in their original space, but by encouraging the alternative of repositioning, you have invited the student to become more involved with your class—something they will probably appreciate.

Some teachers use music and others prefer only the melodic sounds of breathing. If you choose to have music in your class, use music that speaks to you and that can be a part of your teaching personality for that day, or that enhances the theme of the practice. It is very welcoming and voices your intentions to have music playing softly as students enter the room, allowing the students to get quiet on their mats as they await the beginning of class. Music before class can also minimize the distraction of conversations with incoming students at the door and allow new students to talk to the instructor with greater privacy and move into the room with more anonymity.

An extension of your personality can be nonverbally conveyed with the use of different props. Some instructors use singing bowls or cymbals to begin/end meditations. Candles can be lit to provide focal points, and essential oils or incense can provide aromatherapy. Using one or a combination of these items can become your “signature” and help you express your personality within your yoga teaching.

89


Listening SkillsOne of your greatest communication skills as a teacher is the ability to listen. There are several steps to effective listening:

• Active Listening is the act of paraphrasing or stating in your own words what you think someone has just said, and is a skill considered absolutely necessary to good listening. You can paraphrase by using such lead-ins as “what I hear you saying is,” “I understand you,” “Do you mean?” Paraphrasing will keep you involved with the conversation, help you remember what was said, help eliminate miscommunication, and help your students feel that they are being heard. A great method I have found for remembering names is using the speaker’s name in the paraphrase (so Mary, what I hear you saying is…). You may need to ask more questions for clarification, especially if your student is discussing an issue they are working through, e.g. finding out which side the injury is on, or where the location of stress is centralized.

• An Empathic Listener is greatly appreciated by students, and being one is another step for effective communication. The ability to understand how it feels to be a beginner or someone who is starting their yogic path removes the barrier of “teacher-on-a-pedestal,” and opens the door to instructor/student communication by establishing a foundation for trust. This can begin with eye contact. Looking at the person while they are talking helps you stay focused and encourages your student to be more open and honest. Eye contact says “I care about you and want to hear what you have to say.” Then observe their facial expressions and go past the words to discover the emotions being felt at that moment. Then you hear not only what is being said, but what the student is trying to say.

• Listening with Openness can only occur with the absence of judgment and evaluation. The most important rule for listening with openness is to hear the whole statement, eliminating premature eval-uations that don’t make sense because you do not have all the information. This is not an easy thing to do. First, notice how many times in one conversation you evaluate the statements made by the person speaking to you, and then pay special attention to the statements you make in response.

Listening is a commitment and a compliment. It’s a commitment to understanding how your students feel and they will respond to the compliment of listening by liking and appreciating you. Listening well is generally one of the weakest of our communication skills. Rainer Martens once said: “We hear half of what is said (50%), we listen to half of that (25%), we understand half of that (12.5%), and we remember half of that (6.25%).”Start to build your repertoire of communication skills by incorporating these three methods of listening into every conversation, and observe how easily your students will begin to relate to you.

90


Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication has three components: body language, spatial relations, and paralanguage. Dr. Albert Mehrabian, former professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, found through experiments that the total impact of a message is about fifteen percent verbal (words only), twenty five percent vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, inflection, etc.), and fifty-five percent nonverbal ( body movements, mostly facial). So, the truly successful teacher will develop techniques on how to deliver the message in combination with the actual instructional content.

Body Language, also known as Kinesics, embodies communication through physical appearance, posture, gestures, touching behavior, and especially the changes in facial and eye movements. The face is the most expressive part of the body, and I believe that the single most powerful facial expression a teacher can use is the smile. A smile communicates warmth, love, friendliness, understanding, positive self-esteem, encouragement, etc., and it transcends all cultural and language barriers. You can actually hear a smile in someone’s voice. When you use your smile frequently, that upbeat energy is contagious and will go a very long way toward ensuring a positive experience for your students.

Eye contact is a facial expression used in nonverbal communication that can indicate interest. For example, when you first meet your students, look into their eyes as they are talking to demonstrate your interest. A great tool used to communicate during class is to create eye contact with a particular student while you are giving a group instruction. An example of this would be giving the entire class the cue to “pull your right hip forward as you press your left hip backward” while gazing into the eyes of a student struggling with these mechanics of a particular asana. This will let him/her nonverbally know your interest and awareness of their actions during class, and will enable you to “speak” with him/her without bringing them under scrutiny of the entire classroom.

Posture is another key element of kinesics. Your posture is an easily read indicator of your self-esteem, openness, and kinesthetic awareness. So, your posture should be the embodiment of a yoga teacher: in complete alignment. With your students, leaning forward tends to suggest openness and interest, while leaning back signals disinterest or defensiveness. Regularly observe your students’ posture during breaks in the class to get a quick overview of the class energy and mood.

Proxemics is the study of what you communicate by the way you use personal space. Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist considered the father of proxemics, described four distinct zones that we use when interacting with others: intimate distance (0-18’), personal distance (1 ½’–4’), social distance (4’–12’), and public (12’-20’). As a yoga teacher, you will primarily use the personal and social distances, although during hands-on adjustment you can enter the intimate distance. It is recommended that you ask for permission to come into this zone, always with new students, and often with your regular students to determine their comfort level with your presence in such a personal space. There are many elements to delivering your message, so please keep in mind that what you do and how you do it speaks more loudly than what you say. Practice your own nonverbal messages, and strive for congruence among the various forms of verbal and nonverbal delivery.

There are many elements to delivering your message, so please keep in mind that what you do and how you do it speaks more loudly than what you say. Practice your own nonverbal messages, and strive for congruence among the various formsof verbal and nonverbal delivery.

91


Vocal Tone and Paralanguaging

Paralanguage comprises the vocal components of speech considered separate from the actual meaning of the words. It includes pitch, resonance, articulation, tempo, volume, and rhythm. According to one study; nearly forty percent of the first impression you make on other people is based entirely on the sound of your voice. Because thirty-eight percent of the message is communicated through paralanguage, there is credence to the adage, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Pitch occurs by tightening or loosening your vocal chords. Intense feelings of joy, fear, or anger cause the pitch of your voice to rise. When you are depressed, tired, or calm, your voice relaxes and your pitch goes down. Effective teachers will vary their pitch throughout class, and even during the instructions for a single pose. The most dramatic pitch change should occur on the most important words of your message. For example, as you go through the various cues you give for a pose, your pitch should rise on the words you want to convey the most. It is very easy to adopt a monotone and become boring in the process of reciting a list of instructions to guide your students into their poses. John Friend does a very good job of keeping his students’ attention by beginning his directions describing the actions first in a calm pitch, then bringing the pitch level higher when giving the cues to discover the attitude of the pose. This is great, because it keeps the student involved, and more importantly, engaged in the process from beginning to end. On the other hand, if you would like your class to remember what you are saying or if you want to emphasize a particular point, lower your voice slightly and speak more slowly and deliberately. Students will remember a whisper better than a shout.

Bear in mind that repetition can make presentation stale. As you teach more and more, it presents the chal-lenge of keeping what you say fresh to both you and your class. For instance, how many ways can you guide someone into staff pose or tadasana? On the surface, it may seem limited. Erich Schiffman gives the wonderful advice to approach things we do or say on a regular basis as if it were being experienced new, for the first time today. Using this method is a tremendous help in keeping your presentation alive and interesting.

Resonance is determined by the shape of your vocal chords and chest, and refers to the richness or thinness of your voice.

Teaching with a resonant voice provides depth and volume, which is particularly helpful if you are instructing a large class. A terrific way to discover the resonance of your voice is to chant the word “om” three times or more. As you chant, be aware of any buzzing, vibrating, or tickling sensations in the lips, nose, throat, and chest. The more places you can feel these vibrations, the fuller and richer your sound will be. One way to increase your carrying power and help your voice sound more interesting through resonance is to open your mouth wider than normal and form your words from the back of the throat all the way to the front of the mouth. Most people do not employ this technique, thus cutting their sound in half. Several good exercises for increasing resonance can be found in How to Say It With Your Voice by Jeffrey Jacobi.

92


Articulation is the ability to pronounce distinctly—to enunciate—an extremely valuable tool for a yoga instructor, because often the Sanskrit terms for poses are very similar. For example, the Sanskrit words for the standing poses Parsvakonasana and Parsvottanasana can easily be mistaken for each other without clear, precise articulation. Dropping final consonants is one of the most common enunciation problems for many native-born speakers as well as foreigners. Recording a class you teach can be a very helpful method for discovering where you need some artic-ulation work; instructors who have a regional drawl should pay particular attention to their enunciation of words when working on improving communication techniques.

Tempo or the speed at which words are spoken, is important, because if you speak too slowly, the students’ attention can wander, they may question your knowledge of the topic, and the amount of time they hold the pose can be unintentionally elongated. On the other hand, if you speak too rapidly, many students may find it difficult to concentrate or to follow, and, if the teacher talks nonstop, they may feel overloaded with information. One of the most effective teaching skills to develop is the art of the pause. Pauses give your students a chance to check in with themselves, connect with their breath, and discover what they are feeling in the pose by finding the teacher within versus just following a list of instructions you are giving them. As a rule, it is generally a good idea to speak slowly and use short phrases when working with large classes, because sound needs more time to travel in larger spaces—a principle of acoustics. To get an idea if your instructions are succinct enough, ask yourself if the students would be able to easily repeat what you just said.

Voice Volume can vary dramatically throughout class, conveying many different emotions and energy levels. Finding the right volume comes from experience and an awareness of how your voice travels through a crowded or slightly populated space, as well as how it is interacting with outside noise or music in the classroom. Deep breath-ing, such as Ujjayi Pranayama, will enable you to use air more efficiently and allow you to raise and lower your voice for proper effect without shouting or speaking too low.

Rhythm determines which words will be emphasized in a sentence, and is the arbiter of your intention. For example, notice the different meanings of the following sentences as the rhythm changes: “Am I content!” versus “Am I content?” An exclamation of fact becomes a message of doubt when the emphasis changes between two words. Some roadblocks to effective teaching are using a “singsong” rhythm, or talking in a flat monotone. Using the pause can correct both of these problems. Pausing from time to time allows you to think your thoughts through and gives students a chance to absorb what you have said.

To discover what your voice really sounds like in class, Jeffrey Jacobi suggests you make a recording or your own speech in class and then listen to it for the following things:

1. Is your voice high pitched?

2. Is your voice too loud or soft?

3. Do you talk too fast or slow?

4. Do you sound nasal?

5. If you had to describe your voice to someone else, what words would you use?

6. Do you say your words clearly, making them easy to understand?

7. Are your words complete? (For example, do you drop your G’s? Do you cut off the ends of words?)

8. Do you salt your speech with fillers like “you know,” “okay,” and “uh”?

9. Do you frequently clear your throat or make other noises that interrupt your speech?

10. Do you sound confident or uneasy?

11. Do you sound interested or bored?

12. Does your voice trail off at the end of sentences?

13. Do you sound like someone with authority?

14. When you make a statement, does it sound like you’re asking a question?

15. Imagine you are someone else. Would you enjoy listening to the person on the recording?

It will probably take several reviews to be able to answer all these questions, but it is well worth the effort to unfold the true nature of your speech patterns.

93


Neurolinguistic Programming

Neurolinguistic Programming is about learning to communicate effectively and consciously.“Neurolinguistics” describes the relationship between the words we use and the thoughts, reactions, and even results they lead to. Since there is so much material to be covered, only the elements that apply to teaching a yoga class will be included. Once you start to practice these steps, you should be able to “speak” to every student in the room!

The beginning of true communication starts with rapport. Rapport has nothing to do with philosophical agreement or assent, but rather is a state in which both parties feel free to communicate and perceive that they are being understood. Allowing people to communicate on the basis of a common world model will achieve this. The core of the NLP theory is the observation that each individual forms a relatively unconscious model of the world, consisting of assumptions about the world based on his or her experience thereof. Experience is shaped by cultural and physiological variables as well as social interactions, and as a result, each person brings what may be completely different understandings of common experiences to their encounters with others. For example, when students come to their second yoga class (the encounter) after their first yoga class (common experience), each student’s expectations (understandings) may be very different from those of the person on the mat beside them. Since people tend to operate as if their model of the world is the real model, one of the most important ingredients in being an influential teacher is the ability to elicit the belief that you understand. So, the astute teacher will keep in mind how the very different past experiences and interpretations of yoga affect each student coming into their classroom.

John Grinder and Richard Bandler, the founders of NLP, discovered that people habitually encode their thought processes in four well-defined and observable ways. Typically, thoughts or inner processes are expressed verbally as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or digital modalities. Psychologists have also found a connection between personality (our model of the world) and physical characteristics. There are relatively few pure types, but most of your students will show a marked preference for one or another representational system. A vital key to successful teaching will be your ability to instruct across all four modalities. For instance, I’m a very kinesthetic person, but if I gave only kinesthetic-based cues to a visual student, they would not “see” what I wanted them to do. But, if instead I gave a cue in their primary preference (visual), I would be able to effectively communicate my instruction. The challenge you have as a teacher is to instruct in the other “languages” as well as your primary operating system.

Visual people tend to talk about internal pictures and litter their speech with phrases such as “show me the pose” or “is it supposed to look like this?” Generally, they stand erect with their shoulders held up or back, while breathing more into the upper portion of the chest. They will often keep their necks straight and erect, leading with their chin while they walk with stiff or jerky motions. A large portion of your students will be visual thinkers and learners, responding easily to the demonstration of poses and instructions such as “watch your hands come to the heart in Namaste” or “glance down at your foot.”

Kinesthetic individuals make up the other large portion of personality types; they respond to language that reflects action and feeling and what will “feel good” in a pose. Physical qualities are expressed by round shoulders, and they sometimes slightly bend forward as they speak and listen. Having a larger rib extension than people in other categories, they will breathe into the lower portion of the lungs. Kinesthetic students will easily understand cues such as “softly place your hands at your heart in Namaste” or “feel your muscles hug the bones.”

Auditory groups “hear” what you are saying and respond to terms in that vernacular; however, “tonals” are not very common. A frequent communicative posture for this group is to have the arms folded across the chest, with the head tilted down and to the side. They generally have larger ribcages and utilize their lungs more fully. Examples of tonal instruction would be “silently bring your hands to Namaste” or “quietly place your right foot between your hands in lunge position.”

The next category to address is the digital student, who typically does not respond to sensory cues. Instead, they react to linear and progressive statements such as “bend your elbows and position your hands in Namaste,” or “to help you breathe more, lift your ribcage up and away from the pelvis.” “Digitals’” breath is similar to that of visuals’, higher up in the chest.

There are certain patterns of behavior that seem to be consistent within each of these communication categories, particularly in stressful situations. We can apply these generalizations to the way students select their placement of mats in class. A “visual” pays most attention to the visual aspects of an interaction, including facial expressions and movements of those around him/her, very often placing their mats at an angle that will give them the best vantage point of the instructor and/or themselves. Students who are operating from the kinesthetic perspective rely heavily on feelings in order to understand and make sense of what

94


is happening around them. They are most likely to place their mats in the center of the room whenever possible, where they can be close enough to “touch” people all around them, getting information from close proximity. “Tonals” like to hear and will be very close to the front, while the “digital” often selects the periphery of the room for their mat placement to gather all information before processing. These generalizations are based on the assumption that the students have a choice on where to position themselves in the classroom, and may help you select appropriate languaging of your instructions to smaller groups of students throughout the room.

Keeping your awareness of these four representational systems will help you to relate to your students in their language and increase your ability to connect with each student. Start to pepper your instructions with different types of cues. To use all four modalities every time you guide your students into a new pose would be a serious overload both to your brain and your students’. Watch your classes and determine which system they most reflect and respond to. If it is very different than your preferred “language,” make a conscious effort to include instructions they can “hear.” Initially, this takes some practice, but over time it will become more natural and easy for you.

Once you’ve worked on developing the technical com-munications skills, developing your linguistic abilities will bring you another step closer to connecting with your class. The following are suggestions for increasing your students’ understanding of each instruction and will provide you with an assortment of techniques to create an uplifting experience for everyone.

Positive Cueing

Positive Cueing is the ability to give instructions without negative commands, and is the most valuable communication tool I use in any class. Negative commands are subtle forms of indirect suggestion, and cause your students to unconsciously do what you are instructing them not to do. For, instance, if someone tells you not to think about pink elephants, and keeps repeating the request, guess what will happen? A similar phenomenon can happen in class. If you cue your students, “don’t lock your knees out” while they are in triangle pose, you can watch people in the room begin to hyperextend the knee. The brain does not seem to register the negative portion of the command. A positive instruction like “keep your knees unlocked” will instead give your students an action you would like to see happen, and provides them with

a cue that is easy to follow. How often do you like to be told not to do something? The cumulative effect of a class full of “dont’s” is very unempowering for your students, but when you use positive cues, it creates the opposite result. Again, record one of your classes and note how many negative commands you are using. There is always a positive way to state the action you desire. With practice, you will be able to teach entire classes without using the phrase “don’t” in any instruction, providing a successful roadmap for your students to follow!

Linking

Linking instructions is the next step for improving your teaching skills. When your cues are fragmented, it increases the tendency of your students’ attention to wander. There are several ways to link your instructions and allow them to keep focused on the pose at hand. You can integrate the action of one part of the pose with another.

“Press your hands firmly down into the mat with the middle finger pointing straight and the others spread like rays of sunshine; position your shoulders directly over the wrists” is an example of action-linking within the pose. Systematically construct the sequence of events for students to follow from beginning to the end. Then, provide a direction of action and/or energy to maintain the body/mind connection. When giving directions, strive to clarify simple statements like “arms parallel.” They should be parallel to what? Another method of linking will connect an action such as “keeping your legs in place, turn your torso to the right and open arms sideways into warrior two” with a feeling statement like “…and discover what your brave warrior feels like today.” Connecting feelings with a passive statement of actions or commands can develop and increase the mind/body experience for most everyone.

Linguistics

Be selective with the words you choose. Consciously construct the phrasing of your instructions, because literal and implied meanings are not always synchronized. For ex-ample, the instruction “straighten your spine” is ambiguous and frustrating for the student, because it is not physically possible to fully straighten a spine due to its natural lor-dotic curves. A clearer cue would be “lengthen your spine” or “elongate your spine” to indicate increasing the space between each vertebrae and the sensation of growing taller. In addition, you might want to take into consideration the subconscious effect of the words you select. “Adjusting” someone’s pose is more supportive than “correcting” it.

95


Another effective communication tool is asking a question like, “Are your toes resting lightly on the mat?” This is a powerful teaching technique and allows the student to discover their inner teacher. By deciding which of any adjustments are necessary, they are able to observe and assess their pose both subjectively and objectively. Empowering your students this way is a stepping stone toward an uplifting practice.

You can continue to keep the class experience positive by using action vs. completion wording. Since your practice is probably longer and deeper than most of your students’, your demonstration of many of the poses may reflect a position not physically obtainable by everyone in the classroom. For example, instead of instructing your students to “place your foot on your heart,” ask them to “guide your foot and your leg toward your heart.” Everyone can try, endeavor, move toward, etc. These are all excellent examples of action words without a final ending place the students feel they need to reach; using them will aid your students in successfully discovering the path of their practice with each class.

Often, your students are just beginning their mind/body journey. Consider the diversity of your students’ backgrounds and education, and use descriptions they can understand. When you use anatomical terms, Sanskrit words, and yoga jargon, take care to describe or define them at the moment of use. Done consistently, this will help further educate your regular students and provide much-needed clarification for the new members of your class. You can also avoid confusion by physically pointing out specific parts of the body you are describing, such as “tailbone” or “sacrum.”

With so many methods of positive instruction, there will hopefully be little room for ambiguous directions (terms without direct meaning that are less effective). Using precise command statements at the beginning of your pose instructions will maintain your authority as teacher and will be much easier for the student to follow. For example, the instruction “What we are going to do now is move to the front of the mat” is excessively wordy and could be more clearly stated as: “Stand at the front of the mat.” “Sit in bound angle” is a more dynamic and confident instruction than “Why don’t we all sit in bound angle?” Once you start to link your instructions, the need to economize language becomes greater.

One positive element of the English language is the relatively few syllables per word. In many European languages, the same statement can contain up to three or four times the syllables per cue, which dramatically increases the amount of time it takes to deliver the exact same message! As you honor your effort to streamline phrasing, avoid the words it, this, and that to keep your instructions clear and precise. It is just as easy and more specific to say, “Twist to the right” than “Twist this way.”

Humor

How you decide to phrase your instructions is one way to connect with the class. An additional method is to share some of your personal experiences or stories when they are relevant to the particular subject or pose that you are teaching. This lessens the perceived distance between student and teacher and will help your class to relate to you on a more personal level. By connecting through your experiences, your students will be able to more easily absorb your instructions.

Humor is a most uplifting way to connect with your students and is often injected through the anecdotes you share. The ability to laugh at yourself gives unspoken permission to the class to do the same. Not everyone is a comic, but the proper placement of humor in your instructions, whether subtle or more pronounced, can lift the energy of the entire class. Laughter is a universal way to communicate.

96


Sanskrit/English TranslationSanskrit is the oldest and most systematic language. Meaning “cultured or refined,” Sanskrit is considered Dev Basha or “Language of the Gods,” because it was divined directly from the gods to a Brahmin (a member of a priestly caste). The language existed mostly in verbal form until it was documented in the Vedas, a collection of hymns that touch on yogic themes and practices, ritual, sacrifice, sacred sounds, and devotion to the gods. Circa 500 BCE, Panini wrote down the grammar of what is now known as Classical Sanskrit in an attempt to discipline and explain what was mostly a spoken language; it was the official language of India until circa 100 CE. Arranged in a thoroughly categorical method, with simple vowels coming first, followed complex vowels (diphthongs), then by conso-nants in uniform groups, its perfect syntax leaves very little room for any ambiguity, which is why it still follows the same frame and structure more than twenty-five centuries later. Every combination of sounds in Sanskrit makes pos-sible an uninterrupted flow of euphonic blending of letters into words and verse, and the script used to depict Sanskrit, Devanagari, is a perfect system of phonetic accuracy.

Western languages generally have four mouth positions for creating sound, while Sanskrit uses five. The cerebral (up-per front pocket of the hard palate) position is responsible for the distinctly different accents of Sanskrit and Hindi. With practice, you will learn to differentiate between the mouth positions and their corresponding phonetic sounds. The American Sanskrit Institute offers many different courses that you can study at your own pace.

Using Sanskrit in your teaching has many advantages. Beginning with the chanting of the universal sound of “om,” the spirituality of yoga shines forth through this melodic language. By stating the Sanskrit name

along with the English name of each pose, you help to empower your students with a universal language for all the different classes they attend. Teaching the Sanskrit names incorporates the physical and spiritual aspects of the poses into their experience. Often, the Sanskrit interpretation of various expressions is more clear and distinct than the English version. An example is the word “asana.” In English this translates to “pose,” but the Sanskrit meaning “to sit quietly” embodies not only a physical element, but a spiritual component as well. And finally, you more completely fulfill your teaching duties by educating your class on the cultural and spiritual history of the relationship between Sanskrit and yoga.

Begin the balancing of your instructions with Sanskrit by using it immediately following the English version of a word or phrase. Children learn their native language auditorily, and this method will also work well for your adult students. Each time they hear the Sanskrit/English combination, it will reinforce their assimilation of the various names and expressions. After you have done this for a while, move on to a more immersive method with your regular classes by using a greater percentage of Sanskrit versus English names of poses. As discussed earlier, many of the names for various asanas can be very similar, so take care to be distinct and correct in your pronunciation to avoid confusing your class. Remember also, if you have a very distinct accent, this can become more pronounced as you employ a secondary language. Once more, a tried and true method for revealing any irregularities with your pronunciation and uncovering methods of your teaching that may need more work is to record one or several of your classes. With time and practice, your use of Sanskrit will become second nature and will open new doors for every one of your students.

97


References

1. Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning, Messages: The Communication Skills Book (Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2009), 19.

2. McKay et al., Messages, 6.

3. Ranier Martens, Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1987), 55.

4. Bill Swetmon, Communication Skills for the 21st Century: How to Understand and Be Understood (Skill-Speak Press, 1998), 19.

5. Martens, Coaches Guide to Sports Psychology, 57.

6. Swetmon, Communication Skills, 19.

7. Swetmon, Communication Skills, 21.


9. Jeffrey Jacobi, How to Say It with Your Voice (Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996), 4.



12. Jacobi, How to Say It with Your Voice, 145.




16. Richard Gray, “Tools for the Trade: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Art of Communication,” Federal Probation Quarterly LV, no. 1 (1991): 11—16.

17. Gray, “Tools for the Trade,” 2.




21. Bryon Lewis and Frank Pucelik, Magic of NLP Demystified: A Pragmatic Guide to Communication & Change (Portland, OR: Metamorphous Press, 1990), 52.

22. Lewis and Pucelik, Magic of NLP Demystified, 51.

23. Lewis and Pucelik, Magic of NLP Demystified, 52

24. Lewis and Pucelik, Magic of NLP Demystified, 56.

25. Claude Brodeur, www.netjournalist.com/negative_commands.html (2002).

26. John Friend, Anusara Teacher Training Manual (Anusara Yoga, 2014), 107.

27. Friend, Anusara, 107.

98




30. “Sanskrit,” www.historyofindia.com/html (2002).

31. Alison Barnard, “Sanskrit,” www.presby.edu/-gramsey/sanskrit.html (2002).

32. Barnard, “Sanskrit.”

Module 6 Techniques and Tools for Teaching Yoga

Documents

Transcript of Module 6 Techniques and Tools for Teaching Yoga