Advice about student complaints/suggestions

Question:

Hi, I recently started my first teaching job at a local gym/rec center teaching a class 2 nights a week. I took this class over from someone who taught this particular class for many years and had a pretty extensive following. I made sure that I attended at least a month of this teacher's class prior to taking it over so that I could get a feel for his style and see how it would mesh with mine. He communicated that the students were worried about a new teacher that would be vastly different from him. Actually, my style ended up being quite similar to his and I think that I've been able to mesh the two together quite well.

Well, I've been teaching the class for about a month now and I am suddenly being approached by a few students after my class saying that the old teacher used to do this and that a certain way and couldn't I do it that way too. One student in particular takes it upon herself to throw her mat down in front of my mat at the end of class and procedes to show me how the old teacher taught a pose, etc. I've been very open to suggestions and have happily taken some of their thoughts into consideration and have actually adjusted my lesson plans some. The thing is, I'm beginning to fear that this is going to become a regular senario and that they may never be 100% happy. Ie: one student says the music is too loud on the same day that another says it's not loud enough.

So, I am just looking for some advice on how you all handle student complaints about your class and I am also looking for any thoughts about the best way personally for me to handle them.

Answer:

#1

Hi, Linda --

I'm still a relatively new teacher myself (app 1.5 years); but I encountered an almost identical situation to yours when I first started out. The students going so far as to say, "Can you do bird of paradise like (previous teacher's name)? Well, come on, let's see it." Things were said in a nasty tone, and that surprised me because I thought everyone who practiced yoga would come in to class with openness & light, love & truth in their hearts. Did I ever get a wakeup call!

But among those students who complained, and some left to find an instructor who resonated with them, were students who were appreciative, stayed, and my particular teaching style worked for them. Even some of the initial complainers stuck around & we all got through it.

Now when people complain, which is pretty rare but it does happen, I do take into consideration what they say but still teach the way I teach. If I don't, it isn't genuine, and it comes across as robotic & stilted. Your genuine teaching style will flow. And it will evolve.

Meditation - and I won't go into a long detailed account here - along with my own yoga practice has helped me move towards not attaching my personal emotions/feelings to any complaints that may arise; although I'm not completely there yet, I have to admit . But it has helped, and I don't "carry my classes home" with me like I did in the beginning. That took entirely too much energy better spent on other things. Now I regard their words as "interesting," something I will take into consideration, and move forward, conducting my classes in the best way I can. Any feedback you receive becomes an opportunity to build strength & resolve. Strangely enough, I often now am happy about a complaint because it's fun for me figuring out how I will handle it & how it fits into my life & teaching. I don't want to go off too much of a tangent, but perhaps that may fit in with your situation somehow.

It's been said before that the teacher is the conduit for yoga. Yoga moves through you to the students. We care about the well-being of the students, & it shows to those who choose to see it. The complaints can be steppingstones, helping us evolve into stronger teachers (and students ourselves). Stay true to your genuine style so it continues to resonate with you & you will grow infinitely and have fun doing it.

Just my experience, so far.

#2

Hello Linda.

The answer to this question is found in balancing the following two concepts:

"The teacher of yoga does not sacrifice her truth for that of the student" AND svadhyaya or self-study.

We, as yoga teachers, practice in a certain way, train in a certain way, bring yoga into our selves in a certain way, and embody yoga in our living in a certain way. To forsake this and teach to the "flavor of the day" of the student is to move away from integrity. Moving away from integrity creates disharmony. Disharmony is not yoga. So we stay true to what we are sharing, why we are there, what we have to offer, what our skills and gifts are. Ultimately, when we stay true rather than placating, we direct students to the proper teacher - sometimes it is us and sometimes it is someone else :-)

At the same time this must be countered and balanced by the self-study that allows a teacher to explore and discover themselves and make adjustments where needed. Without knowing the self it would be very difficult to make appropriate choices in line with one's svadharma or life purpose.

Some feedback from students, in addition to the questions we must constantly ask ourselves, can be very helpful in moving us forward as students and teachers of yoga. In this context consider the feedback, then either accept it as a truth for you or not and operate accordingly. But do not become consumed with such things. Consider, decide, act, over.

Your reaction to the student behavior has to be both authentic (meaning absolutely you and radiating from within) and it has to model yoga. So over-reacting in either direction would be out of balance. I'd neither throw a fit nor be completely passive (ends of the spectrum). Listen to them, care about them, but be firm in who you are, what you do, and how you do it.

Permissiveness and hedonism do not deliver freedom and teaching yoga is not about making friends.

Yoga classes planning

Question:


How far in advance do you have your classes planned?
Do you have an idea of how you want to develop your students through months of classes?
Or do you teach what you have been working on in your on practice.
It seems that teachers of a fixed series wouldn't have to worry about that as much, whereas teachers working in a quarter or semester type package of classes would lean heavily towards more of a syllabus, if you will.
Having a set syllabus for teaching would almost necessitate a set syllabus for practice...
what do you do?

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Answer:


do you ask students what they want to work on?

Anyways - I suppose this is different based on the lineage, teacher and teachers experience.

In my lineage I observed a group class today by a senior teacher (therapeutically trained.) At the beginning of class she asked what they would like to work on. Someone said feet (she had recently had feet surgery.) Another said upper back - sits at a computer all day. Another said she was feeling mentally blocked. This teacher designed a practice on the fly that based on my observation and the comments of the students after the class met the needs of those students.

That being said she has taught for more than ten years - and this same group of students have been attending her classes for years.

I'm only half way through a 500 hour teacher training program but have started teaching two hours a week. I'm not ready to ask students what they want to work on. So I write out a lesson plan. I talked to my mentor about this - he said - just don't get too attached to it. I've noticed that I generally base the next weeks plan on what I observed the previous week. Not ideal - but it keeps me responding to the students.

Dhanurasana your location says you are in Bellingham, Wa. There are senior teachers from the Desikachar/Krishnamacharya lineage in your area. Abby Stalen and Ann Rogers teach at Everybody's Yoga. I think you might want to check them out.

Another thing that is different about this lineage is that asanas are not necessarily held statically. And a student's request might not be addressed through asana - but pranayama and chant might be used. Along with other tools - particularly if working one-on-one.

Aahh - such a long response. But really what it would be interesting to know - is what you were taught in your teacher training and whether you have an on-going relationship with a teacher/mentor to work with.

Should a Yoga Teacher have a website?

Should a Yoga Teacher have a website?

I am a new Yoga teacher and I teach only few yoga classes a week and intend to become a full time yoga instructor in future. I will also start offering private yoga lessons soon.

A friend of mine suggested that I should have a website if I like to promote my Yoga business. Do I really need a website. I am not very good at computers.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Namaste,

Tina

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Answer:

#1

Absolutely you should have one Tina. Just something simple that will display your contact info and basic yoga philosophy is sufficient. My best opportunities have come from folks who just searched for yoga in the vicinity and there I was In my opinion, nowdays not having one is certainly a detriment to any financial gain and again, just my opinion, shows that a yoga teacher doesn't take his/her profession seriously enough--"ah, it's just a hobby for me" I perceive. "I may not be available as you want, I may take off to find my inner self..." etc.

Since you state you have a yoga business, it's beneficial to you to use current business practices. With friendly web applications, "not being good at computers" is not an excuse--too much cheap/free help out there from adult education facilities, or friends, or for trade. And just for fun, imagine you talking to a computer guru about coming to your class. His/her response, "I'm really not very good at yoga." Well then you reply, "help me with my website and in trade, I'll have you standing on your head before long."

#2

I would say you need a website if you want to build up your student base. Just because you're not good at computers doesn't mean your potential students aren't. You can do some promotion via local ads and flyers and other stuff but the web is how many people find information and classes these days and it's always there. I do think besides contact info and style, your website should have a class schedule, and ideally updates if a class is canceled or something. And a location if it's in some public place not your home. If you can post here, someone can set it up for you that you could follow directions to make simple updates.

There are also a number of yoga teacher/class directories on different websites you could put a listing on . At least some are free. I see they have something for $36/year that would give you enough space to list basic info and a couple classes. If you get one new student through that it's more than paid for itself. These directories aren't perfect, there are lots of dead listings that never get cleaned out so someone using them to find you really needs to verify you're still around. But it always sort of amazes me the teachers I have stumbled across in my area that have no listings anywhere, no web presence, nothing.

Of the 2 classes I attend frequently, one does a great website and presence and is building quite a student base. It's not all because of the website but I think it's a huge factor. (Helps that they are a very good teacher.) The other class I take, the teacher is very good. But while I think she would like a few more students, she has nothing on the web and does nothing else to promote her classes. I only found her by accident. Her classes remain very small, nice for the students but sometimes barely enough to pay for her room rental.

One general flaw in the way people tend to use yoga

I will give one general flaw in the way people tend to use yoga that is the basic misinterpretation which causes us all to belief in certain philosophies and search for what's already here through decades of contrived effort and conceptual frameworks. It's simply not necessary to go through such hardship and to prolonge your state of suffering or semi-happiness. We are already free as we speak. We just need to recognize it in order to experience it.

That primary flaw in which yoga is used is: "Time".

Yoga seems to emphasize purification and achievement. Both are subject to a belief in time. But let me say something first: it is not so much the yoga sutra's themselves that are misleading, well perhaps a bit at some points because it was written for a totally different era, but it is mostly the blind extremism with which people worship what's been said and take it too literal. They adopt more belief systems to keep themselves occupied. If you read the yoga sutra's carefully, you will notice how Patanjali describes a second path as well, which he calls: "... or this is realized through complete, immediate surrenderment to God."

Patanjali returns to state something like this every now and then in slightly different terms. But it is not emphasized as much as the road of effort and belief in time. Everybody seems to forget his second explanation, but it is crucial. At most, people turn that too into a ceremony, ritual, belief, tradition or some time-bound activity. But this misses the point of its immediate freedom.

Belief me that the road of effort and purifiction itself does not set anybody free, no road does, it is always the act of immediate surrenderment that sets one free. Every single yogi or yogini who walks the path of effort and achievement, is freed not by the practices, but by that one point in time in which he or she recognizes the freedom that is already here. This happens almost always through surrenderment to what is, not by trying to rearrange futile thought-forms that hold no meaning anyway. So even if you take the road of time-bound belief and purification, you will only be free when you surrender somewhere along that road.

So why take on such a journey? Or why not one could ask? Well everyday life itself already is a road of effort and achievement. It does not matter what it is one does, whether it is the pathof purification through yoga, or the path of achievement of a career or happy family-life. If we just bring along the light of awareness in every situation and discover how we can surrender ourselves in every single moment, even if at first it is just for small moments, to our true nature/awareness/god/ishvara, then we will know in our direct experience what is true and what is not. And I hereby state it is not at all difficult to surrender, to see our true nature for short moments in the beginning. With some specific guidelines, instructions, we can all start seeing it, regardless of what it is we do within our actions that are bound to our belief in time.

From the moment we first start to see how freedom is already present right here under our noses, underlying our belief systems as a simple, natural presence, our effort starts disappearing and the light of consciousness becomes evident equally in all forms. In other words: we are starting to experience more and more, in every sort of situation, the free nature that we are!

So what I say is not contradicting yoga, it is simply clarifying, demystifying the tradition and the cult built around it, for the sake of our experience of freedom right now. I love yoga for what it is, I think it is one of the most accurate of human sciences, but that does not mean we should be blind to what's already here. We should not be blindsided and closed off by our beliefs in spiritual or yogic concepts. Yoga is much more free and open than any scripture might inspire. Yoga is not created by our human efforts, thoughts, meditation etc. Yoga is already universally forever the case. How could it be any other way?

So the primary blindspot for many yogi's, the way I see it, is that they subject themselves to a belief in time, yet if you ask them about time, they will copy some master by intellectually saying: "Time does not exist." But still they subject themselves to belief systems of that we need to purify ourselves in order to be ready. But that's simply not the case, that's only a misleading belief which we can give up on right now and see the freedom that was there beyond that belief all the time already. Freedom is experienced immediately when one lets belief just be as it is, without believing in it or reacting to it. Try it! For a short moment you will see, that if you let be whatever is raging on inside you right now, there is a certain clarity, freedom, a field in which both good and bad exist. It might be subtle at first, but it is profound. We only need to get to know that clarifty and identify with that instead of our beliefs more and more. That's all it takes!

If you start to micromanage your life, judge every single thought as either pure or impure because you belief patanjali says you should, you are blinding yourself to the openness which includes and maintains both pure labels and impure labels alike, without differentiation, right now! There is no essential difference between a hostile thought and a still state of mind. Both are still an appearance, a state, a hologram, a mirage within the space of perfect knowing awareness. Both are equal in the sense that awareness permeates, constitutes, both of them equally. Every form is nothing but awareness.

So you will start to see that there is nothing that needs to be purified, for all is equally pure in the sense that it is nothing more than awareness itself. This is all realized within no-time if you consistently let all your belief systems and reactive patterns be/rest for a second or two. That's all. Just take a deep breath if you will and relax from you own beliefs and see the freedom that was present all along. Why is this possible within no-time? Because there is no time and because it is what you have always already been.

Is Yoga Good for loosing weight

Yoga, along with the alkaline diet is the best way to loose weight. It is a fact that yoga is good for the mind and body. Plus, if we add up the fruit and veggies diet or the alkaline diet, it surely will make you fit and healthy.

I just dropped 7kg. in 2 months. I have 3 more kgs. to go to reach my target weight (88 kg. at 1.88m. height). This is how I did it:
1. Quit a high stress job I had for the last ten years.
2. Decided to get a grip on my nutrition. After doing a bit of research and experimenting (low carb diet, Warrior diet, Zone etc.) I decided on an old fashioned approach: three healthy meals a day, very little food in between, eat a lot of veggies, chicken, fish and maintain a slight caloric deficit. No junk food, no crap.
3. Exercise: mostly high intensity circuit training - kettlebells and bodyweight. Also a bit of jogging a couple of times a week. I also got interested in yoga in order to improve my flexibility. It has also given me a sense of well being.
I don't, however, think that yoga really helped in weight loss.

Benefits of Yoga & Meditation

Benefits of Yoga

* Brings down stress and enhances powers of relaxation
* Boosts physical strength, stamina and flexibility
* Bestows greater powers of concentration and self control
* Inculcates impulse Control
* Helps in rehabilitation of old and new injuries
* Intensifies tolerance to pain and enhancing mental clarity
* Boosts functioning of the immune system
* Enhances posture and muscle tone

Benefits of Meditation

Improvement of body luster and general health-When your mind focuses on a particular part of the body, the blood flow to that part increases and cells receive more oxygen and other nutrients in abundance. Today, many of the film stars and fashion models include meditation in their daily regimen.

yoga today is not practiced as the father of yoga Patanjali has intended it. what is the meaning of yoga? yoga means union, uniting. it is a uniting of individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness. nothing more, nothing less.

let us remember that Patanjali's Yoga Sutras consist of 8 parts. that's right, not steps to be practiced one after the other but parts practiced simultaneously. hatha yoga is one of those parts highly contorted these days into "super deluxe kundalini yoga". hatha yoga is not about sweating in a heated room, being able to bend this way and that way, or having a nice workout. NO! hatha yoga as Patanjali intended is about preparing our body for the high energy of enlightenment. yoga is a way of living with awareness uniting every moment with cosmic consciousness. this has to be rightly understood.

the yoga sutras are a profound work on the nature of consciousness. it focuses only on the mind and its qualities, influences and fluctuations and the resultant disturbances. these disturbances are obstacles on the path of discovering the Self. the yoga sutras outline how we can go beyond the mind and live in the heightened state of awareness which we call samadhi.