Teaching yoga is as much a journey as yoga itself. And even in classic literature, there is no journey without its challenges - flashback to reading J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit in middle school! So part of the adventure that is being a yoga teacher, is encountering ups, downs, loops, and... ruts.
This is totally natural and can happen at any point in your teaching career! Over time, our comfort zone may turn into boredom - and if you're bored teaching, your students will almost certainly be bored taking your class... we DEFINITELY don't want that. So what do we do? How do we get out of a yoga teaching rut? Well, I want to share 3 main ideas to help you dig out of your monotonous hole!
3 WAYS TO GET UNSTUCK FROM YOUR TEACHER RUT
Take More Yoga Classes as a STUDENT
If you're finding that your sequencing is very similar every week and you want fresh ideas, take classes from other teachers. You may discover interesting transitions or pranayama work or guided meditations! It will also help to get the creative juices flowing once you take yourself out of that "teacher" role for a while and simply allow yourself to be a student of others (if you're not already). Now something that is extremely important about this... give credit where credit is due! If you love a sequence that another teacher uses, ASK them if you can teach it to your students. And when you do teach that sequence, be sure to share with your students that you're borrowing from another teacher you look up to. Another thing to note is as you explore new ideas, make sure you're being true to yourself as a yoga teacher!
Mix Up Your Playlists Or Go-To Sequences
As you might know, music is a huge part of my yoga practice. While I do like to reuse playlists kind of cyclically, I find myself revamping them from time to time. I could use a playlist one week and then that same one three weeks later and I just don't vibe with it at all! So I go back to it and usually it's just a matter of switching out 3-4 songs with new ones. I keep an ongoing "Yoga" playlist on Spotify where any song I hear that I think would be fun for a yoga class, I add there. This way, when I make my class playlists, I already have a library to choose from - some old, some new!
This same thing can be done with your tried and true sequences you use in most classes. I love me some Sun Salutations and Warrior sequences, but I find myself wanting a little more flavor out of them from time to time. And honestly, Sun Salutations are the best bases to add flare to your vinyasa classes! Instead of jumping to your forward fold from down dog, add some lunges on each side or hip openers. Instead of shifting to down dog from chaturanga, push back up into a plank - this is a personal favorite of mine because students also get stuck in vinyasa ruts and this one always throws them off!
Attend a Workshop or Training
I love learning new things and then sharing what I've learned with others - hence my career choice! I think one of the things that I love most about learning is that it's an ongoing process; there's always more to learn and different ways to learn. That being said, check out your local yoga studios to see if they offer any workshops or trainings you could attend! If there aren't any readily available or that peak your interest, there are TONS of workshops/trainings/courses you can explore online. This is an especially helpful option if it's a longer course because you'll be able to go about it at your own pace. I think my motto on this front is to never stop learning and be excited about it!
I hope that one or all of these suggestions will help you to get out of your yoga teaching rut and that you find excitement in your journey again! If you've taken any trainings that you've loved or have playlists that speak to your heart, please share them in the comments or DM me on Instagram @moreyoga_please
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