For the past few weeks, I have had my head down putting finishing touches on my upcoming book The A-Z of Being A Successful Yoga Teacher, so like a total bad yogi, I have not made nearly enough time for my own practice (slap on the wrist).
Finally, this morning while visiting friends in NYC I went to check out a local studio. In an area that has over 500 places to get your asana on, you would imagine the yoga scene to be vibrant with the studios innovative enough to stay in business knowing there are six other options within earshot. Sadly, my experience today was much the same as it has been every other time I practice here.
I was underwhelmed, uninspired and bored.
Now, I don't say this to be a snob or a jerk. I am sure are fantastic studios filled with mind-blowing teachers in New York. The problem is, with all of my searching, I have yet to find them.
It got me thinking.
Why is it so hard to find a great studio with stellar teachers who are present in the classroom?
One reason has to do with studio culture, the other (and one I want to dissect today) is teacher burnout. Let me use today's class as an example. It was a:
- mid-morning class with over seventy people in the room
- class with one instructor and zero assistants
- no frills repetitive power flow building to an apex of warrior 1, 2 and reverse warrior
In the class we did the same flow for almost an hour with a few longer seated stretches towards the end. The teacher was completely competent, seemed kind, gave mostly clear instructions. There was nothing amiss with his teaching per se but I would have to put him on the savasana naughty list for the way the class ended.
What made me wish I had just stayed home instead of attend class this morning was the fact that he phoned in the entire thing. An engaged teacher could have done wonderful work with the potential in the room today and while I can't claim to know what was going on, the instructor seemed just as underwhelmed, uninspired and bored as I felt.
Let me be clear, I don't need a teacher to run around the room leading class like Richard Simmons (unless that is authentically who the person is) but for someone to sit down at the front of a room and only look up occasionally at the three people directly in front of him, well, that's just plain disrespectful and irresponsible.
Before you go sending me philosophical hate mail about how "maybe that's how his teacher's teacher did it" or "the point of yoga is to go inside yourself and not have a teacher "oppress" you into poses", let me say this:
If you are outnumbered even 10 to 1, please care enough about the safety and vulnerability of your students to move around the room and at least check on people. In Yin and Restorative yoga, it might make sense to let people settle and not pace around, but in a faster paced flow with students of all levels, help them out!
Even if you choose to give the most minimal verbal or physical adjustments, remember, it is a class, you are the teacher and students have made time in their day to give you their hard earned money and learn something from you. Yoga is an energetic practice as much as it is physical one and if your energy isn't in the room, your students can feel it.
I know this teacher, like so many instructors, has more to give. He is not "bad" at his job. He did however come across as distracted, disinterested and disconnected to the point that I wouldn't return to his class.
This example is an important reminder that as a instructor burnout is not something that is private. When you are conducting the energy of a class, you owe it to your students and to yoga as a discipline to deliver something special, memorable and uplifting each and every time.
What are some of the techniques you use to deliver a great class even on your "off" days? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Photo Credit: phani_astronomy®