4 Essential Tips for Yoga Teachers: OK on Camera

This is a big one: getting over the fear of judgement. I’m not going to lie, it takes time and work - and perhaps it never really goes away. But, if you are yourself, and you practice - just like your yoga practice, you’ll improve over time.

So…what does it mean to be yourself? And how do you make that happen when you feel ridiculous once the camera is turned on?

Here are my tips that may help you switch on your authentic self…

Treat the camera as if it were a student

You aren’t talking to a camera. You’re talking to a student. Not a room full of students, not the many people that may watch the video. Just one person who wants to learn to do yoga from you.

As you imagine that one person, connect with them. Smile at them as you teach your class, wave, throw up a Hawaiian shaka and ask them to do the same. It’s just you and that one student in a room - and it’s all about their experience. How can you make it just for them?

Use language you would use if you were having a 1 on 1 conversation. And since you can’t see them, give them several cues to choose from - modifications and options.

Perfection not required

Did you misspeak? Did you say left instead of right? Did you wobble in a pose?? So what? That’s what happens in a live class, it’s ok when it happens in a recorded class. We’re human, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t really do ‘perfection’, it’s not my thing. And I don’t find myself wanting to be around people who are perfect all the time (which doesn’t actually exist).

With all the ‘perfection’ in social media, give yourself a break, and give your students a break. Let them see the real you - because the real you is what they want to see. You are who they want to spend that time with. Your unique voice is worth sharing.

Your unique voice is worth sharing

I typed that one twice on purpose. This is the part so many of us struggle with. The field of yoga teaching is positively flooded with talent. There are a gozillion of us out there, and so many of them are awesome at it! What could you possibly have to offer that is different or better?

Your difference is built in. There is no one like you. Check that one off the list.

As for better? Who said you had to be better? “Better” is in the eye of the beholder. Choosing a yoga teacher to practice with is a personal decision. You know this from being a student yourself - you need to feel a connection to that teacher. Once you do, you’re in. It’s the same for your students. Some will connect with you, some won’t. And that’s okay, it’s the same for all of us.

Teaching is a practice

Just like your yoga practice. You were a beginner once. Then you were an intermediate student. Your practice changed, you adapted to new styles. You figured out how to practice daily, you got that pose to work for you finally. Your teacher said something profound and it changed your approach to yoga forever - even after you’d been doing it for years.

We are all in practice. We work on our practice every day. It isn’t about being better than others - it is about offering what we have to give in a way that connects with students. Students that find what we have to give worth accepting.

Yoga is a lineage. We are just part of that. We are eternal students, and if we are lucky enough to become teacher, we must always remain…student.