Essential Teaching Skills
How do we, as postural yoga teachers, convey some part of the immensity of the yoga tradition with integrity, skill and accuracy? What knowledge and skills do we need? This course, taught by Noah Mazé, explores the Essential Teaching Skills needed to skillfully teach yoga, including principles of effective feedback, and how to hold the Seat of the Teacher with confidence and integrity. In this online adventure, we study and unpack the skills you need to teach yoga well. We will explore how to teach and understand poses and how to better instruct them, step by step. Noah will offer you tools for improving in a broad spectrum of areas, including:
- Verbal instructions
- Observation of Students
- Effective Feedback
- Pose Knowledge
- Pose Improvement Strategies
- Repetition Strategies
- Sequencing Strategies
- Alignment Based Classes vs Vinyasa Flow Classes
- Classroom Set Up & Organization
- Postural Demonstrations
- Seat of the Teacher
- Use of Physical Touch
- And more.
This course is accredited through the Yoga Alliance and counts towards 10 hours of non-contact continuing education hours.
Increase your efficacy and skill as a yoga teacher. Noah will guide you on a deep dive into study and relationship with teaching, laying the groundwork for a rich and skillful practice for both you and your students.
Teaching Skills Overview
About this class:
How do we, as postural yoga teachers, convey some part of the immensity of the yoga tradition with integrity, skill and accuracy? What knowledge and skills do we need? This overview session explores the Essential Teaching Skills of teaching yoga, including principles of effective feedback, and how to hold the Seat of the Teacher with confidence and integrity, including:
• Verbal instructions
• Observation of Students
• Effective Feedback
• Pose Knowledge
• Pose Improvement Strategies
• Repetition Strategies
• Sequencing Strategies
• Alignment Based Classes vs Vinyasa Flow Classes
• Classroom Set Up & Organization
• Postural Demonstrations
• Seat of the Teacher
• Use of Physical Touch
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Sequencing Strategies Overview
About this class:
Sequencing strategies for yoga classes is an immense and important subject. Know what you, as the teacher, are trying to accomplish in each class. This session will increase your clarity and knowledge of how to order the poses in your sequence to accomplish a variety of types of classes and goals, including considerations for:
• Set Sequence Methods
• Full Spectrum Sequence
• Postural Category Emphasis
• Peak Pose Sequence
• Focus Pose Sequence
• Sequencing for Alignment & Anatomy
• Sequencing for Vinyasa Flow
• Student’s Interests: Engineers, Athletes, Mystics, • Psychologists
• Where to Put Inversions
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Verbal Cues I
About this class:
The importance of your verbal instructions in yoga classes cannot be understated. As teachers and communicators, we should ever endeavor to become more conscious and skillful and potent with our verbal instructions. In this session you will learn:
• Clear, Potent & Accurate Instructions
• Active Voice vs Passive Voice
• Descriptive, Metaphoric, Reflective & Energetic • Instructions
• How To Write Instructional Scripts in “VERB + your BODY PART + IN A DIRECTION” Template
• Unconscious Verbal Habits: Weeding Out “Filler” Words
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Verbal Cues II
About this class:
You will learn to create and test instructional scripts, a voice recorder (and even a tape measure). Use BKS Iyengar’s book, “Light on Yoga”, in this session as a common baseline. The methods used here can be applied to any postural yoga resource.
• Understand the Meaning of Each Instructional Sentence
• Translate That Meaning Into Actionable Active Voice Instructions
• Saying “the” vs “your” in Instructions
• What To Do vs How To Do It: Every Instruction is a Zip File of More Instructions
• Giving Accurate Spatial and Proportionate Cues for Different Bodies
• How to Test & Practice Instructions with a Voice Recorder
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Verbal Cues III
About this class:
How do you get into that pose? How do you get out of that pose? What is the movement pattern, aka “Order of Operations”? Within the form of the pose, what key actions are necessary to create alignment? Increase your clarity, precision and potency of your verbal instructions in:
• Virabhadrasana I in “Light on Yoga” Order of Operations
• Virabhadrasana I in “Surya Namaskara B” Order of Operations
• How to Instruct Key Actions
• How to Instruct Pose Improvements: Knee Hyperextension in Trikonasana
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Verbal Cues IV
About this class:
Learn practical and effective ways to create and refine verbal instructional scripts for vinyasa sequences. This lesson primarily focuses Surya Namaskara A & B, but the methods used can be applied to any vinyasa flow sequence:
• Pacing: How Slow it Down to Break it Down
• Disengaging the Breath to Give Verbal Cues
• Dynamism: Bringing the Sequence up to Pace
• Instructing Breath and Movement with Rhythmic Consistency
• How to Practice Teaching with a Metronome
• Considerations of Saying Sanskrit Pose Names vs Translations
• Repeat the Sequence to Change Your Script
• Repeat the Sequence to Say Less: Facilitating Self Practice
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Observation & Improvement Skills
About this class:
Refine your sight and learn effective strategies to more skillfully observe your student’s poses and guide them to their best version of the pose. Use the available observable feedback to adjust your teaching according to what is really happening. Give an instruction, look and see. Is it an observable instruction? If so, did they do it? If they didn’t do it, why not?
• Home Base: Position Yourself For Optimal Viewing
• Birds Eye View: Gain Perspective
• Organize/Arrange the Room For Maximum Observation
• Hierarchy of Prioritization: Gross Misalignments –Foundation – Basic Shape – Key Actions – Refinements
• Observation in Action: Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog), Surya Namaskara, Standing Poses, Seated Pose
• Pose Improvement Strategies: Verbal Cues, Postural Demonstrations, Physical Touch
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Demonstration Skills
About this class:
Many students will not fully understand what you are instructing them to do with just your verbal cues, and may benefit greatly from seeing it. Learn to SHOW what you mean. Explore effective postural demonstrations for a variety of level and type of class considerations:
• Types of Demonstrations & Considerations of Offering Demonstrations
• Demonstrations to Introduce a Pose
• Correspondence Between Pictures (Demo) & Words (Verbal Instructions)
• Mirroring: Doing While Instructing & Switching “Left/Right” Cues
• Self Care Considerations
• Key Action & Pose Improvement Demonstrations
• Demonstration Strategies in Vinyasa Flow Classes vs Alignment Classes
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Physical Touch, Adjustments & Assists I
About this class:
Using physical touch, touching your students in yoga poses, can be add value to their experience, especially for kinesthetic learners. However, there are many precautions, and even contraindications, regarding the use of physical touch. We will consider:
• Instructing Your Students to Touch Themselves
• Purpose of Touching & Scope of Practice
• Permission & Consent
• Instructional Use of Touch vs Stronger Adjustments
• Types of Touch Explanation: Alerting, Investigative, Directional, Adjustment etc
• Types of Touch Examples & Practicum
• Providing Context: Physical Touch WHILE Verbally Instructing
• Using Props to Touch
• Considerations of Adjusting Savasana
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Physical Touch, Adjustments & Assists II
About this class:
Learn further ways to use physical touch to help/assist your students in poses that they are close to, but need a little help:
• Assisting Backbending Poses: Setubandha (Bridge Pose), Urdhva Dhaurasana (Upward Bow Pose)
• Ways to Safely Assist Handstand at the Wall
• When to Give Alternatives to Challenging Poses
• How to Keep Yourself Safe
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Messaging I
About this class:
How you begin class sets the tone for the whole experience on the mat. How you end class helps the students to bring the lessons and practice off the mat and into their lives. Opening & Closing the experience provides a ritualistic structure to the yoga class experience and this can be very potent for your students. Additionally, opening and closing can be perfect opportunities in a postural yoga class to bring additional practices in, such as meditation, reflection, pranayama, philosophy etc. Learn practical effective strategies for:
• Opening Strategies For Alignment Yoga Classes
• Opening Strategies for Vinyasa Flow Classes
• Communicating Prop List & Room Arrangement
• Succinct Welcoming & Informational Statements
• Do You Announce the Peak Pose/Sequencing Strategy?
• How To Instruct Opening/Meditation
• How To Instruct Ujayii Pranayama
• How To Instruct Savasana (Corpse Pose)
• Using Your Voice & Energy
Instructor: Noah Mazé
Messaging II
About this class:
The most important aspect of inspiring your students is to be inspired yourself. Inspiration ebbs and flows, go with what is real for you and don’t try to fake it. We are complex beings of deep reflection, and we often draw from our own lives, from nature, and from cultural categories of information and inspiration. The possibilities are immense here, not just from one’s own life experience and wisdom, but there is 3,500 + years of yoga philosophy and 6,000 + years of mythic storytelling & archetypes. We consider themes and theming in a variety of ways:
• Conscious Use of Myth and Metaphor
• Drawing Inspiration From Your Own Life
• Somatics: Feelings & Thoughts Are Embodied
• Symbolism & Interpretive Possibilities
• Drawing Meaning From Pose Names: Vrkshasana (Tree Pose), Hanumanasana (Pose Dedicated to Hanuman)
• Using “Light On Yoga” for Introduction to Daksha’s Sacrifice and Virabhadra
• Process of Creating & Cooking Themes
• Teachable Moments (Planned & Unplanned)
• Relating to Your Audience
Instructor: Noah Mazé
$285
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- An internet connection capable of streaming videoz
- Computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone
- Yoga mat and suggested props, as desired
- A notebook if you like taking notes
- An accurate sense of your abilities and limitations along with a playful attitude
