Change your yoga signals – Hugger Mugger

As yoga teachers we are confronted with different types of learning in every class we give. Some people are visual students. Demonstrating poses clicking in for this group. Others respond to manual adjustments. (There is also a considerable number of people who prefer not to be adjusted manually, especially without permission. But that is another message.) Others are verbal students. We use yoga signals for that group.

Last year I posted a blog about how you can simplify your instructions to give students some quiet time so that they can tailor to the current experience of every Asana. Today I want to tailor myself more to language.

Why change your yoga signals?

I am blessed with many long -term yoga students. Recently a student who had been attending my lessons for 30 years that I said something in class that her practice has completely transformed. I was shocked – and satisfied. The cue was something that I said countless times before. (Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself, give the same yoga instructions? I do it!) Anyway, in this recent case I changed the formulation a bit, and at that moment my student understood something she had never received before.

Our students do not only vary in their answers to visual and verbal learning. They also vary in their response to different words. Changing your language can even give your most steadfast students a new way to experience their practice.

As a writer I constantly strive to use words that are descriptive and less generic – without becoming too flowery. This is more difficult to do immediately when I give a lesson. But it is feasible. Here are a few ways to explore the expansion of your yoga vocabulary.

A few suggestions

• The best way to reformulate your yoga instructions is to think about what you will say in advance. You may be able to do this immediately, especially if you teach a slower class non-vinyasa type. Before you notice that you speak your tried yoga-cue, stop yourself. Is there another way to convey what you are going to say? Perhaps the cue you have always used is really the best way to convey your point. But it doesn’t hurt to try a different wording.
• If it is easier, you can explore that you change your instructions when you do not teach. Make a list of your most common yoga signals. Most likely your desired wording will first come to mind. Write it down. Then think about how you could tell it differently.
• It can really be instructive to record a few classes. Then listen to how you communicate your yoga instructions. Can you think of creative ways to convey the concepts you want to share without losing clarity?

I think coming up with creative formulation to be a great way to make my lesson. It not only helps me to reach more students, but it also keeps my own teaching fresh. Teaching yoga is an ever -changing process. Changing your yoga instructions can help you evolve as a teacher.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell discovered Yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protect the hips and avoiding SI joint pain (Shambhala publications). She writes a monthly column for Catalyst Magazine and serves as an editor for Yoga U online. Charlotte is one of the founders of board member for GreenTree Yoga, a non-profit organization that brings yoga to disadvantaged population. Charlotte, a lifelong musician, plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and Folk Sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.