Yoga for All: Inclusivity and Diversity in Your Teaching Practice

Just like the puzzle, each piece has its own uniqueness. Joining every single one completes the picture. We have various religions, various dialects, and various societies, however, we as a whole have a place in one human race.

Treating everyone collectively makes them feel less insecure and boosts confidence.

As a yoga instructor, it happens to be your first step to take when running a yoga practice class. Some of the tips to encourage inclusivity and diversity in your yoga teaching practice.

Use an automation tool

An automation tool is the best tool to streamline and optimize the work process in your yoga classes. As a yoga instructor, there is already a lot on your plate, so why not automate more than half of it? Lucky for you, Picktime is one such platform that automates your administrative tasks, such as yoga session booking and scheduling. It effortlessly eliminates the trouble of no-shows, human errors, cancellations, overbooking, double bookings, etc.

Picktime is a yoga class scheduling and management platform that eases your workload. It helps reduce manual tasks and converts them into effective and result-oriented tasks. It provides features such as easy bookings, automated scheduling, staff management, multiple location access, automated reminders, virtual classes, recurring classes, and more. It helps yoga instructors manage their schedule with a few clicks.

With Picktime by your side, managing your staff gets easier. It helps assign tasks and track the progress of each team member. It also provides a customizable booking page that is easy to use and navigate. This booking page can be used to book appointments for your yoga classes. All the information is entered in a secure database that is accessible on Picktime’s application and website.

Managing virtual yoga classes gets easier with Picktime. It allows users to schedule classes, set slots and durations, set buffer times, and record the classes. Be it one-on-one or group classes, yoga instructors are all sorted. For regular classes, recurring classes can be set to eliminate the hassle of scheduling a class daily. Picktime is integrated with trusty third-party applications that require no installations and are yet helpful.

Picktime is the go-to solution to automate your yoga classes, improve productivity, and ultimately increase service quality.

Show concern for your students

Your yoga studio should give yogis a homely vibe. They open up about their problems when they feel safe and welcomed.

When you have new members in your regular sessions, ask them if they are injured or have any health complications. With this, you can be the icebreaker, and they will feel at ease attending your class without feeling insecure.

Making someone feel welcome is not a simple task to do, especially when teaching something. The receivers feel pressured and refrain from communicating with the instructor. It gets complicated when they lack communication with the instructors.

Conveyance is vital for a healthy voyage. Yoga instructors across the universe show concern and worry towards their yogis to make them feel valued and included.

Use appropriate language

Since you intend to conduct classes online, you may have students from different cultures, nations, and origins. If you are from north India and your students don’t understand Hindi, communicate in English.

Make proper use of words and sentences. We know that sentence formations and word usages differ from language. We use metaphors and similes between sentences, which can be a downturn for the students.

Assume similitudes like ‘as delicate as a child’ (or)’very much like a snake’ could distinctively affect their lives. You never know the backstory of it, so you better avoid them.

See through your yogis (precisely and tropically)

One feels Taraksvasana (Handstand Scorpion) is the most strenuous asana in yoga. Indeed, it is. We need perfect balance, good flexibility, and plenty of strength to do that. While most of them like to try new poses and take in the pleasure within them,.

People are different in any situation. But an instructor must be the one who changes according to their students. Study their perspectives and viewpoints to understand them better.

Studying your student’s body is also important. Assess their flexibility levels based on their poses. At what point are they feeling stressed, At what point are the muscles unlatched, And in what portions do they need a release?

With a few alterations to the original poses, yogi analysis can provide you with an outline for how to train them.

Maintain a non-judgmental class environment

Judging people has become a torment among the generation. They deduce the way others walk, talk, style, and behave. Yoga is a practice that increases body awareness, reduces stress, boosts confidence, and enhances self-esteem.

We can’t settle on what is correct or what is going on with conduct or articulation. Not everything is on the outer surface. We never know how a person feels on the inside. Observing and understanding others’ emotions is considered the foremost thing in a yoga instructor’s qualities.

Why shouldn’t we judge? It is not only about the yoga instructors but for everyone. See, when we try to emphasize a person based on their external behavior, we fail to see the inner self in them. One is tough on the outside and tender on the inside, just like the coconut.

Being a yoga instructor, you will face various personalities ranging from rude to calm. Your value depends on how you manage each one of them.

Normalize all the variations of yoga

Is your student unable to do a pose? Do they find it difficult to strike an asana? Does this have anything to do with your instructions? And such questions linger around your mind as a yoga instructor.

We all know the origin of yoga is India, and the poses have their respective meanings. But when a newcomer enters the yoga world, they know only the basic meanings. When he or she does a pose, try encouraging them with your words rather than correcting them all the time.

For example, your student enrolled in your yoga course after discontinuing it with another organization. They have a picture of what to do, how to do it, and why to do it. There may be differences in the poses you teach and what they have learned. There is no need to point them out and tell them to do the pose you taught. Everyone has their own choices and methods of teaching and learning. Let your student choose his or her way of practicing. You should learn to assimilate all the versions of yoga.

Those with stiff hamstrings find it difficult to do the Janu Sirsasana (head-to-knee pose). Give them time to loosen up the muscles in the back of their thighs. Suggest them other poses that help with a good stretch of the hamstrings.

Allow us to say that you have a pregnant woman in your meetings. During pregnancy, avoid any poses that involve twisting. You should modify the poses for people with knee and back problems to help them feel at ease in your class. Adjusting postures like feline stretch, pigeon, and mill gram pose will help.

Generalize the gender

We are used to the term, ladies and gentlemen. What if some of them don’t fall into that category? It will be an offensive step.

People prefer yoga to build their confidence and self-esteem. You have no right to discourage them with your words or actions. Separating everyone restricts the act of performing well.

How? When you show poses that are meant for only one gender group, the others may feel left out and excluded. Avoid doing that.

Here are some tips to follow:

1. Replace “Ladies and gentlemen, hello ladies, and hey boys with Hello class, good morning/evening/afternoon everyone, and good to see you again.” Greetings like this don’t exclude various gender groups.
2. Instead of teaching poses separately for men and women, generalize some common poses for all.
3. People with chronic issues and sciatica nerve pains prefer yoga since it has no vigorous body moments. Reform your poses and asanas in favor of them. Mainly those postures that help them cure.

Be careful with your words

“Words can inspire, and words can destroy. Choose yours well,” says Robin Sharma.

It is not just a random quote on the internet, but a line with deep interpretation. We all know that words play a vital role in life, especially in teaching. The choice of our words implies our thoughts.

However, yoga is a practice for thoughts and actions, all activities will halt if you make the wrong choice of words. Your students look forward to following your instructions.

One wrong word changes the sentence and messes up the whole pose. This might affect the trust and loyalty of your students. It is safe to choose soft, fun, and sweet word choices.