om yoga teacher training guide
A
t Birthlight we talk about the ‘spirals of joy’ and how
the specific yoga we teach and the way we teach
it can facilitate our students’ increasing feelings of
joy, happiness and contentment. We aim to spread
these concrete health and wellbeing effects from
pre-conception, through pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal year,
with babies and toddlers and into all elements of Well Woman yoga
so that her joy will not only touch and nourish her relationship with
herself but her relationship to the world and her relationships in
it. Of course we have many practices from yoga to help develop
this habit of self-nurture. The intertwined principles of Tapas and
Swadhyaya help us gain insights about our deeper selves and in
which practice direction will we find true benefit and transformation.
We also ask our trainees to reflect on how they can facilitate
their own ‘spirals of joy’ as teachers. How they will keep fresh and
supported in their practice as teachers after the initial teacher training
has been completed? How will they continue to grow, develop, flourish
and stay up to date? How can insights gained from self-reflection
inform their direction of what they need to practice for their students?It can be helpful to ask:
n How can I be a happy teacher?
n How do I best serve my students?
n How do I feel good about my teaching?
n What are my teaching habits? What do I avoid teaching and why?
n What are my training addictions or aversions?n What areas of anatomy and physiology could help me
understand my students needs better?One essential way for all teachers to nourish themselves in their
teaching practice is to complete some regular form of Continuing
Professional Development (CPD). Whilst there are many fantastic
online resources out there now, nothing quite matches the alchemy
of attending a CPD in person, connecting in with other teachers and
delving deeper into a specific aspect of teaching or related topic
and then going home to reflect, absorb and integrate the new or
refreshed insights.
CPDs can include presentation of relevant new scientific research,
presentation of case studies relevant to a particular student issue or
group, joint collaboration, group discussion, controlled practice and
joint lesson planning, feedback from peers and tutors, discussion
and links/pathways for support networks to help putting the new
information into practice. All in all CPDs are a necessary part of
any professional career not least in the world of yoga teaching.
Especially as yoga becomes more and more widely accepted we
have a duty of care to our students and our colleagues to continue
to refine our skills and practices to best serve our students, and
contribute to the professional status of yoga teaching as a whole.Kirsteen Ruffell is a Birthlight Perinatal and Baby Yoga tutor. Details of
Birthlight trainings including CPDs in the UK and many other countries
can be found at: birthlight.com/TrainingSearch.aspxCPD: the importance of ongoing yoga learning and training
throughout your career. By Kirsteen Ruffell
Continuing professional development