Te acher zone
“Some instructors are
masters at teaching
pranayama, others
inspire by their ability to
guide meditations, others
by the way that they
teach a particular asana.”so how the retreat is conducted is a rare
and beautiful opportunity to have a positive
influence long after the actual retreat is
finished.
Although I did not offer it in the package,
I collected and dropped off most of my
clients at the airport. I am not suggesting
that this will be possible with every retreat,
but my advice is that if you can provide little
touches like this it will add immensely to
your brand and to yourself.
If your budget does not allow these small
gestures to be done, think twice. In general,
marketing strategies are expensive and with
no guarantees. But a happy client is your
best asset and nothing says more about
your skills than a good, sincere review. It’s
also easier to maintain a client than to make
a new one. Preserve what you have.
To provide a better experience become
a specialist in something. Some instructors
are masters at teaching pranayama, others
inspire by their ability to guide meditations,
others by the way that they teach a
particular asana. The only way to find out
your gift is through practice, observance
and feedback. Develop the habit of scanning
your class attentively and read in facial
expressions what it is that you are doing
right; what is it that is giving your students
the joy they are looking for?
Read as much as you can to learn and to
put yourself in a stronger position to teach
through simple interactions.Show gratitude
Lastly, here are two other final, but very
important, pieces of advice:- Gratitude
Give thanks to the people attending your
class or retreat; because of them your
dream is being made possible. Treat them
as divinity. - Forget the protocols
Let the same freedom and passion that
made you a yoga teacher determine the
relationship that you will have with the
world. Contrary to what I had been taught,
we are all teachers, students, gurus,
psychiatrists, advisers, therapists...if we only
allow ourselves and the others to be the
conductors of what we must learn, only then
can we effectively teach - not only others,
but ourselves.
Cintia Silva is founder at
The Blue House Retreat
(the-blue-house-retreat.myshopify.com)In essence that is part of the ‘job’; it
could be included as part of a personal
interpretation of ‘Bhakti yoga’ or the yoga
of devotion. The Sanskrit word bhakti comes
from the root bhaj, which means ‘to adore
or worship god’. And god lives in all things,
especially in actions and people. Or ‘Karma
yoga’ (selfless service), one of the four paths
of yoga based on the act of offering our
services for the benefit of others, purifying
the heart and taking us further in our
spiritual evolution.
The Ibiza retreat was filled with women
only, most of them mothers, people
who care for others and are constantly
serving selflessly. When I brought them an
unsolicited glass of water or just shared a
personal experience at the breakfast table
they would immediately relate to that with
gratitude; they were able to associate that
with love because that is how they express
love in their own homes
Stay attentive to body language when
having soulful or meaningful conversations
with your crowd – what unspoken words fail
to say, the body communicates, giving the
teacher options to then assist each attendee
individually.Personal touch
Yoga retreats differ greatly from regular
holidays. People may come with spiritual
expectations, whether they know it or not;
they come to connect with themselves. And