Yoga Teaching and Learning
​at www.yogauk.com

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Hello Reader

Welcome to the February newsletter.

This month's article is about how we decide what to study next for CPD when we have limited time and there's so much to choose from!

There's also a free ebook about Knee Function in Asana you can download, which I hope you find interesting and useful.

The next community Q&A get-together on Zoom is this Friday. I look forward to our discussions about what's going on for you in your yoga teaching at the moment.

There's also a series of Asana Anatomy workshops upcoming which I'll tell you about below.

Love and light,

Keep scrolling for:

📆 Dates for your diary

🤷🏻 Article: What should I learn next? How to choose your CPD

👉 News and free ebook (Jump to ebook)

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Dates for your diary

• Friday 7th February 2.30-3.30pm - next Yoga Teacher Q&A Zoom meeting - all teachers are invited (more here)​
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• Friday 28th February 2.30-5pm - Asana Anatomy workshop - exploring Adho Mukha Svanasana (down face dog pose) - on Zoom (more here)
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• Saturday 8th March 10-11am next Yoga Teacher Q&A Zoom meeting - all teachers are invited (more here)
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• Friday 14th March 2.30-5pm - Asana Anatomy workshop - exploring Jathara Parivritti (supine twist) - on Zoom (more here)

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Article:

What should I study next?

The importance of continued learning as a yoga teacher

Yoga is an ongoing learning journey - not only for our students, but for us as teachers too. Just as passing a driving test doesn’t make you an expert driver, completing yoga teacher training is where the deep learning begins.

The most inspiring yoga teachers are also lifelong learners, staying curious and engaged with new ideas and explorations. But with so many options for workshops and training courses, how do we decide what to study next?

Learn to be a good learner

I always say to my students on teacher training courses, "to be a good teacher, first learn to be a good learner".

Teaching is sometimes seen as the art of imparting knowledge, but at its heart, the best teaching is built on a foundation of ongoing learning.

To really learn, we must first acknowledge that we don’t know everything. This takes humility and can be uncomfortable for people who believe they’re supposed to have all the answers.

When we embrace learning as an ongoing process, we create yoga class spaces where curiosity is valued, and students feel safe to explore and grow.
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When you put yourself in the role of a learner, you develop more empathy for your students. It remind you what it feels like to be a beginner and to learn a new skill.

As a learner you also come to realise that ‘getting things wrong’ is an essential part of any learning process, and misunderstanding instructions is very normal. These insights make you more patient and able to support your students positively in their learning process.
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Once we recognise that learning is a lifelong process, the next question is - how do we choose what to study next? With so many options available for yoga teachers, it can feel overwhelming to decide where to focus our time and energy.

What to study?

There’s so much out there. So many courses, both online and in person. So many books and teachers with their unique offerings to explore. Where do we even start?

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Take a moment to reflect: what in the past has taught you something about yoga or about yourself or about teaching? What sparked that learning? Was it a workshop, a book, or a conversation with another teacher? Can you reach out to those paths of learning again?
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Recommendations from our peers can be helpful. Are you taking time to connect with a range of other yoga teachers and hear what they have to say about their own learning experiences?

What area of your teaching would benefit from deeper understanding or fresh inspiration? Is it time to dip your toe into something new? Or dive more deeply from a different perspective into a topic you already know something about?

Learning from different teaching styles

I took three courses last year as CPD (Continuing Professional Development). The topics themselves were interesting, but it was also fascinating to observe the teaching styles of the very different teachers and what I learnt from each.

I found that the courses challenged me in different ways. They were each focused primarily on one type of learning: cognitive (thinking/learning knowledge), psychomotor (doing/practical skills), and affective (feeling/deep personal experience).

Here’s how I experienced the courses. All of the approaches and types of learning offering something valuable:
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• The first course was mainly live lectures online, though we were allowed to ask questions. Even though it was a practical topic (hasta mudra), we didn’t do much practice. It was very formal and a large volume of information was conveyed verbally. This was mainly ‘cognitive learning’ ie. receiving and processing information and added to an area I already knew something about.

• The second course was in-person and very practical (sound healing). The atmosphere was informal and friendly, but the teacher gave all the necessary instruction and skilfully held the space for us to explore with each other. There was some cognitive learning, but primarily the learning was ‘psychomotor learning’ ie. developing practical skills. This course was fun and relaxing, and it gave me some skills I might use now and again in my teaching. (Yes, this is me banging a gong!)

• The third course was live online, involving long contemplative meditation sessions where the teacher gave guidance periodically throughout, along with some Q&A discussion sessions (non-duality and consciousness). This was mainly ‘affective learning’ – learning through experience. It was both challenging and illuminating. This course was mainly for my personal learning and I will go back to this at a later date to explore further.
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Domains of learning

I enjoyed the different teaching styles, and I was glad I took all these courses. The first course provided a wealth of knowledge, the second gave me new practical skills, and the third led me to explore the nature of consciousness.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework from educational theory that classifies learning objectives into three key domains:

• Cognitive = learning and processing information
• Psychomotor = learning and developing physical or practical skills
• Affective = having a new experience or reframing your perspective

By considering all three learning domains in our teaching, we can offer intellectual and emotional aspects along with physical practice, to help our students deepen their practice in a holistic way.

Are you addressing all domains of learning in your yoga classes? If not, what training or CPD do you need to deepen your students’ experience in the missing domains?

Remember that you can learn a lot from observing an individual teacher's style of teaching and class management, in addition to the content of the teaching.

Your personal growth

What do you need for your own personal learning?

Whether you choose to refine a familiar skill, or step into new territory, by being intentional about how you continue your learning, you not only enhance your teaching but also cultivate deeper personal growth.

Meaningful learning always requires a degree of challenge and that means stepping outside of our comfort zone.

What will your next learning challenge be?
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“It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.”
― Roy T. Bennett​
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News

New free ebook to download:

​Get ebook here​

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New series of three
Asana Anatomy workshops
for yoga teachers:

Fridays 2.30-5pm on Zoom

👉 28th February Adho Mukha Svanasana - down face dog pose (more here)

👉 14th March Jathara Parivritti - supine twist (more here)

👉 28th March Parsvakonasana - side angle pose (more here)

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The next two Q&A meetings:

(connect with other yoga teachers - more here)

• Friday 7th February at 2.30-3.30pm - all teachers are invited by email the day before
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• Saturday 8th March at 10-11am - all teachers are invited by email the day before

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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to any yoga teacher friends or colleagues who might be interested in any of the content. They can sign up to receive newsletters to their own inbox at www.yogauk.com
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