Sutra-Like Language
How Yoga Teacher Training Made Me a Better UX Writer
In March 2017, I graduated from my 200-hour yoga teacher training at Tough Love Yoga in Atlanta and, by the end of that same year, I’d started my first job in UX as a Content Strategist at CallRail. It feels synchronistic now that my yoga teacher training came immediately before my start in UX writing, since the style of teaching I learned, called YogaHour, had me working with the principles of content strategy before I even knew what that was.
YogaHour is an alignment-based practice that focuses on clear, concise instructions and accessibility as its core tenants. Flowery language or vague cueing isn’t allowed. Sequences are strategized and every cue serves a purpose.
The way I was taught to teach my yoga students is the same way I’ve learned to write for users on a product interface. Many of the principles of cueing from just one page of my yoga teacher training manual could also be found in a beginner’s guide to UX. For example:
- Any word that is not absolutely necessary is omitted.
- Sound real, not robotic.
- Clear and specific instructions are ordered strategically.
Beyond best practices, some of the larger concepts of my yoga teacher training have served me equally as well during my time writing user-centered content for interfaces.
Distill, distill, distill
In yoga, you can spend a lifetime refining a single pose, but, as a teacher, you can’t keep your students balancing on one leg forever. Fifteen seconds feels like forever in a yoga pose, and you arguably have even less time on a digital interface.
In YogaHour, classes are taught with sutra-like language. Sutra means “thread” and the goal of sutra-like language is to maximize the amount of teachings you can string together fluidly without going over the time for each pose.
In one exercise, our instructors had us write down only the three most important cues for each pose and teach with only those words in mind. Understanding my priorities helped me focus on what I was asking from a student at that moment instead of endlessly tweaking each pose and diluting the overall message.
That’s what we want for our users too: to complete an action without drowning in the details.
Know where you’re going
How do you know which cues to keep when there are so many? It depends on where you’re going. Know what’s going to serve your students next and let your cues guide them there.
This is where content meets strategy. The longer I’m in UX, the more important prioritization has become to me. Every user flow needs to be methodically held up against the top two or three primary goals for a design (sometimes those are a mix of user goals and business goals from stakeholders). Any more priorities than that and you’re probably overloading one page or interaction.
Once you know where you’re going, you can guide people through that journey with transparency while connecting them to the larger picture of your platform.
Teach to all levels
Every yoga class has an audience of mixed skill sets just like every business has a wide range of customers.
It’s as much a mistake to alienate the newbie as it is to hold back the more experienced user — but it’s not an easy balance to strike. It takes understanding both ends of the spectrum and finding new ways to cater to both.
Beginners may need extra support to keep them from getting totally lost, but make sure you’re not keeping your more savvy users from progressing.
Respond to what you see
You can’t teach a yoga class with your eyes closed. As a yoga teacher, that means coming in with a clear plan, but leaving room for improvisation based on what your students are actually doing.
As writers, we do our best to know ahead of time what our users need and to say it clearly and concisely. But sometimes, even our best guess is wrong and our users are struggling. That’s okay. It’s an opportunity to say it differently and see what happens. One of the maxims from YogaHour (coined by Sam Rice) goes: say it, say it again, make them do it.
UX content is particularly interested in which words do and don’t carry meaning for our users. For example, maybe people don’t actually know where their triceps are, but if you say the “back of your arm,” they’ll understand.
The best words to use are the ones that help users do what they need to do quickly and easily. If it doesn’t translate, maybe it’s time for you to rethink what you’re saying.
It’s also helpful to remember that knowledge compounds over time — users can grow. Just don’t expect them to get it all right off the bat.
Deepen their practice
The best yoga classes do more than maneuver your body from one position to the next; they create meaning. A teacher’s personality is one aspect of creating a great class experience, but I also think people crave to see their own progression over time.
In YogaHour, each pose is broken down into three categories: shape, safety, and refinement. You’re not allowed to start refining a post until the basic shape and the strength needed to keep that pose safe are executed. In yoga, the refinement stage usually leads to the greatest light bulb moments.
Devoted students (and customers) are made when you can help them stretch their capacity and become more adept at something they care about.
In the tech-space, you stand out by making people feel like experts at accomplishing tasks and achieving their goals outside your app. Your product doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Progression means helping users solve real problems in their work or personal life using your platform, rather than just pushing all the right buttons you care about in your app. UX writing creates ways for users to deepen their skill set.
Teach with compassion
Yoga classes end with Namaste. It’s a recognition of the divinity in each person. “The light in me recognizes the light in each of you.” It’s a reminder to treat people with respect and keep respect for yourself in each interaction, whether personal or digital. UX tends to attract the empathizers. We’re always humans working with humans making products for other humans, even if there’s a screen mediating that exchange. By writing copy with real users — real people! — in mind, good UX writing takes that seriously and people can feel the difference.
Overall, I’ve found that yoga teachers are designing experiences the same way content strategists shape the experience of a product. In both cases, the exchange between writer and audience is key. The dialogue between teacher and student is always a two-way street where both parties are learning and growing.
My strategy as a UX writer is to listen closely and respond — or, for a more Zen way of saying it: the student is the teacher, and I’m happy to keep learning more.
Brittney Sovik is a UX Researcher and Content Strategist at CallRail. She’s a coffee addict and could talk for hours about the enneagram.
