Expectation and Reality of Being a Yoga Teacher

Debunking 5 Common Myths

Photo by author. This pose is called ‘wild thing’ (Camatkarasana in Sanskrit)

When I switched from simply practicing yoga to instructing others about one and a half years ago, I started noticing things I had been oblivious to.

This included realizing that the five myths in this blog post were just that — false assumptions. This text is for new, experienced, or aspiring yoga teachers who may think: “Am I a bad teacher if some students stop coming to my classes?” “Will all my students know I forgot a balancing pose in this class?” “Should I teach yoga in another language or stick to one?”

It’s also for anyone who’s wondered: “Can all yoga teachers do all these cool poses I see on Instagram?” or “If I didn’t enjoy the yoga classes I’ve taken, does that mean yoga isn’t for me?” The following is my experience.

#1) I will get feedback from my participants.

I always seek to improve my classes, and my hope as a new yoga teacher was that students would be the best help. Well…as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, those who will pay the most attention to your teaching are fellow yoga teachers. They understand sequencing, instruction, and what works best for different levels.

Most students, however, are focused on following your instructions, breathing…