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Andrew Pentis

… Yoga Instructor for a Pro Sports Team

Steph Armijo had been interested in yoga long before she moved to San Diego, within earshot of a brand-new studio offering classes. “I realized that there was an opportunity for me to take a teachers’ training — at the time, I didn’t even want to become a yoga teacher; it was just about learning,” Armijo told ValuePenguin. “So, yeah, I did the training, and the rest is history.” Not so fast. Now that the student has turned instructor — Armijo went from volunteer to general manager in California before taking her new skills to New York — we asked her to detail her path into the field.

This interview with @StephArmijo was condensed for clarity. To contribute to ValuePenguin’s coverage on careers, follow us @VP_Careers.

How did you get your foot in the door at the yoga studio?

I started volunteering when it first opened. I had a communications background working for Major League Baseball, so I offered to do social media and marketing for the studio. From there, I became assistant manager and eventually manager of the studio, in addition to teaching classes. I used the skillset from the baseball industry, turned that over into yoga and melded it all together.

How was your training structured?

It’s a standard 200-hour training set up by the Yoga Alliance, and different studios have different formats. My studio did two weekends a month for about five months. You would go all day on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays were usually 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as part of that weekend. A lot of guest lecturers and specialists come in and talk about anatomy, philosophy — all the key pieces and elements that are required in teachers’ training, in addition to taking classes and learning the poses.

How would you compare your yoga knowledge before the training to after the training?

I knew next to nothing. I kind of wish that I had done it before I even started yoga, because it was such a great foundation.

When you go into these classes (as a participant) and you don’t know, you do the best you can. Sometimes teachers can help you, but if it’s a class where they’re flowing, they can’t necessarily stop and help you with every pose.

It was a lot of studying, just like you would do for anything. We had a set booklist and were quizzed on readings, in addition to learning every single pose. It’s learning the pose, learning the pose in Sanskrit; learning modifications for each pose: if a person has an injury, can they do this pose? If they are pregnant, how do they do this pose? Working within limitations, and the therapeutic applications of each posture.

Did you need any other training or certifications after your 200 hours was complete?

After the 200, you’re certified to teach, so it’s about getting experience from that point. There are continuing education-type things. Since then, I’ve gone on and done another 300 hours of training after that, so I’m 500-hours certified now.

There are other types of schools out there, but as far as what the Yoga Alliance recommends, 500 hours is the highest.

How was your transition to teaching, being in front of a studio, talking and taking charge?

I would say that I had a headstart, being in communications, since I already had experience speaking in front of groups. As I’ve grown as a teacher, I’ve realized how much teaching has helped me in life. If I were going to go back into another type of work setting, the skillset that I’ve built up — speaking, making quick decisions, being able to adapt, and constantly reading the energy of a room and making adjustments — has been a game-changer for me.

Let’s talk misconceptions…

Being good at yoga means being flexible — that’s a huge misconception. People don’t want to go to yoga because they can’t touch their toes. That is a reason why you go to yoga, to stretch. For many people, touching their toes, is not within their range of motion. Flexibility is just one part of yoga and not necessarily the most important. There are many health benefits of a consistent yoga practice. Being good at yoga means showing up, breathing, and doing what works for your body.

What is work like now in New York?

Currently, I teach around 25 classes a week. That’s a combination of group classes, corporate classes and private sessions.

I work with Harlem RBI, and they’re connected to a charter school called DREAM Charter School, where I teach. Last year, I started a mindfulness program at the Charter School. I would go into every single classroom in the school once a month and teach a different mindfulness modality to the students. We would do yoga, meditation, visualization, guided imagery, test-prep, and emotion regulation. It has been great to give these kids that have no experience, and they live in a hard part of town — some new tools to react to situations differently. This year, we got the OK to teach a pilot yoga program for first- and third- graders, so they get yoga as part of their curriculum. I go there every Friday and teach four hour-long sessions, which has been a huge success.

It sounds like you have a wide variety of class participants, from kids to pro baseball players and corporate employees to everyday yogis…

That’s what makes it interesting for me. Every class that I teach is different. That’s not a necessity to teaching, but to me it’s important to keep my classes fresh and give everyone a different experience. I’m also dealing with different demographics. Working with my corporate clients, it’s all ages, all levels. We want to keep it light and have a good time. I work with the squash team at The Yale Club every day after school. Working with athletes, in addition to all the group classes, shows you that yoga is for every body.

What is the timing of your schedule like?

Every day is different. Wednesdays are my busy day: I teach five classes on Wednesdays. I get up at 4:45 a.m. get ready, commute, and open the studio for my first class at 6:45 a.m. I have a little break, and then I teach at 1:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m, 4:30 p.m., and 5:15 p.m. And Fridays, like I said, I’m at the school in the mornings and then I teach at the Yale Club in the afternoons. The rest of my classes are spread out through the week and Sundays are my day off.

For the unitiated, what does a yoga instructor actually do during a class?

Typically classes are 60 or 75 minutes. The beginning of class is used for centering, getting quiet for a few minutes; whether that’s seated or lying down. It’s connecting people with their breath, it’s taking them out of their day and bringing them into the present moment bringing awareness to where they’re at and what they’re going to be doing.

Type Description (via the Yoga Alliance)GentleClasses are typically calming, relaxing, and less physically demanding than other classes. They may also use props to aid students in their practice.Spiritually-orientedClasses often include meditation in addition to asana practice. They might also emphasize yoga philosophy, chanting, mantra, or cultivating spiritual growth.FlowClasses are typically invigorating, and they often include aerobic elements. Each posture is usually held only for a short time before moving to the next posture.Alignment-orientedClasses give particular attention to precision bodily placement, often with longer holds of asanas. Classes might use props to help students attain the desired alignment.FitnessClasses primarily emphasize the physical dimensions of yoga practice. Typical objectives might include aerobic conditioning, gaining strength or building stamina.HotClasses involve practicing in heated rooms (varying in temperature, potentially up to 110 degrees). The postures themselves may or may not be physically demanding.SpecialtyClasses often customize yoga for particular groups, such as seniors, children, expectant mothers and those facing serious health conditions. Specialized training is important for teachers who work with these groups.

From there, it depends on the type of class, but it’s leading students through a set of postures. There’s a certain amount of demonstration, of demo-ing, but it’s only to the extent where people need to see what’s going on. For the most part, it’s giving verbal cues. I prefer giving verbal cues, because I’m not there to show them that I know how to do yoga. It’s for their own experience; so the better you can talk someone into a pose, the better it is; rather than just showing, this is how you do it.

It’s a lot of walking around and giving adjustments. Adjustments are for physical mis-alignments, but also energetic adjustments: After you’ve done a challenging posture, the teacher will bring you back into a resting pose, where you can come back to your breath. I’ll walk over and give a hands-on adjustment in that pose. That doesn’t mean that they’re doing anything wrong; it just feels good when someone presses on a certain area on your back and it brings the awareness back to the breath and calming the nervous system.

After active stretching, it’s time for passive stretching. And that’s done seated, and then lying down. At the end of class is what you might have heard of: Savasana, which is the final resting pose. That’s just when you completely lay down and close your eyes and relax. It’s when your nervous systems reboots and gets all the benefits from the yoga practice, it’s really important to have a Savasana at the end of each class. The teacher typically brings you back up to a seated position, and says “Namaste” which is a way of thanking the students for being in class, and the students repeat “Namaste” back to the teacher.

What separates a very good yoga instructor from an average one?

I would say the actual sequencing of a yoga class. The poses that a teacher decides to teach is completely up to them, or up to the class level and what you’re working with. I like compare teaching yoga to a memory game. You do a certain set of poses on one side, and then you have to remember the exact same poses that you did on the second side, do them for the same amount of time, and then give the exact same options. If you’re holding your right foot, when you get to the left side, you have to give them the option to hold their left foot. It’s trying to remember all these pieces. If you adjust someone on one side, you want to be sure to adjust them on the second side. That’s not a rule, but more of a best practice.

Do you have strategies for continuing your own education?

Yes, there are some online modules that I do every month, in addition to taking classes as a participant, where I can get an idea or try something I haven’t done. I’ll also watch yoga classes online. There are some great online resources — YogaGlo is one of them.

Besides teaching and self-educating, what else are among your daily or weekly to-dos.

I do a lot of social media. On my Instagram, I post every day. I do either a pose of the day, or take a picture of the class, or I post the sequence that I taught in class. Instagram has been my biggest marketing piece, where I’ve gotten private clients and classes. You have to continue to put yourself out there.

In terms of getting more corporate clients, you have to go get that yourself: reaching out to companies that you want to work with.

What is next on the path of career advancement, generally-speaking and also for you personally?

It varies. The end-all, be-all for most yoga teachers I know is not to own a yoga studio.

My personal goals and interests: I came out here specifically to work in baseball, teaching yoga. I connected with the Mets early on, and I’ve been working towards that. The group classes around the city have been great for meeting people, and that has turned into classes at their company and private sessions.

A superlative question: What’s the most difficult part of being a yoga instructor?

The travel, but this is very specific to New York. It’s a lot of back-and-forth on the train. The commuting is actually more than the actual teaching every day. I live in Astoria, Queens, but it doesn’t make sense for me to go home in between classes, so I’ll be out all day long. Scheduling-wise, it can make for of a long day.

Another one: What is the biggest perk of being a yoga instructor?

A big perk is that I get to wear yoga clothes and sneakers everywhere.

Biggest perk? Meeting different people — being able to have a positive effect on peoples’ lives. You don’t know what’s going on when they come into your class. Sometimes they come in, and you can tell something’s going on. I don’t know everybody that comes to my class, but you can feel the energy. You can tell when there’s something going on with someone. To be able to give them a good experience, or a healing experience, or whatever it is. Sometimes they acknowledge it, and sometimes they don’t need to. Especially when they have injuries and they come to you, it’s fulfilling to know that you’re a part of helping them out and helping them have a better day.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering becoming a yoga instructor?

It’s a lot of work. People think that I just sit around and meditate all day, but it’s a hard job. You have to go out and go after every single opportunity that you want.

There are a lot of different elements that go into making a good yoga teacher. It’s the whole package. It’s being prepared; being on time; being able to speak in front of a crowd; being able to market yourself. I think people would be surprised that a lot of the skills are transferrable. Being a good people person, being able to defuse a situation, good time management — what makes a good yoga instructor are those other skills. It’s not about being able to do a pose; it’s about the experience that people have when they come to your class.

Steph Armijo’s Reading List:

This story originally appeared on ValuePenguin.