What does it truly mean to be a teacher of yoga? Does it mean standing up in front of a room of people and guiding their bodies into specific shapes by demonstrating the poses? Or is it using strategic wording to help people find these shapes with their body? Maybe it’s both or a combination of the two?

I had never really considered this topic until a teacher that I practice with quite regularly pointed out that there is a difference between teaching and leading.

He stated that leading a yoga class is standing at the front of the room demonstrating postures, and cueing adjustments that you have been taught in teacher training. Teaching, on the other hand, is using your words to cue your students into poses, and watching their bodies to find your cues.

As I thought about this, I struggled to understand the difference.

It wasn’t until I was teaching a private class to 2 friends hat I realized the difference between teaching and leading. I said to them, “Keep your hips in line and ensure that your left hip isn’t higher than your right”, and one of them replied, “Oh, are my hips not in line?”  His hips were in line. In fact, both of their hips were in line. I was auto-cueing based on what I had been taught I should be looking for in this pose. The problem is that I wasn’t looking. I was standing in front of them leading them through the pose, instead of teaching them the pose.

When you are a new yoga teacher, there is a lot that goes through your head while you are teaching. You are trying to focus on your sequence, cueing the right side and the right pose, and then giving verbal adjustments, all while finding the perfect balance between demonstrating enough and walking around enough. It’s a lot, I know.

When you begin teaching, you almost have no choice but to stand at the room and mostly lead because it is so challenging. So what I encourage you to do is to watch your students a little bit more each class; to step off your mat and engage with your class a little bit more each time you teach; and to begin to watch people’s bodies and speak the adjustments that you see as necessary based on your students in the room. Slowly but surely this will become easier, and you will find yourself transitioning from leading to teaching.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, please connect with me at info@mbomyoga.com. Namaste!