The Biggest Mistake Teachers Make When Teaching Private Sessions

Having the ability to add creativity and flexibility into your private yoga teaching is one of the core components of becoming a well rounded and experienced private yoga teacher.I was doing an interview once and somebody asked me: What is the biggest mistake that people make at a private yoga session?  Here’s how I responded: “Please cross your legs, move the flesh away from your sitz bones, close your eyes and put your hands on your knees.”

That's it. That's the biggest mistake teachers make when teaching private yoga sessions. Why?

Because that in itself is quite an advanced practice.

For someone who is new to yoga, or new to their body, asking them to sit quietly can make them feel quite vulnerable and uncomfortable. Sitting upright with closed eyes is an intimate experience, and can be  unsettling for students who might feel like you are staring at them. I do start some of my private sessions like that but only with students who are ready for it. Like I said, It's an advanced practice.Here is why asking your clients to do something that makes them really uncomfortable is a bad idea:: The reason you are asking them to close their eyes and sit quietly is because you want to help them center and calm, right? If your students are having a quiet internal meltdown the practice/pose is not going to have the intended benefit.  {I go on and on and on about how to get the intended benefits of the practice in my online teacher training...}It’s not that you shouldn’t push and challenge your students, because you must. But first you must have a bonded, established relationship. Just trust me on this one. {I go on and on and on about this in my teacher trainings also...}To truly meet your students where they are, you must be really creative and flexible about the way you start and end class. {Tweet me!}Let's talk about some other ways to start a private yoga session:Child’s Pose:If child's pose is comfortable for them,  that is a great place to start because it's not too vulnerable.{It is definitely not comfortable for everybody. Don't make the mistake thinking that everybody loves child's pose}

• They're facing down.

• There's a pressure on the center of the forehead which stimulates the vagus nerve and activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
• It's a place to turn the attention inward.
• You can give them nice, grounding, hands-on adjustments, ask them to breathe into the backs of their lungs, help them deepen and expand their breath.

 Supported Forward BendA lot of people are sitting in a chair all day and the last thing they need to do is more sitting or rounding in a forward bend. But if they have not been sitting all day, and/or they are flexible, a supported baddha konasana might be a nice place to start. {For many of the same reasons that child’s pose is.}Lying On the BackLying on one’s back is a safe, grounding place to be and there are many things you can do from there:

• hamstring stretching
• gentle bridge pose work {active or supported by a block}
• supine twist

Standing/ roll up and roll downHere’s a step by step of what I do with one of my students:

• I start her standing and I ask her to close her eyes
• With her eyes closed, I  have my hands on her back and I assess her posture
• Her thoracic spine is stuck in a backbend, so I’m working on getting her to move back into the center of herself
• I assess her posture, and then I have her do a really, really slow roll down into a forward bend, all the way down.
• Then super, super slow, rolling all the way up, stacking herself on her feet, feeling the skeleton well stacked.
• When you have a skeleton well stacked, you don't have to be super engaged in every muscle to stand well.  You can just let everything settle
• I'll do that with her several times in a row....

That is what is grounding for her.  That is the thing.  That's what is centering for her.Supported Fish with Two Blocks (other restorative poses can be great too)This one is nice because it opens the front of the chest and is good for people who have been sitting at at computer.  It’s also beneficial as it can have a calming, quieting effect while also allowing sensation, so it is good for people who want to always feel like they should be “doing something”.In essence, you TRICK them into relaxing ;-)Starting with movement?I do think that starting right away with a little bit of movement can be fine but you want to move into it slowly.  Even taking three breaths to settle yourself and MODEL that for your students can be an important lesson.Downward Dog?Most people need more prep work or warm up before jumping right into downward dog {even me!}.  Sometimes up to 20 minutes of prep is necessary before someone can skillfully get into downward facing dog.So I want to hear from you!  How do you begin your private sessions? What do you find works best and is most beneficial for your students?  If you happen to try out any of these suggestions in your own private classes, please let me know how it goes!