A Look Back: One Year After Teaching My First Yoga Class

A year ago this past Sunday, April 26th, I taught my first ever yoga class. It was one of our two “finals” for Yoga Teacher Training - we taught a 90 minutes class and we had a written final exam (not on the same day, thankfully!). The class was a controlled environment - we got to invite whoever we chose to the class, so that we knew who we were working with and therefore there would hopefully be no major surprises. 

To say that I was extremely nervous is an understatement. I literally had alarms set to remind myself to do things like put on deodorant and turn my phone on Do Not Disturb because I didn’t want to forget ANYTHING that could mess up my class. I’ve taught group exercise for years (classes such as strength training, abs classes, bootcamp, cycle, step - totally dating myself on this last one!), but teaching that first yoga class felt different. In a step class, there are two places to put your feet - the floor, or the step. In a cycle class, you don’t have to tell people when to inhale and when to exhale (though you may have to remind them to breathe on a steep hill!). In yoga, there are nuances, and there are pieces to the class - sometimes the most impactful pieces - that have nothing to do with the actual physical posture of the pose itself. There is the class theme. There’s cueing arm/leg/every other body part placement specifically. There’s your gaze, or drishti. There’s how the weight should be distributed between the hands or the feet or all four depending on the pose. There’s the reminder to enter or exit a pose on the inhale or exhale as appropriate to that specific pose. There’s twisting to the right side first, and then remembering which side is right when you’re lying down or upside down. Quite honestly, there’s just making sure you remember which side is your right and which side is your left at all - it’s amazing how easy it is to forget this when you can’t pause to make an L with your fingers or pretend to do the pledge of allegiance.  There’s knowing and being able to pronounce the Sanskrit and English name for every pose (looking at you, Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana). There’s remembering modifications, variations, use of props, adjusts and assists (we weren’t required to do hands on assists, but I wanted to because that’s my style - with permission of course). And then, of course, there’s remembering 90 minutes of poses and transitions in the right order. We were allowed to use notes, but I’m the type of person that if I have to read while presenting, I lose my place easily and I don’t sound natural. So, in true Maya style, I made copious pages of notes and brought my whole class plan and didn’t look at any of it, though it helped to have it there as a safety net. It also helped tremendously to have a room full (and by full, I mean 6 people) of friends and fellow teacher trainees as your students. Surprisingly, once I got past the intro, I actually felt pretty comfortable. My “teaching” mode kicked in. It doesn’t mean it was easy, but for someone who deals with anxiety about… basically everything… I actually didn’t feel as anxious or panicky as I thought I was going to. I didn’t have to remind myself to breathe, and that allowed me to focus on my students. 

On May 19, 2019, I officially graduated Yoga Teacher Training (because that’s when our graduation was held). In some ways, it feels like yesterday (well, not literally yesterday because we couodl’t have all been in the same place at the same time, but you know what I mean). At the same time, it’s hard to believe I have only been teaching for a year. Not only do I no longer need to remind myself to do things like put on deodorant before class (I still do it, don’t worry, just no reminder needed!), I actually feel comfortable in front of a class. Which is saying something for someone who can’t even look people in the eye during conversations because it feels like too much attention focused on me. Over the past year, I have subbed at multiple studios,  I have taught a weekly Barre-Yoga Combo class at SoulFlower Yoga in Merchantville, NJ, as well subbed a range of classes from Beginner Vinyasa to Hatha Vinyasa to All-Levels Yoga at that studio. I have a weekly private yoga client (it’s a relative, still counts) and teach a weekly Yoga Benefit Class - the class is held at a law firm (and right now, virtually), but it’s open to the public, and proceeds benefit the organization Kids’ Chance of NJ.  Benefit Yoga is 100 percent “my thing”. I feel so grateful to be able to be part of this, and to be starting what I hope to be an area in which I can continue to grow my offerings.  

These days, I can sub a class on an hour or two’s notice, which, compared to the weeks and weeks (and weeks) I spent practicing and planning for my first class, still surprises me. Often, I go into class with an idea of what I want to do, but end up altering the class “on the go” due to student requests for certain areas they want to work on or certain types of poses, based on the experience level of the class, or based on injuries and such of the students. I’ve had classes planned in which many of the poses involved being on the knees, and half my class says they’re dealing with knee pain or injuries. So I adjust it. Sure, they can modify, but I’ve grown comfortable enough with teaching that I’d rather change things up so more poses are accessible to the majority of the class. I remember when I was taking classes during yoga teacher training, seeing instructors come in and say “so anyone have any requests” and being absolutely floored that they could just adjust their class to fit in special requests. I mean, how did that not mess up everything they’d planned and memorized and practiced repeatedly. But I get it now. It’s that being able to both plan a class with intention, and also make adjustments to suit the specific students that show up, that’s one of my favorite pieces - it feels like I’m truly able to show up for their specific needs on their specific day, while still maintaining my own voice and style and intentions for the class as well.

And just as I was feeling pretty comfortable with all of this, getting into the groove of all my studio and private and benefit classes … COVID19 and stay at home orders. This past six weeks, I’ve been making adjustments to my yoga teaching process that I legitimately never imagined.  I’ve been teaching private sessions and my weekly Yoga Benefit class virtually via zoom. Technology certainly has its downfalls, but I’m extremely grateful that I can still do my private sessions, and that this class can keep practicing together to raise money for such a great cause. Not only that, but we’ve had people able to join class virtually who aren’t able to, for logistical reasons, join the in-person class, so I’ve gotten to meet and practice with new people. I’ve even had people suggest that once we go back to in person classes, I still offer a virtual class weekly as well.  I’m strongly considering doing this, and it’s something I hadn’t given any serious thought to previously. Most surprisingly, I’ve also been making yoga videos - both quick pose tutorials, which I’ve been putting on social media, and longer videos that I’ve been putting up on vimeo. The latter are not ready for general public consumption yet, because they’re definitely “homemade in my living room with my computer and the possibility of my dog sitting on the mat or licking my face during class’ quality, but they’re up there in all their password-protected glory, and available to those that are willing to put up with my yoga video growing pains in order to utilize them (if you fall into this category and are interested, contact me and I’ll send you the password). 

Lastly, but certainly not least, my first year as a yoga teacher has brought me connection. It’s brought me connection to myself, my inner core, my journey and purpose - even if I’m still figuring out the specific details of that path. It’s brought me connection to the universe/creator/God/nature (whatever your name for this power greater than ourselves). It’s brought me connection to my students - the amazing humans who show up to practice with me that I may never have otherwise met, or who I may have known, but not been connected with in such a way. It’s brought me a connection with the cause that my weekly benefit class supports, and I truly aim to utilize yoga to support more causes in the future. And it’s brought me connection to my fellow yoga teachers and friends, the amazing souls I went through YTT training with who I am so lucky to call friends.

 Of everything that this first year as a yoga teacher has brought into my life, all of these connections - to others, to the universe, to myself and my path as it evolves - is the most beautiful. To each and every one of you that has been part of this first year, thank you. I’m so grateful for all that I’ve had the opportunity to experience in the past twelve months as a yoga teacher (and a student, because we’re still always a student), and I’m excited and curious to see what the next year brings.