It has been about three months since I received my Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) from the Yoga Alliance. I have also gotten liability insurance and am now CPR certified. Both of these (along with the RYT) are general requirements to teach in studios.
Since my certification, I have been teaching a fair amount. I did a 30 minute "1 on 1" demo with a studio director (a bit stressful I have to say) and as a result of that demo, I was hired on as a substitute and to date have taught three classes there and have more scheduled. This was the first time I earned any money from teaching. Since I have a day job, earning money teaching is not my primary goal, but it is great to see that my efforts in becoming a teacher have been appreciated enough for someone to charge for my time. I have also taught a ten week session at an after school program, which was my first foray into teaching teenagers, and a few volunteer donation classes at a cat shelter. I am now in the middle of teaching a ten week session for new and beginner students at a local church. This is an on going series I started and it is great to see people coming back for the third session.
As a new teacher, I can spend up to five hours preparing and practicing for each one hour class that I teach. I am still learning my teacher voice, nuances of poses and pose cues, and also I am working on sequences that are unique to me. All of this takes time but I do not mind the effort as I am learning as I go. What I have noticed is that the amount of time it takes me to prepare for a basic flow class is significantly less than what it took last year. I have, in a pinch, also taught a class without preparing for it. It was not too difficult to do, but I do not want to make it a habit. I owe it to my students to prepare.
The only downfall to teaching is that since I work a regular job and because I spend a lot of time preparing, I have much less time to grow my own practice. It is not that I am not practicing Yoga. I generally run through each class to make sure the flow is good and I am not taking too much or too little time (this is harder than you think). I spend one to two hours many nights in my Yoga room. This all means less of what I need for myself. We were taught not to neglect your own practice, but I do find this a challenge.
Overall though, I am so happy that I took the teaching plunge. I was looking at some photos I took from training and it feels like a million years ago when I first sat with 14 strangers in a room to begin that journey. I want to share with as many people as possible the benefits of a Yoga practice. The best way I can think to do so is to teach. Any time and any place I can think of.
Namaste...
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