12 Actionable Tips For New Yoga Teachers Who Are Scared To Teach

The moment has finally come, all the steps you have taken to get you to this very moment in time…..

You finally get the opportunity to teach your first yoga class.

How exciting right?

Except the excitement is also mixed with a heavy dose of nervousness, fear and self-doubt.

Congratulations, all these feels are completely normal and can only lead to one thing, GROWTH!

Students in my yoga teacher training course are ALWAYS asking me for tips on how to keep nerves at bay, so I wanted to share some actionable yoga teacher tips you can use to overcome nervousness and fear. Hopefully with these tips, you can show up to class and spread all those good yoga vibes that the world so desperately needs!

1. Teach As Much As Possible

The old saying “practice makes perfect” is so true however, let’s change it up to “practice makes progress”! Being persistent and consistent with practicing your teaching skills will help you feel more confident and comfortable when teaching.

When you’re first getting started, be prepared to practice teaching on anyone that is willing to get on their mat with you! Your friends, family, dog and anyone and everyone that you can get in front of to practice finding your yogi voice, creating sequences, class themes and sourcing yoga playlists too.

Another great tool when practicing is to film yourself teaching. This can just be you teaching to the camera or you can also film yourself teaching others. Yes, it’s totally uncomfortable and awkward but one of the best ways to observe yourself from your student’s perspective. It’s a great way to catch yourself using filler words, nervous tics (we all have them) and overall how you perform when teaching. Keep reminding yourself “progress not perfection”.

2. Ground Yourself

Creating a grounding ritual to help get you out of your thinking mind and into your feeling body will help alleviate any performance nerves you may have prior to teaching any classes. There are many ways to ground your energy before class and here are a few suggestions to try out:

• practice your own yoga sequence,
• sit in meditation for 5-10 minutes,
• hold onto grounding crystals such as hematite or smoky quartz,
• use grounding essential oils such as frankincense or sandalwood,
• dance around the room to your favorite song,
• use a yoga-based journal to explore your inner world,
• or even just take five deep breaths with your hand over your heart.

The most important thing is to use this grounding ritual to come back home to your body and trust that everything will unfold the way it should. You got this!

3. Own Your Role As Teacher

Sometimes it can be SO scary when you’re standing in front of a group of people who are eagerly waiting to listen to every word you say. They expect you to teach yoga and will follow literally any cue that you give them.

And if you’ve never taught a yoga class to so many students before, this can be downright terrifying.

The good news is that these people likely don’t know that you’re terrified and are mostly there to learn, anyway. And when you really think about it, you do know a lot about yoga… probably a whole lot more than they do. Everything you learned in your yoga teacher training has prepared you for this and although you might lack experience in teaching yoga, you definitely know the things needed to do so.

After all, yoga is a journey, right? And you have a whole lot to offer by way of knowledge and experience as a yoga practitioner, even if instructing yoga is still so new to you. So embrace your role as a yoga teacher and remember why you want to teach yoga in the first place. The truth is that you’re there to help the world find its way back to Source and this is the way to make that happen.

4. Remember To Breathe

Coming back to your breath is a powerful tool, not just in practicing yoga but also in life in general. So if you ever feel like you need a moment to de-escalate your low key panic attack while you’re teaching yoga, just take a few deep breaths. Have your students hold a pose for a few breaths so that you can catch your own. Create space for yourself to breathe and take as much time as you need to move onto the next sequence or posture.

5. Practice Your Sequences

One of the things that shocked me as a new yoga teacher was how difficult it was to guide a sequence at a pace that felt natural to me as a student. It’s super easy to flow through the poses on your own, or to guide students through a sequence, but when you try to do both at the same time…

…that’s when things can get a little messy.

So before you teach a new class, practice your own sequence and cueing at home. See how it feels to do the sequence and feel what it is like to follow your own cues. You can record yourself teaching yoga and then play it back as you follow along through the poses to test out the pace.

Doing this will also help you feel what it’s like to move through the poses that you laid out in your class plan, as well. See what it’s like to be your own student and adjust anything that might make the sequence uncomfortable for your students.

6. Always Prepare And Bring Notes To Class

One of the best ways for new yoga teachers to combat anxiety is to fully prepare for the worst-case-scenario that we tend to create in our minds. Even if you never ever encounter a worst-case-scenario, a lot of the anxiety you may have can be mitigated by simply being prepared. So before each class, always create your class plan at home, including which music you’ll play, what passages you’d like to share, and even what you will say at the start of each class. Then bring your plan to class with you so that you can follow along with ease.