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| Hi all! I'm almost halfway through my teacher training program. All my life I've struggled with social anxiety, yoga has been the only thing that has really helped me heal it. I felt a strong calling to teach yoga even though my anxiety is become extremely high again. Now that I'm almost through my program and we are starting to practice teaching a little, I am completly anxious to the point of panic attacks again. Meditating and yoga are not helping at this point, and no matter how I try even when practicing alone in my home I can't develop that yoga voice because my fear is so strong. I've put a lot of my finances into this program and really do not want to quit....I would like some words of advice if possible. |
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| Hi Ashlee,
What you have is often called performance anxiety. You must first practice "teaching" a yoga class at home by yourself. Keep doing it until it starts to flow and sometimes seems effortless. Whenever you start the panic, take a couple slow deep breaths, and continue with renewed focus on what you are saying.
Once you can "teach" imaginary people, start with family and friends. Keep practicing teaching. Don't be self-conscious about your voice or how you think you sound. Your only goal is to learn to focus on what you are doing or saying. DO NOT JUDGE YOURSELF OR YOUR PERFORMANCE, ONLY FOCUS ON THE MESSAGE. If thoughts in your head start running so wild that you cannot focus, stop, breathe, focus and continue. If your voice shakes, keep talking with a shaky voice. Do NOT focus on yourself or how you feel. Do NOT think about how you think that you are percieved. Do NOT allow internal dialog to take over your focus. Focus ONLY on what you are doing.
Keep practicing. You will learn to let go of your fears (which are irrational) through learning to relax and focus. You learn to relax and focus through repetition. Practice "teaching" over and over. Your brain has established pathways that cause panic whenever you are in this situation. You must develop new pathways. This can only be done through repetition.
If your panic is so extreme that practice is not possible, you may want to see a MD to get Inderal (Propranolol) which is a beta blocker that will control the panic until you can learn to control it yourself. If you take a beta blocker, only do so short term to overcome the panic enough to learn to do it on your own.
This is something that you can overcome. Many famous speakers, actors, musicians and other performers have battled and overcome this problem and you can too.
I hope that this helps in some way.
Namaste,
Jim |
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| Jim sure offers solid guidance! I have to wonder, isn't your teacher training program centering on that? Seems the folks running it would be able to work with you and offer some tips. In addition to what Jim offered, perhaps getting a close friend or family member to be your practice student would help. That way you have only friendly helpful feedback--might be easier than going it alone.
And welcome aboard. We're here to help--probably more than you'll want. It is a tough thing to do-- I'm one of the most obnoxious outgoing abrasive guys in the world--went to college on a public speaking scholarship, spent 30 years in the miilitary barking out orders. Still, I get a new class with all those pairs of wide eyes staring at me, I have to take a deep breath and push that anxiety away. So while it's irrational as Jim says, the fear, in some intensity is real. But it helps keep us pumped and enthusiastic. Give 'em hell! |
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| If you have clinical anxiety, then you're dealing with something a bit different from performance anxiety. You may find practicing so intensely stressful that you essentially freeze and can't do anything at all. While I don't share that particular problem (oh, I have plenty of my own other problems ;) ), do know you aren't alone. No, it doesn't help a lot, but you are not the first person to deal with this. If you are the analytic/science-y sort, you might be interested in reading "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers", as it talks about (among other things) the chemical pathways in the body that may be different in those prone to full blown clinical anxiety.
That is not to say that you can't teach! The idea of making use of any of the techniques out there for turning down the sympathetic nervous system and turning up the parasympathetic will be helpful. You may find beta-blockers useful. You may want to use that in combination with more focused pranayama techniques (breathing being the quickest way to access the vagus nerve) and time that with respect to your eating and sleeping habits to help you achieve the most relaxed state you can.
Teaching your body to - neurochemically - not put you in a state of stress (anxiety is one manifestation of this), will take time and practice. And doing it little by little, so you can retrain all the organs and glands in your body (including your brain), will get you there. You CAN do it! Think about a situation which would be least anxious to YOU (even if your teacher has other ideas), and implement that outside the home. Maybe that's teaching a pose that you know really really well to yourself in front of mirror. Maybe it's having a friend pick a pose from a list at random without warning and you have to teach just three elements of it, no more, and then you're done. Maybe it's something else.
Work on retraining your physiologic response (the anxiety) while you work on the practice teaching. Not that it will necessarily go away, but you can have a little more control over it too. |
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| I would just assume that you are not going to be a great teacher the day you finish your program. And assume that you might say things wrong, asssume that you might confuse left and right, assume that you might forget one side, and assume that you are only human. Becoming a great yoga teacher will take time and practice.
And most important. Just tell your students, that this is my 1st year of teaching and that I will always be a student. |
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| I would disagree 100% with telling students that this is your first year teaching. Would a doctor tell his/her patient that? A lawyer his/her clients? |
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| early on in my teaching, it was under the very watchful eyes of my teachers and i was scared to mess up in front of them. i wanted to succeed and show them that i was following them well, loving them, etc. i was nervous though. not as exterme as you describe, but still.
i found a mantra helped. everything from "i can do this; i am doing this!" to "my teachers love me and want to help me" to "i love yoga and i love these students; i am giving the gift of myself to them." these things helped me a lot, because then i wasn't afraid.
i was always thinking "i don't know enough" and "i'm not good enough to teach" and "what if i do/say something wrong?" well, the turth is, no one knows what you know, you are good enough (because, like everyone, you are a part of the Whole, of God), and if you do something wrong, most people won't know, those who do will forgive you, and those who are in a position to do so will lovingly correct you.
so, there's really nothing to be afraid of, but sometimes it takes some self-convincing of this. that is why i used the self-made mantras or affirmations. they really helped me to develop confidence and to realize the truth of the situation.
You are love, you love yoga, you want to share your love with others. you offer your best every time, even if it isn't perfection, it's still perfect because it is offered in love.
that's really the real. |
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| Bruce - 2008-12-03 1:15 PM
I would disagree 100% with telling students that this is your first year teaching. Would a doctor tell his/her patient that? A lawyer his/her clients?
With all due respect, that comparison is not very valid. Doctors and Lawyers spend years developing their knowledge. Intern, tested, bar, etc...Yoga teachers can do this within one year easily and work full time at another job.
As, I said, it will take years to be a great teacher. So, don't worry about being great for a couple of years, just be sincere.
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| hnia - 2008-12-03 8:58 AM
I would just assume that you are not going to be a great teacher the day you finish your program. And assume that you might say things wrong, asssume that you might confuse left and right, assume that you might forget one side, and assume that you are only human. Becoming a great yoga teacher will take time and practice.
And most important. Just tell your students, that this is my 1st year of teaching and that I will always be a student.
You will always (from time to time) make mistakes in your presentation, saying things wrong, confusing left and right etc. It does not matter if you are a new or an experienced teacher. To me, experience is not about verbal delivery; it is about seeing each student in a large class as an individual and first identifying danger areas and correcting them, and then seeing where individuals need positive reinforcement and providing it. When you are aware of each student and their whole body, you can provide help where it is most needed. That is the most important part of experience.
Another important part of experience is the ability to see the class time as a single connected unit (so that it has a beginning, a high point and an ending) and the resulting ability to keep the class moving and everyone focused.
I would NOT diminish myself in front of my students or make excuses by saying that I was new at teaching. I would also not brag or put myself up in front of my students. I hope that the quality of my class speaks for me as a teacher and if it doesn't, neither bragging nor excuses will help.
A yoga teacher is a facilitator. We are not movie stars, high priests, politicians, saints, gurus, gods or goddesses. Our job is simply to share what we know with integrity and compassion. |
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| Jim, Please don't reveal that we're "not movie stars, high priests, politicians, saints, gurus, gods or goddesses," How am I supposed to get my cult started if that news gets out? |
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| hnia - 2008-12-03 3:34 PM Bruce - 2008-12-03 1:15 PM I would disagree 100% with telling students that this is your first year teaching. Would a doctor tell his/her patient that? A lawyer his/her clients? With all due respect, that comparison is not very valid. Doctors and Lawyers spend years developing their knowledge. Intern, tested, bar, etc...Yoga teachers can do this within one year easily and work full time at another job. As, I said, it will take years to be a great teacher. So, don't worry about being great for a couple of years, just be sincere. OK I'll fess up it was an extreme comparison. Was just trying to to offer up that there's no need to offer up an excuse that one is new in an attempt to gain mercy--just immediately sets the bar low. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Bruce - 2008-12-04 7:25 AM
Jim, Please don't reveal that we're "not movie stars, high priests, politicians, saints, gurus, gods or goddesses," How am I supposed to get my cult started if that news gets out?
Master Yogi Guru Bruce, I declare you totally exempt from this most important aspect of yogihood,  |
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| Bruce - 2008-12-04 4:25 AM
Jim, Please don't reveal that we're "not movie stars, high priests, politicians, saints, gurus, gods or goddesses," How am I supposed to get my cult started if that news gets out?
Bruce, This is the yoga teachers section and non-teachers are not supposed to be reading this so I think that you are safe. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | I don't know about that Jim, I always tell people that are looking for a yoga teacher to check out yoga.com's Yoga Teachers forum section...that way they'll get to know who their teachers really are, LOL!!! |
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| Cyndi - 2008-12-04 10:36 AM
I don't know about that Jim, I always tell people that are looking for a yoga teacher to check out yoga.com's Yoga Teachers forum section...that way they'll get to know who their teachers really are, LOL!!!
Thanks a lot Cyndi. Now all my cult members will leave and join Bruce's cult!
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | You should see him on Myspace,  |
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Anxiety about Teaching
