When other teachers join your class, celebrate it! They’re there to practice, not judge. Introduce them, create a friendly vibe, and learn from their presence. Teachers supporting teachers—this is how we grow together.
Yoga teachers: If you have the pleasure of having other teachers in class, don’t flinch: rejoice!
While your first reaction might be to recoil in horror, thinking you are going to be judged, please reframe your reaction. Unless another teacher is explicitly sent to offer feedback, they are not in your class to evaluate you nor to steal from you—they want to be led through a practice and not have to make decisions. As I often put it, they want someone else to drive the bus. Celebrate having teachers as students!
When I have colleagues in class, I make a point of introducing them. This serves a few purposes.
First, it cross-promotes their classes. I’ll say something like, “This is Alexandra, who teaches the Pilates class before this class. Her class and mine are wonderful back-to-back! And Alexandra is my regular sub—you’ll see her in two weeks when I’m teaching out of town.”
Second, it creates a friendly vibe. Students love to know that teachers are students, too, and that the studio community is a supportive one.
Third, it gives the teacher permission to practice in their own way without intimidating students. “Oh,” students will think, “that’s a teacher, so they’ve been doing this a while. I am not going to bend like they do.” Sometimes I’ll even say this out loud, so students don’t compare themselves!
Best of all, having teachers in class means you have a group of potential subs who know exactly how you run your classroom and what and how you teach. This is priceless for providing your students continuity when you are away, and thus for best supporting their practices. Your subs don’t have to teach exactly like you, but having subs who understand what your students expect is priceless.
And when you do have a colleague in class, ask them for feedback. Teachers are always better equipped than students to give you helpful advice. Students will say only, “I liked it!” or “Felt good!” or “That was hard!” Teachers can tell you straight about the clarity of your cueing, the fluidity of your sequences, and the filler words you rely on.
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