Start your yoga career now: Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training in London Begins September
Incorporating your Background into your Yoga Teaching
Anna Oldfield on 05 July, 2011 | 
As any yoga teacher will attest, training courses attract a wide variety of people from many different (and unexpected) backgrounds. The beauty of instructing yoga is that any previous experience can be used to enrich your teaching, be this directly related such as through teaching another skill, or other professional expertise such as marketing or finance which will help you to construct a successful career. Whatever your background, you can guarantee it will somehow pop up in your teaching; this is what makes you unique and you’ll soon see the individual teaching styles developing within your group.
The YogaLondon training course will prepare you to lead Vinyasa flow, Astanga style, restorative Hatha and power yoga classes, however training in any other style will enrich your repertoire of exercises and sequences to use in your own classes. Further, other physical training will also enhance your understanding of the body, qualities of movement and sequencing. It is common to see teachers who previously trained as dancers, or who are also Pilates or fitness instructors. Further, those with anatomical knowledge from science degrees or a medical background may find they intuitively connect with how the asana work on a physical level, working different muscle groups to promote good health and a balanced body.
A knowledge of and interest in philosophy, be this eastern or not, will also bring an additional dimension to your teaching. Anecdotes or little proverbs told whilst the students hold a pose can make a particularly long or deep stretch more easily attainable, helping the students to find the comfort and stillness in the asana described in Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Just as an anatomical explanation of how a pose benefits certain muscle groups or bodily functions can help students connect to the practice on a physical level, providing an insight into the philosophical systems which lie either behind yoga as a whole or something which has resonated with your personal practice can assist the students' understanding of the class as a mental as well as physical exercise. Because yoga works on both the body and the mind it is not uncommon to find teachers with a background in psychology.
Whilst certain professions may complement a certain area of yoga it is by no means necessary to have previous experience in these areas to incorporate them as a strong element of your teaching. Equally, completely unexpected backgrounds may provide useful skills in teaching. One YogaLondon graduate who previously worked in the police force found that ex-police-issue 'fast wraps' (for wrapping up violent people before putting them in the van) make excellent yoga straps.
When injured, a positive way of approaching the experience is that it makes you develop a different way of practicing, forcing you to break habits or attachments and explore restrictions which your students may face. Matthew Sweeney’s Chandra Krama moon sequence was developed in this way, and has proved popular with yogis worldwide as a more restorative alternative to the primary sequence when this is inappropriate.
However it is incorporated, your background and experiences will play a role in the creation of your personal teaching voice. Whilst every yoga teacher can study the same asana and the same texts, no two are the same due to the individual experiences which impact their teaching. And of course, it is not a one way exchange. Just as you will incorporate your previous experiences in your teaching, yoga training will impact the way in which you approach your everyday life by teaching a more mindful attitude.