How to Build Confidence as a New Yoga Teacher

Being a new yoga teacher… it’s a brave place to be ;)

I’ll be honest: when I first started teaching yoga back in 2013, I got very nervous before every class. Standing in front of a room full of people felt challenging. I cared so much— I wanted to be sure students felt comfortable and that my sequencing offered safe, effective classes.

Plus, I felt like there was so much to keep track of!

• What sequence of poses should I do?

• What if I forget something?

• How do I adapt if someone in my class has an injury and can’t do the pose I’m teaching?

• How do I sign students in to the computer system before class?

• Where should I stand while I’m teaching? Should I stay on my mat or walk around the room?

There were so many thoughts running through my mind.

Over time, I learned to feel more at ease and let go of a lot of the less important details as I focused on a few key things at a time. Here are 5 ways you can boost your confidence as a new yoga teacher.

Ground your energy before class.

My favorite ways to do this: take a short walk, take goddess pose (squat), place both hands over my heart for a few minutes and sit quietly, or rub a few drops of a calming essential oil between my palms and take some deep breaths

Prioritize your own yoga practice.

Imposter syndrome can be a thing… don’t let it be a thing for you. :) Stay committed to your own yoga practice— to continually learning and growing— and give yourself permission NOT to compare yourself to other teachers. You are here for a reason and your classes are needed by the students who will attend them. Some people will resonate with your style and some won’t, and that’s OK! Just keep showing up authentically and being yourself. Embrace your style of practicing and teaching, and dedicate yourself to being both a student and a teacher.

Get ‘em in child’s pose. ;)

This was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given on what to do if you get nervous or turned around during a class. If you forget where you’re going, or you feel overwhelmed and need a second to compose yourself, get the class in child’s pose! This gives you a moment to breathe and collect your thoughts before you move on to the next pose.

Notice if you’re spreading yourself too thin.

Starting out, I was SO excited to teach that I ended up saying yes to a lot of opportunities, but fairly soon I got burned out. If you find that your schedule is getting a little out of hand or you have too much on your plate, you can start to feel frazzled and that is not a great energy to bring to class. Focus your energy, slow down, and meditate on which teaching opportunities are the best fit for you. Where do you feel like you’re filling your cup as opposed to being drained? Giving yourself permission to say no can help boost your confidence and keep good boundaries.

Memorize the sequence for a class you feel proud to teach.

Over time, you’ll create a ton of different classes with fun transitions, peak poses, playlists and themes. But in the beginning, just focus on creating one (or maybe two) classes that you feel super confident teaching. It can be helpful to write out your classes, or if you’re having trouble with memorization, you might even refer to a yoga script so you can get everything dialed in. Once you’ve taught this class 10+ times, then move on to creating more.

Above anything, remember this: YOU are an amazing teacher and the world is lucky to have your teachings!

Power Yoga Script

Calling all new yoga teachers! Are you ready to teach a badass power yoga class?! This script can help you improve your cues, build your confidence, and discover the sequencing and pacing that will define your unique style as a teacher. A great tool for transitioning from your yoga teacher training into any environment where you are leading classes, whether that’s a studio, gym, corporate setting, or private classes.

If you are struggling to remember what to say when you teach, or you’re having trouble guiding students from pose to pose, this script can help. The Power Yoga Script breaks down exactly what verbs and cue details to use as you teach. Are there fears or insecurities holding you back? Are you comparing yourself to other yoga teachers instead of letting your voice be heard? Explore the big questions behind how and why you teach using this helpful guide.

The sequencing follows the Baptiste methodology including the following sections: Integration, Awakening, Vitality, Equanimity, Grounding, Igniting, Stability, Opening, Release, Rejuvenation and Deep Rest.

This 48-page script includes:

• Introductions

• Warm ups

• Sun salutations

• Warrior poses

• Balancing poses

• Triangle series

• Backbending

• Abs and core work

• Hips

• Forward bending

• Inversions

• Cool down and shavasana

There’s also space for you to plan out a class and write out all the cues you’ll use to guide students safely through the poses, plus a list of questions to help you discover where you’re feeling stuck.

Precise cues, smart sequencing, and ideas for how to start and end the class in an engaging and authentic way. Walk into class feeling empowered and prepared to deliver a kick-ass yoga experience to your students.

Take your teaching from basic to badass with this power yoga script.

Here’s what yoga teachers are saying about the POWER YOGA SCRIPT:

“This definitely helped me improve my flow with teaching asana after my teacher training.” -Donita, Vinyasa yoga teacher

”I love how you laid this script out. I felt confused and scattered as I was working on my classes and this helped me save time in the process. Thank you!” -Keyla, yin yoga teacher

“I’ll be honest: when I got done with my 200-hour training, I felt totally lost. I mean, my trainers went over all the poses but as soon as I’d get in front of the room, the words just weren’t there. I felt so stuck. This book helped me build my confidence and doing some memorization so I wasn’t always so terrified to teach.” -Beth, power vinyasa teacher