After I’d finished my first 200-hour yoga teacher training, I was super excited… but also super nervous to stand in front of a room of students and actually teach!

My brain felt like it was swimming with ideas, cues, and details to remember.

As time went by and I taught more classes, I wondered, when will this get easier? When will I feel less nervous before every class?

Slowly, I began to find my groove.

The first year was filled with lows and highs, and every emotion I could imagine—gratitude, pride, fear, self-loathing, anxiety… and eventually, a slowly growing sense of confidence in my abilities to teach yoga.

Eventually, I discovered a few things that really helped me:

Scripting out my yoga classes—planning exactly what sequence of poses I wanted to teach, teaching the same sequence over and over until it felt easy to remember, and writing down what cues to use for different poses.
Saying vinyasa sequencing and breath cues out loud in my car—during my drives from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe the summer I spent many weekends meeting a group of friends up there
Giving myself permission to experiment and fail—being willing to try new things and notice how students responded, and not be so hard on myself all the time
Asking for feedback on my terms—specifically, if a studio owner came to audit my class during a day when I was feeling off or very resistant to receiving feedback, I made sure to voice that, and it did wonders to preserve my self-confidence and make me feel empowered in my journey of growth as a teacher

If you’re in your first year of teaching yoga, my heart goes out to you. It’s not an easy place to be!

Here are some of my favorite Alive in the Fire posts about building your confidence as a new yoga teacher. I hope you find them helpful. As always, if you have questions or feedback, please get in touch!

A Heartfelt Yoga Class Closing Script to Leave Your Students Feeling Grounded and Inspired

Those final moments of class can feel surprisingly hard to navigate when you’re a new yoga teacher! This post gives you heartfelt closing scripts, meaningful quotes, and simple meditation ideas to help you wrap up your classes with more ease and confidence. Whether you’re not sure what to say after Savasana or you want to find your own voice as a teacher, this post has inspiration to draw from, make your own, and share from the heart. You don’t have to come up with the perfect words every time — sometimes a little preparation is all you need to feel more grounded, and this post can help with that, especially if you’re struggling with what to say at the very end of class.

How to Become a More Confident Yoga Teacher with a Yoga Cues List

When you’re a new yoga teacher, it’s easy to get caught up in overthinking your sequences, worrying about what to say, and wondering if you’re doing a good job. In this post, I share how creating a simple yoga class script and a list of cues helped me feel more prepared, find my voice, and build confidence through repetition. You’ll learn why having a plan to lean on isn’t cheating, and how practicing the basics can help you relax, trust yourself, and feel more at home in your teaching.

Building Confidence as a New Yoga Teacher: Your First Six Months

Your first six months of teaching yoga can bring up a whole lot of nerves, self-doubt, and questions about whether you’re doing it right. In this post, I share practical ways to build confidence as a new teacher, from finding your authentic voice and asking for feedback to practicing self-compassion and letting go of perfectionism. I also share some of my own early teaching struggles and why learning to trust yourself, stay present, and embrace the messy parts of being a beginner can make such a difference.

5 Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner as a New Yoga Teacher

Being a new yoga teacher comes with plenty of questions, nerves, and unexpected moments! In this post, I share five things I wish I’d known sooner, from working with your inner critic and keeping class sequences simple to navigating the business side of teaching, handling awkward situations, and protecting your own practice. I also share some real stories and practical tips from my early teaching days, including what to do when you blank on a cue or no one shows up for class. The biggest lesson? You don’t have to know everything right away. You’ll build confidence as you go, one class at a time.

How to Navigate the Early Days of Teaching Yoga

Starting out as a yoga teacher can feel like a lot to navigate, especially when you’re still figuring out your teaching style and learning to trust yourself in front of a room. In this post, I share practical advice on finding your voice, choosing supportive places to teach, connecting with students, building a network of fellow teachers, and letting go of perfectionism. There’s also encouragement to keep learning, find a mentor, and remember that you don’t have to feel completely ready before you start. Teaching is something you grow into with time and experience.

Tips for New Yoga Teachers (How to Build Your Confidence Instead of Overthinking Every Class)

This post is all about letting go of overthinking and perfectionistic tendencies, including giving yourself permission to actually be a beginner teacher. In this post, I also talk about how to navigate awkward moments, how to focus on helping students feel safe, and why it's important to connect to your bigger purpose for teaching in the first place.

I hope you find these helpful! I’d love to hear in the comments what resonated most.

Keep up your amazing teaching, and thanks for doing what you do!

Alive in the Fire