How To Choose the RIGHT Yoga or Pilates Teacher for YOU

Is your teacher caring you know and there’s a teacher passionate about what they do or is it just another qualification? So I always say to the teachers that come through our training it’s like I can make you a but I can’t give you passion and your clients will know whether you have passion or not.

Have you a caring Yoga Pilates Instructor?

hi everyone its Tanja and welcome back to our YouTube channel, and in today’s video I’m going to be talking about what to look for in an instructor. So if you have I’m just trying to think like some of our clients have been with us for like 7 years or eight years or whatever it is and if you have never had a bad teacher then you don’t really know what a good teacher is. So if you are new to Pilates or yoga or any kind of exercise and these are the things to look for when going to your first class or second class or something.

So the first thing is how, does the teacher pay you any attention when you first come into the class, and ideally they will take hold of your hand, show you where to stand, and sometimes I’ll get, I have in the past I don’t now, where a new person has gone to the mat or someone said well that’s my mat. Like well no, actually they will belong to me.

Does Your Instructor Stay on their Mat?

So the teacher should make sure that you know where you’re going and all that kind of stuff. So that’s the first thing. The next thing is, is your teacher checking throughout the class how does that feel; do you feel that; where can you feel that; do you understand what I mean. Reassuring questions like that. So that you know that they’ve got your back, and they’re all watching what you’re doing. You know if that’s a little bit harder than try this one, maybe if you want to make a little bit harder, then try that version, – so that is that part.

Does your teacher walk around or does your teacher stay on the mat doing their own workout the whole time? So if unless like I said unless it’s like one of those Les Mills, you know the body ones we’re like aerobic you’ve got to follow the class it’s slightly different to like a Pilates class yoga class that kind of thing.

Hands-on Correcting in Yoga and Pilates

But does your teacher walk around and actually could what you are doing because you still get teachers that walk around their heads up in there so it’s like does the teacher walk around is the teacher correcting anybody. So I don’t particularly correct much on a new person the first time they come because I want to see how they move. I want to see what’s tight. I want to see what may be weak. So I like to look at new people’s bodies first and then if they come back to another class they join our memberships, then I will start getting my hands on them.

But generally, unless they might hurt themselves, and just be in that moment without me taking my hands all over them. So you know is your teacher walking around is your teacher looking at you like it’s their eye contact at any point during your class so again

Does your Pilates or Yoga Teacher Ask Questions?

Sometimes your teacher might walk around but the eyes will be up in the air or they’re on their mats looking at the wall when all of you are under one side. So that’s another thing to look for.

Does your teacher ask questions? Like I said these are more for pilates and yoga. You know there’s no teacher ask questions you in close can you feel this is everyone feeling in some way where do you feel it’s can you create space here can you lengthen here things like that to try and get your brain working a little bit more.

So it’s not a case of right flap your legs up and down eight times; do 20 curl-ups; you know they are ABS classes and stuff like this again I’m just referring more to Pilates and yoga

Is the teacher making sure that the environment are they giving you alignment cubes I’ve been to a class where there wasn’t one alignment cueing, through the whole class and it was a yoga class, – through the whole class. I’m not sure where my leg should be. I’m not sure where my foot should be, or I’m in a side plank – is my elbow directly under, or should my elbow be further away.

So is the teacher giving you some safety tips? Is the teacher caring about you? There’s a difference between just turning up – I used to call them hits and call them teach and run teachers – they come up to teach and bugger off again. So does that teacher take an interest in your body for the time that you are with them? Making sure that you are getting the most out of the exercise so what one person on the mat is doing compared to what the next person in the mat – may not look the same we all have different issues in the body but is the teacher accommodating both of those bodies. Or does the teacher think that’s what it looks like on Instagram you should all look like that!

Yoga in Cyprus

Have a look and just, you know, start to observe the teachers that you go to. Maybe it’s a teacher you be going to for years now. Just you know, see what do you like about the teacher, what don’t you like about the teacher okay.

So let’s see what was that yeah so do you feel cared for in the class like I go to yoga teacher in Cyprus -hi Vanessa she’s absolutely amazing and I trust her 100% or 110% with my body so I would be happy in her class to do some of the more extreme poses, the harder poses headstand, and shoulder stands, backbends and that. Because I know she’s looking after me and she’s not going to force me to do anything that my body doesn’t want me to do.

So it’s do you trust your teacher, or do you know there’s a path like – I’m not going to try that because I obviously don’t think she’s watching me. So it’s like does your teacher watch you.

So if I was going to teach backbends or something in the class I’d probably pair people up or one at a time they come to the wall where I can watch them. Because I can’t watch 12 people at one time and I know who’s capable of doing it on their own, and who might do it in their own practice so that’s fine, but I will tend to- like headstands forearm stands, any backbend things I’ll have them up against the wall and up with one at a time.

Elite Pilates & Yoga YMCA Teacher Training

So is your teacher caring you know and is your teacher passionate about what they do or is it just another qualification. So I always say to the teachers that come through our training (Elite Pilates & Yoga teacher Training) I can make you a good teacher, but I can’t give you a passion and your clients will know whether you have passion or not.

Ask about Yoga or Pilates Qualifications

So it’, you’ve got to love what you do because you spend, you know a lot an hour with people or you know how I love coz it’s a membership you know sometimes, I get people every morning in my whole five you know in the five days we’ll have the same people in the classes. So you might land up having to spend five hours a week to enjoy what you do and you want to enjoy your clients have the right clients for your services.

So if you are looking for a class those are the things to look for in a teacher. It is also worth I don’t really talk about qualifications much because it depends on the school where people have been trained. But just ask have you done anything and the way I have you done your training so you know our qualifications are through YMCA (REP’s approved and CIMSPA recognized Level 3 Diploma Practitioner Courses) because we actually run studios.

I kind of know really what needs to be in the courses, but I also know that some there’s a lot of places that do online courses, and it’s not how on earth do you these people online. So I have done online courses, but I have my initial yoga training, and my initial Pilates teacher trainer so the online courses are more Bolt-on’s. I don’t necessarily need me to have all that knowledge but I certainly wouldn’t want anyone that’s only done an online course, to be a Pilates or yoga teacher. They want to be they wouldn’t have had some kind of practical training with that. Are they insure,d so you want to make sure that your teacher has insurance so I hope that helps maybe it does maybe it does.

If you’ve got any questions about teachers or that teacher training then do just get in touch our

email addresses info@elitepilatesteachertraining.co.uk

And I shall get back to you.

So have a lovely day ‘ll catch up with you soon bye x

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