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By Jackie Camborde, RYT
 “I don’t come to yoga anymore because I got hurt in class.” “I’m not flexible enough to do those poses.” “Everyone in the class seems to know what’s coming next – I can never catch up.” Any of these sound familiar? As yoga continues to grow in popularity, we are beginning to see some of the after effects of the boom. Many of us teach in facilities that offer only one level of yoga class – all levels. How can we hone our skills to create a class that addresses the needs of our beginners as well as our more skilled yogis? There are several things to consider when teaching a mixed-level yoga class, the most important being the safety and well-being of all students, regardless of experience. Here are some things to think about when designing your multilevel class.
ROLL CALL
First, and most importantly, you have to know your students. Be early for class so as people arrive you can greet your regulars, welcome newcomers and find out what’s going on with everyone’s bodies. Introduce yourself to new participants individually and ask them about their experience level, as well as any injuries or limitations you need to be aware of. Also, encourage your regulars to let you know if they are feeling a little under the weather, if they have a new injury or malady or anything else that might alter their practice today. The mere act of being early and making the first few minutes of your class a time for people to get to know each other and to speak to you creates a safe place for everyone.
INTRODUCING…
Now that you have an idea of who is in class and what issues you are going to face, it’s time to begin your class. Try to start each session with a greeting, introduce yourself and tell the class a little about you and about the session you have prepared. This does several things for your clients – it lets them know that they are in good hands, and gives them an idea of what to expect. Encourage participants to work at a pace that is comfortable for them and also to rest whenever they feel the need. Acknowledge that it’s sometimes difficult to refrain from feeling competitive with other class participants, but encourage everyone to try and stay true to his or her own personal needs. This gives your clients permission to be themselves and not overdo it.
CUES THEY CAN USE
 Now that class has begun, it is up to you to make sure that everyone is going to have a good time and feel successful at the end of the session. One very important way to ensure a great class is to have both verbal and visual cues mastered. Since yoga requires you to get up and move around to check on everyone’s posture, your verbal cues need to be well polished. Be sure to include cues for posture, alignment, breath and direction. Remember to also include cues that help your students see the poses in their mind and relate them to other things they see in life. For example, in triangle pose, instruct your class to feel like their body is “between two panes of glass, to align the shoulders with the hips.” Cues that give them visual imagery are helpful at all levels.
If there are beginners or first-timers in class, you will need to do some more physical demonstrations of poses as well. If you find that people are not following, it’s best to slow down, get on your mat and show the pose. Sometimes it’s good to show the right and wrong way to do a posture so that people can begin to tell the difference. This is also a good time to show modifications for the pose.
Another option is to do a “mini-clinic” at the start of class. Take a couple of minutes to focus on a posture that is tricky or that people sometimes get lazy about. Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is a great example of a pose that many people struggle with. Show the right way to perform this pose, especially the placement of feet and hands, the opening of shoulders and releasing of the spine. Also, show how Child’s Pose (Balasana) is a great modification. Remember, most new yogis do NOT consider Downward Facing Dog a rest pose – it’s really challenging at first! Some other good topics for mini-clinics include the difference between and how to properly do Cobra (Bhujangasana) and Upward Facing Dog (Urdva Mukha Svanasana); proper spinal alignment and modifications for Plank; how to flow from Plank to Cobra or Upward Facing Dog. These mini-clinics not only give your new participants a great visual of poses they will be doing, it reminds your regulars to focus on form in all postures, even those that may have become more routine.
Practice your cues as you would practice a dance routine or step class before teaching it to your students. The more comfortable you become with your verbal cues, the more you can focus on your client’s alignment and safety.
PICKING YOUR POSTURES
 If you are teaching a multilevel class, it’s important to choose postures that everyone can do with some degree of success. When setting your class intention (what do you want to accomplish – open hips? Greater balance? Core Strength?), be mindful of what poses you include. If you want to include a more advanced posture, you need to offer a comparable pose with a lower degree of difficulty as well. One of the big turnoffs for new yogis is the dreaded, “If this pose feels bad or is too difficult for you, just rest and breathe for a few minutes.” Most people will try to keep up, even if the pose is beyond their grasp. This is where injuries begin, and it is definitely something to avoid at all costs.
Remember, all yoga participants need to master many foundation postures before moving to more advanced material, and a large percentage of people who feel that they have done just that still need help with alignment. Remind your class that each pose, no matter how easy, needs to be performed with focus, intention and attention – many regular practitioners have a tendency to go on autopilot. Remind your class that although the muscles have memory, we need to always remain focused to achieve the full potential of our practice.
YOGA DONT'S
One of the biggest complaints of new yogis is that the teacher executes many poses beyond their reach. Just because you can do more advanced work does not give you license to showboat for your class - this is a major turnoff for many people (this author included!).
Another thing to avoid is speeding through poses. Remember that each forward bend or back bend requires an inhalation or exhalation – if you listen to your class and they sound like they’re hyperventilating, slow down.
Don’t forget to finish each posture – look at fingers, toes, shoulder placement, knee placement. People develop bad habits if their instructor doesn’t take the time to help fix the little things.
Don’t assume that your clients remember how to do a pose from session to session – you still need to cue each pose for safety and offer modifications.
Don’t wing it. Always go into your session with at least an outline of postures you plan to do – if you have a framework in place, you can always add or subtract to it depending on who is in class that day.
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS
Follow the above suggestions and see if your yoga classes get a little larger and a lot more aligned. Preparation is the true key to success in all things – it is tantamount to teaching yoga.
Every time we teach a yoga class we set an intention for our students to follow. Why not make our intention every time to teach a class where everyone leaves wanting more and feeling successful? The results would be fantastic!
Jackie Camborde is the owner of Santé Studio in Santa Fe, NM. She is a Master Trainer for Resist-a-Ball and Gliding™ and a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. Her DVD, Real World Yoga, is available at www.jackiecamborde.com. Jackie’s can bring her continuing education workshop Real World Yoga: Alignment and Cuing to your facility. Contact her at santesf@yahoo.com.
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