Russell Smithers"Experience is the only teacher we have" – Swami Vivekananda

In April of 2010 I started teaching yoga as part of a yoga teaching course at the Mandala Yoga Ashram. In July of 2011 I completed that yoga teacher training course. However more important than that is that on November 9th 2011 my image of how I wanted to teach yoga came together extremely well.

How do I know that? First was that the key elements of my ideal way of teaching were in place, and also that at the end of the yoga class, and without me asking anyone, a yoga student came up to me and said “you were on fire tonight”, I said back “well it did feel really good for me, so it’s good you felt the same.”

What was my ideal way of teaching? The ability to have a well balanced and themed class planned, followed by an excellent delivery of instructions whilst maintaining a good flow for the students practising. In addition adding useful information between instructions about the postures and why we are doing them in the class, whilst using observation to adjust students (verbally) to help them with alignment or prevent them from getting an injury.

So it was on November 9th that I became the yoga teacher I always wanted to be. And now it’s to quote one of my teachers from the ashram, “Onwards and Upwards”.

Would you like to attend a yoga class with me? Then please visit www.yoga-bija.me.uk for more information of yoga classes in Nantwich (Cheshire) and Whitchurch (Shropshire).

I start teaching yoga in April this year. So I created a dedicated yoga website for my teaching activities which is; www.yoga-bija.me.uk, so feel free to visit and make comments. The russellsashtanga.info website will be retired, and I will consolidate the articles either into the new website, or maybe this one.