Natalie Viklund completed her Teacher Training with PYC, she talked to us about teaching her first class.
The first yoga class I taught was on opening day after the studio had been closed to students for four months. There aren’t many words I can share to describe the feeling before teaching your first class at such an adored studio on such an expecting day; a weak-at-the-knees kind of hopeful anticipation. When Marie-Laure messaged me the day before to cover the 12:30, I felt compelled to say yes. It was something I had said I wanted to do this year; I just wasn’t sure I wanted to do it so soon!
The teacher training had prepared us with a variation rich 60-minute sequence. The weeks following our exams, I had played with modifying it for my own practice and took the latest version into the day with me. I explored my student books in search of a message and downloaded my most recent playlist. I recalled as many techniques as I could from the training; grounded myself with a practice, arrived early to settle myself into the space, took a whole lot of deep breaths, and said a prayer.
The incredible thing about PYC is the variety of students that come through the door. I had students that were relatively new to yoga alongside yogis that were more experienced than myself, and every level therebetween. In the moment that I put everyone into Child’s Pose to begin the class, I took a breath and reminded myself that yoga is a practice, not a perfect.
My thoughts for anyone considering the training: There are many reasons why people come to yoga, and yours will be as different from mine, as mine was to my neighbour’s on the teacher training. The why was important, but not as I had first thought; my purpose changed entirely over the course from self-focused to teacher-driven. If there’s a feeling calling you to the teacher training, answer it, you don’t need to know why (this will come).
One of the teachers continually encouraged us to have fun, and so I did; the next hour was playful and strong, I made mistakes, but we recovered, and we smiled!
In hindsight, I don’t think we ever feel ready for our first class, but I believe it is enough to be prepared. In future, I think I am always going to be nervous ahead of teaching a class, but it’s because I really care for the students, the studio and the spirit of Yoga. My teachers have meant so much to me over the years; I understand the value they bring and am honoured to be in the pipeline of such potential.