“If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.”
– Yogi Bhajan
I didn’t really understand how much a a great teacher was a master of their subject until I had to teach high school physics for 6 weeks. Naively, I thought that if I had the teacher’s manual, a scripted curriculum, and the answers to students’ work and tests, I would be fine.
I was very wrong.
I couldn’t explain the concepts beyond what was presented. I couldn’t teach the material in a different way if a student was struggling to understand the curriculum. Most importantly, I couldn’t engage the students with the subject because I, myself, didn’t understand it.
Photo by moren hsu on Unsplash
Therein lies the wisdom of teaching. A master teacher has a profound understanding of the subject they instruct, giving them the ability to present the material in new ways for varying learners and levels. Moreover, a master teacher can present complex topics simply.
Learning to teach a subject deepens your awareness of every nuance, concept, and idea. Applied to movement disciplines, having the ability to simply explain a complex movement, posture, fitness sequence expands your own understanding of each concept. At the same time, your relationship with movement expands exponentially when you’re able to communicate those concepts to a student.
It’s no surprise that in the movement world, teacher trainings have exploded in popularity without a surge in new teachers. Instead of pursuing a path to becoming an instructor, teacher trainings can offer a way to push a proverbial reset button or enhance your own personal practice to inform what you do on your own.
Diving Deep Into Your Practice
To deepen your relationship with your preferred movement discipline, plateauing in your classes or workouts and wanting to expand your skills often times brings students to a teacher training. It also connects those students with like-minded movement professionals who are also committing to diving deep. As a networking opportunity, as well as an intensive, teacher trainings can provide a way to expand skills and bring new life into your practice.
Detox From Current Life
A teacher training can act like a new beginning, offering a fresh start and a shift in perspective. Not just to inform your movement, teacher trainings offer a chance to start a new relationship with your body. Giving yourself a space to explore what movements are beneficial to you, these trainings can provide renewal and a way to see movement through new eyes.
Teaching
Ultimately, teacher trainings are just that: training teachers to instruct students. Depending on the curriculum, trainings may vary in focus, and due to the current popularity of students taking teacher trainings without necessarily wanting to teach, it’s important to review the structure of the training to make sure it’s focused on instruction. This also allows you to learn communication skills that transfer to other aspects of life.
No matter what the reason, teacher trainings can provide a beneficial push into a new way of thinking and moving for yoga teachers, fitness instructors, and other movement professionals. In addition to teaching, these trainings can facilitate the move to the next level in our bodies and in our lives.
Author: Sarah Ronau