Should yoga teachers mirror their students? This is becoming the great mirroring debate!
When I first started teaching at my very first studio, the lead teacher told me,“You need to learn how to mirror!” in order to teach the Gentle Class. It was not up for discussion. I wanted to teach the class, so I learned how to mirror my students.
Keep in mind, I homeschooled my kids. Therefore I taught them how to read. Now I was telling my yoga students to lift their right arm as I wrestled my mind into believing my left arm was the correct arm to lift. I was lying!
IT IS DIFFICULT TO LIE TO YOUR BODY ! Sure, I can say the chocolate donuts aren’t going to make me fat, but 40 dozen later … guess who is fat?!
But in the moment of lifting your right foot, no left, no other foot in front of a room of educated people … you turn into a mumbling mess of information. Mirroring is definitely difficult and a skill that requires practice. But it’s not impossible. It’s really a question of if you want to make the time to practice.
I am incredibly thankful that Lead Teacher 835 classes ago was adamant I learned. I was subbing a Saturday Gentle class when two students at the front of the room were whispering. One said, “oh no, you’ll do fine. She’s not confusing.”
Of course I knew they were talking about me but I wasn’t sure why, so I asked, “Who’s not confusing”.
The student, who I have taught many times before, explained that I “lead a class clearly, directions are not confusing. The other regular teacher is confusing. She’ll say “your right, no, your other right, no, and she stops class to make sure we’re all on the side she is doing.”
He didn’t know the language for this, she obviously doesn’t mirror and I think it’s a double whammy – she doesn’t turn around either. This has obviously created confusion in her class.
That’s not the type of teacher I want to be, confusing. Call me woo-woo. Call me challenging. But please do not call me confusing!
Should Yoga Teachers Mirror?
I realize less mistakes are made when you’re not mirroring, when you flow together. Do your students a favor and turn yourself around. If you’re not going to mirror nor turn around – get off the mat and cue alignment corrections side-by-side.
Please, do not face your students and have debate rebuttals of which side they should be on if you’re just going to keep showing them the wrong one! If you have to stop class and keep saying, “No, the other side” – you adjust, not them
I grew up in the 80’s. Shouting “NO!” to children was perfectly normal. But now, in my 40’s – if I hear “NO”, in a yoga class I turn into a little kid reaching for the hot stove. It immediately forces me to stop everything mid-movement and withdraw. You can be sure embarrassment follows, because I don’t want to be called out like that again.
The word no is negative. A yoga flow is a positive experience. Let’s try to keep the cues positive rather than shout “No”‘s because you didn’t want to learn how to mirror, nor turn around.
It’s not your students’ fault, it’s their class. The teacher can adjust themselves.
I have one friend who is absolutely awful at mirroring. She knows it. Instead of making excuses she decided to turn her mat sideways so right and left are irrelevant to the room because everyone is now perpendicular.
Instead of the right and left side, she cues “first side” and “second side” since she explains she always starts with the right side first. During the flow she turns cues into “top of mat” and “back of mat” and “front leg” or “back leg”.
She suggested this to me when I first started to practice mirroring, because of course I wasn’t picking it up quickly. But her cues felt longer to me, so I kept practicing mirroring.
I took a Sharpie to my mat and put a little R on the left side and a little L on the right side. Always looking down before I took a step. I’m a few mats into teaching now, so they’re not needed. But I am aware of pausing before I cue any side.
Eventually, practice paid off. I didn’t turn the mat and I have figured out how to mirror, but I still incorporate other cues like “toward the windows” and “toward the door” instead of harping on left & rights.
In my classes, I usually mirror our Warm Up and Sun Salutations. During a flow I turn around for the first time to demo. My studio has mirrors so I can talk facing the mirror. The second time through the flow I walk around the room completely off of my mat. Standing beside my students rather than in front of them. I personally love doing yoga together rather than being out in front all alone.
The Great Mirroring Debate
There are other tricks to mirroring, but I think the bottom line is to see your class as an offering and gift. Not a reprimand hour. My friend figured out how to lead her classes clearly. You can too. I don’t think it’s with excuses.
At a corporate gym Vinyasa Flow a young teacher let our class know she doesn’t mirror, because she’s just not good at it. She also informed everyone she’s not good at remembering names (giggle) and she’s not good with all the silence so Savasanas is shorter. You do not have to give a scroll of things you’re not good at when you’re teaching.
Some people would say she was being authentic to herself. As yoga teachers we’re not called to offer excuses, we’re called to share yoga.
And yes. I still get it wrong sometimes. Just the other night I started an evening class on their backs. I was down with them facing the same way. We rolled up and I turned around to mirror the seated postures, but my brain was still down on the mat. I wasn’t mirroring and it took me a moment to realize why everyone was the opposite of me. I laughed and recovered with, “or your other left, and I’ll catch up in a moment. Who’s ready for bed?!”
They laughed and I adjusted. I didn’t shout NO! I didn’t call anyone out, I didn’t make them change which side they were on – I was the one willing to adapt, adjust, and change.
I also have a few foreign students who are always on the wrong side, and they absolutely don’t care. Neither do I. I’m thrilled they’re showing up for themselves and copying what I’m doing. Getting the most of what they can out of class with a major language barrier. I’m not going to shout at them to get on the other side or wave my other hand at them to switch.
It’s not the end of the world if you’re not going to mirror. But I challenge you to try. You made it through the hardest parts of Teacher Training. You can do hard things!
I think stumbling and showing effort is being authentic and far better than being labeled a “confusing teacher”. Or just one who doesn’t put effort into classes because the front mat’s comfort is more important than the students’ class enjoyment.
Between you and me, I don’t like writing meditation scripts. It’s something I force myself to sit down and do. Worse, I don’t love the sound of my southern drawl – but I’ve been told I have a relaxing voice. It requires a lot of effort to write and then get the nerve up to read them. But my students appreciate that centering. They call my classes “soul-full”. I’ll keep stumbling over meditation if it offers just a few more moments of peace and release.
Teaching is a responsibility. Your students show up for you, we can show up for them. If you’re a newer yoga teacher, remember mirroring is a hard skill. It’s going to take time before it feels natural. Just like everything we all learned in teacher training. That’s okay! Don’t beat yourself up for stumbling. Keep practicing. You’re doing great.
From my mat to yours!
Stef