This is Part One of my Yoga Teacher Schedule Series. How to Know When It’s Time to Drop a Yoga Class. You can always skip to Part Two: When to Add a Yoga Class to Your Teaching Schedule, if that speaks to you now. There are similar signs to pay attention to and I hope this post offers encouragement to yoga teachers – you have control over your schedule and to speak up sooner than later!
If you’re a new teacher and have your schedule set or have been teaching a room full of regulars for awhile, chances are the schedule is going to adjust. We are human and our schedules shift in yoga studios. Sometimes it’s our own choice but it can also be because of low attendance and the studio cuts the class.
But sometimes things shift and we just don’t know ( or want to admit ) it’s time to drop a yoga class. Here are a few situations I’ve experienced over the years when it was (past) time to drop and I trudged on blind to all of the flashing signals.
How to Know When It’s Time to Drop a Yoga Class
- Life needs you elsewhere. Home life, new job, other responsibilities come calling and it’s time to let something go. When my youngest son started to struggle with his OCD and needed therapy, the appointments landed on my evening Yin class. It wasn’t something I wanted to release, but I needed to let go. This is an easy decision to make, but of course I tried to juggle both. I
t caused more stress ping pong driving around town, barking at my son to “hurry up and get in the car” as I sped by the house hoping he’d jump in the front seat, stunt man style. I was clinging to this class because I wanted so badly to teach it, but life needed me to let it go. Eventually I did, and my son still appreciates that years later. I’m still teaching Yin – the world did not end. - You allow a student’s continued bad attitude to bring you down. Sometimes the newness has worn off for regulars and they now feel familiar with you enough that they start sharing everything that’s wrong with the studio. One student felt the need to complain about my boss and the membership issues she was having, every single week a new passive aggressive comment. I pulled her aside and encouraged her to have a conversation with the boss – not to air it out in class. Especially since no one in the room had any authority to change her situation.
Sadly, she kept trying to rally the troops to her side by complaining. Before each class I would find her in the corner whispering to a new recruit. She made snide remarks during the quiet of the class. And let out a few draining comments on the way out the door. I was hoping every week she would stop showing up. But she wasn’t leaving. I allowed her sulking to drain my excitement to show up for my students. Every week driving to work I gave myself a pep talk but felt defeated when she pulled up. A yoga teacher’s energy is important! We set the tone of class.
It was that Wednesday class that eventually had to go for me because I did not guard my heart. I felt like a traitor. After two months of defending the studio I finally left that class. Thankfully, there were other classes for me to pick up and another teacher handled the situation better (plus a direct conversation with my boss to inform her no one appreciated her slandering the staff). If something feels off and you can’t bring it back around, it’s better to let it go than feel empty when you get to the studio. - Your own healing bubbles up demanding attention. Yoga is a beautiful practice, and it’s also for us too! Not long after my son finished his therapy I realized I needed my own. My classes offered a tiny appetizer of what I was missing and I wanted it for myself. As teachers, we also have to remember to be students! It might be time to allow someone else to teach as you embrace your own healing. It might be time to give up teaching a class here or there to embrace your own self care.
- Balancing Yin & Yang. If you’re teaching too much power or too much Yin, you might need to adjust your schedule. An old schedule of mine included 4 Yin Classes and 2 Gentle Classes. I started carrying too much yin energy! I felt lethargic and melancholy all day long, all week long. I needed something else to balance that slow, dark, releasing energy. I asked if one Gentle Class could change into a Slow Flow. The students were definitely ready for it, but the studio owner didn’t want to remove the option from the schedule. I kept overstretching my body and eventually pulled my hamstring. I didn’t just drop one class I was out for a few weeks.
Drop One or Loose them All
My teaching goal from very early on has been to teach 1,000 classes as fast as possible. I really want to be a teacher of teachers, and to be an E-RYT you need to have 500 hours of training and teach 1,000 classes. I was teaching 6 classes regularly and subbing every absolute moment more. At this point in time I was also teaching new sequences every single class. Every. Single. Class. We had a small membership so I was seeing the same faces all week. I didn’t want to offer boring classes by being repetitive.
Sometimes this looked like creating 10 new sequences each week. Plus being my son’s sole care-giver at home. Which was a huge responsibility. I wore myself out. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Instead of listening to my body, I went ahead and broke it down. It finally became so bad one night when I couldn’t decide what to have for dinner because I just couldn’t make another decision. It wasn’t lack of choices or disinterest in cooking again. I mentally could not decide. I stood in front of the refrigerator weeping. My brain refused to plan one more thing. In my house, in my class, not even for a meal. I was breaking.
The next day I walked into the studio and told my boss I had to take a break, completely. Not give up one class – but my entire schedule needed to be unloaded. I hated myself because I felt so weak, but just the idea of not working felt like I was being saved from drowning. I felt free. My goal of 1,000 classes would be put on hold and I would struggle with that decision later. Trust me, I feel behind more days than I’d like to admit.
I stepped away from the studio for 3 months.
I went camping, horseback riding, and museum touring. I sat down and enjoyed coffee just to enjoy coffee – not because I was planning another class. I stopped following yoga teachers on Instagram for ideas and inspiration. Unfortunately, the classes that were promised to be saved were given away. But the Universe was prepared with a much better job offer – had I still been teaching, I never would have been looking.
You do not have to push yourself to the point of breaking yourself down for the sake of your yoga classes or students. Friend, that isn’t honoring your body. That isn’t listening to yourself. That’s forcing and bullying. And most likely the complete opposite of what you’d tell your students! I was being a hypocrite.
As much as your students love you – they’ll be fine. Another teacher will fill in.
Now, every summer I make sure I take off for at least 3 weeks to unplug, reset, and restore my soul. I promise myself as soon as I feel it’s time to let a class go, I let my boss know. I trust that intuition. Just so I never see that burnout again. I also check to make sure my body is happy with the class styles so I’m not overwhelmed in one style.
I love Yin. But I do not want to teach Yin all week. I don’t mind subbing a Power Class, but I do not want a schedule full of Power Classes. I believe we should be taking time to have honest talks with ourselves, practice Satya, and evaluate where we are throughout the year.
With Spring upon us, it’s the perfect time to think about something NEW. A new schedule, a new style to teach, a new intention. Let go of whatever feels like it’s dragging. It might be a class you’ve loved teaching for awhile. It’s okay to change things up!
Something I struggle with, I don’t want to let my boss down. But teaching myself silly for the sake of sparing her a schedule change doesn’t help her in the end. It does no one any favors! And who knows the next person who is meant to teach that class – maybe this is their big opportunity. Don’t steal it from them to spare an awkward conversation.
from my mat to yours ~
Stef
