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As a yoga teacher, one of your more subtle responsibilities is to “hold space” for your students. That is, to create a place of calm consistency in an uncertain world. But when your life is subject to the same highs and lows as those of your students, there are bound to be times when you simply aren’t capable of playing that role. And that raises a question that might be more difficult to answer than you’d think: when should you NOT teach?
When Should Yoga Teachers NOT Teach Yoga?
There are many ways that teaching yoga is unlike other jobs. For most teachers, the role is intensely personal and enormously fulfilling. Also, we are thanked more regularly than those most humans in equally essential roles. (When was the last time you acknowledged your garbage collector, grocery store clerk, or road construction worker with the respectfully bowed head and heartfelt thanks regularly given to yoga teachers?)
On the flip side, the hours can be unpredictable, the pay underwhelming, the paid sick leave nonexistent, and the cleaning and administrative work significantly more than you’d anticipated.
In one way, though, it’s like every other job you’ve ever had: there are going to be some days when you’re expected to show up whether you feel like it or not. That’s where confusion can set in. Obviously it’s not an option to find another teacher to cover your class every time you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, have a squabble with your kids or partner, or otherwise feel burdened or distracted by life. And usually that’s okay.
But there have been times when I wasn’t able to trust myself to speak without crying and there was no part of myself that was able to create the necessary experience for students. These were times when, obviously, it was best for everyone that I stayed away from the studio.
Still, it can be difficult to make the decision to sub out a class, especially if it was an opportunity that was hard to come by or you need that income to pay your rent. Not to mention that choosing not to teach when you fulfill a role that many consider service can feel selfish.
So how do you know when you should summon your resolve to show up and when you should sub it out?
When You Can’t Reliably Stay in the Room
Let’s start with the most obvious scenario. When you can’t guarantee that you’ll last the full 60-minute class without running to the locker room to sob, be sick, or sit down out of exhaustion, you are not fit to teach.
When You’re Contagious
If a global pandemic taught us anything, it’s that you can be carrying illness despite feeling “fine to teach.” Even if you forgo your usual hands-on assists to keep your distance, students won’t appreciate you coughing or sneezing your way through class. Not to mention, you can’t know the state of your students’ immune systems or what vulnerable people could be in their close circle. So if there’s a chance you’re bringing illness with you, it’s safer for everyone that you stay home.
When You’re Unable to Put Students First
Ever had an argument that left you shaking and incoherent? Or received a DM or phone call that made you numb? Even the most grounded yoga teacher can, and eventually will, experience some level of personal turmoil too overwhelming to leave outside the yoga studio.
“Obviously it’s not professional to bail on your class if you just happen to be a bit down in the dumps,” explains yoga teacher trainer and Kaari Prehab founder Jenni Tarma. “But since being truly present for your students does require some amount of energetic outlay, there might be instances when it might be best to get a sub if your own emotional battery is running exceptionally low.”
There’s another unintended outcome of ignoring your emotional state that not a lot of teachers consider. As Tarma explains, “It could put your students in a position where they end up having to hold space for you, which wouldn’t be an appropriate dynamic.”
Your students deserve a class led by a teacher they can count on in ways both practical and subtle. Not every class can or should be your best one, and there might even be power in modeling for your students how can show up to life despite its inevitable storms. However, if you teach for long enough, you are likely to face a time when the teacher your students can count on simply isn’t you. And there’s no shame in that.
So reconsider teaching when it starts to become about you instead of your students. Any time you’re unable to put your own needs aside for the time it takes to teach a class, then perhaps your strongest practice of yoga is staying away.
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