How to Become a More Confident Yoga Teacher with a Yoga Cues List
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Being a new yoga teacher can test your confidence— just like when you’re new to anything, really.
I remember in the early days of teaching when I had just completed my yoga teacher training, thinking, am I ready? Am I knowledgeable enough to do this?
Will students like my class? Will they come back?
What if I mess up? What if I forget where I’m going in the middle of class?
Being new brought up the fear of not being good enough and the fear of failure.
Not to mention the logistics— I had to remember how to sign people in and work the computer at the front desk, how to make a sale, how to keep the studio lighting and temperature set, how to connect my phone to the Bluetooth so I could use the speakers…
All the students’ names…
It sometimes felt like a lot.
So, to battle the anxiety and nervousness, I would plan ahead.
If I knew where I was going, some of that fear in my mind would settle and I could relax.
I’d create vinyasa sequence ideas and write out my plan for how to start a yoga class as a teacher. I’d make notes about what theme to center the class around, tie that to the yoga sequencing, and sometimes see if I could find an inspiring quote or passage to read at the end of class during savasana. I’d set up my playlist and practice the class from home, noting where I needed to adjust my timing or add a silent track to give students some space and stillness to be in their own practice.
Eventually, I discovered this:
It helped to have a simple, effective vinyasa class that I could adapt to a one hour or 75 minute yoga class format. It wasn’t a bad thing to repeat my ‘standard’ class and teach it over and over again.
It helped knowing I had that plan, and that if nothing else— even if I didn’t get fancy with my flows or add any complex movements to the series— I had an all-levels class I could teach, no problem. I had created my own yoga sequencing lesson plans that relied heavily on the format and structure I had learned in my training, that made sense to me, and that I had essentially memorized and could move through without thinking too hard.
Over time, I found value in writing this down. I created a basic template— a yoga class teaching script that I could read from at home to help me memorize. I could then adapt it, too, changing it from a 60 minute yoga sequence script to a 75 minute yoga sequence script, or even make it 45 minutes or 90 minutes if I needed to.
More time for meditation at the end of class, or a little less time in the balancing series.
Remember to give yourself time for the transitions, I’d tell myself. If you end up having to start 2 minutes late, adjust the template like this or skip that pose at the end.
It helped with refining my cues, too. Over time I had created a yoga cues list that listed not only the order of the poses but also the verbal cues I wanted to remember to give my students. Often I found that their ears and comprehension could only handle about 3 cues— and for newer students, sometimes it was only 1 or 2.
What are the most important cues? I’d ask myself.
Safety and alignment in the joints— and major cues for the overall structure of the pose, rather than small adjustments like in the hands or feet— became my focus.
Having a yoga centering script helped keep my mind focused, and my nerves at ease. Generally it was a tool I’d utilize from home— I printed the yoga class script pdf so I could read from it out loud to myself as I practiced, read it to my roommates when I taught them a practice class in our living room, and read from it in the car before heading in to teach.
I remember one afternoon when a student thanked me after class, noting how one of the cues had given her more stability and less pain in her downward dog pose.
“It really clicked for me when you said to bend my knees instead of straighten my legs,” she told me.
I smiled. “Thank you for that feedback!” I told her.
I couldn’t wait to get home and highlight that cue on my yoga script and make a note.
It’s working, I thought. Thank goodness!
I felt so much better than during those first few classes I’d taught.
Things finally felt like they were clicking for me— and it was translating to my students.
So, is using a yoga class script or a yoga cues list ‘cheating’ as a new yoga teacher? Not for me. For me this wasn’t a crutch but a powerful tool to get me over that initial fear and the lack of confidence.
It helped me discover the power of my voice, and the cues that resonated most for me. It empowered me to feel strong and stable— and from there, to get more creative and to have more fun with it.
Yoga teacher training had been my foundation, and this was the unique resource I had created out of it in order to propel me forward in my teaching.
Are you curious about trying a yoga script but not sure where to start?
This yoga scripts page on my website lists the different versions I created. There’s a basic power yoga script, a yoga script with Sanskrit names of yoga poses, and one that is a ‘slow flow’ style class (more grounding and less power poses) and features meditations to read during Savasana.
That page of the website also features an e-book called Secrets of the Confident Yoga Teacher which includes interviews with over 20 experienced yoga teachers on what helped them build confidence during their early days of teaching. If you’re experiencing burnout, not sure whether to keep or ditch a class you’re teaching, or want ideas for how to market yourself using social media, that e-book is a great resource.
I also have a number of other blog posts where I’ve talked about the power of using a yoga script and how it works, if you want more information:
Finally, and as always, if you have questions, want to see a sample of a yoga script, or need financial assistance with buying one, you can reach out to me.
Here’s the power yoga script based on the Baptiste methodology and sequencing, if you’re interested:
I hope that these resources reach as many yoga teachers as possible who are needing some support as they teach effective, safe classes for their students— and as they find the inner confidence to shine and share their purpose in the world.
