How to Teach Exceptional Yin Yoga Classes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Hi Yannis, welcome back to a year in Yoga Podcast

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m fighting the strong urge to say, Happy New Year, because at the time of me recording this. It’s January 3, rd I believe

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so. It’s fairly new into 2025. But of course, by the time you listen to it, it may not be even January at all.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but Happy New Year. Nonetheless, if you’re listening to this, live and you get it in.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know, February or March, or whenever we get it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Happy New Year as well. In fact, Chinese New New Year still hasn’t happened yet, so there’s an opportunity again for me to say, happy new

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Nyk Danu Yoga: welcome back to those of you that are return listeners and those of you that are new, welcome, welcome

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Nyk Danu Yoga: couple of little things before we dive into today’s topic. But today we are going to talk about

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Nyk Danu Yoga: how to teach exceptional in Yoga classes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because I know you, dear teacher.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I know you do not want average

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Yin classes. You want to teach exceptional yin classes. How do we do that?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Some of my thoughts and ideas on how we can raise the bar and teach exceptional Yin classes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But before we get into that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: a couple of things to announce number one.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is an adult podcast with adult subject matter and adult language. So if you have small people around, please grab some headphones. Now.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the other thing to mention is that I got kittens.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And so if you’re watching this on Youtube, you may actually physically see the kittens running around like little crazy monsters right now they’re laying down. But we all know, with kittens that could last all of 5 min.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And so those of you that are watching. If you see me sort of warding off kittens, picking kittens up and moving them, etc. Etc.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then that’s why, because I got some adorableness in my life right now.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And I don’t know if the mic will pick this up. But for those of you just listening, listen closely.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That would be one of my little ones purring. I hope you could pick. I hope the mic picked that up. Well.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: she’s got a pretty loud purr to cite her small body. So hopefully it did. And for those of you who love the sound of cats purring, you’re welcome. There’s my little, you know.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: good vibes for the beginning kittens purring.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So if you’re on Youtube, you may see me

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Nyk Danu Yoga: grabbing kittens, moving, kittens, wincing from kittens, fighting with my legs and cords, etc.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: those of you that are listening hopefully. You won’t feel left out because I just shared some lovely purring sounds with you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So I have kittens, those of you watching the video.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you will. You may see them

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in the coming months and episodes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So those are 2 things I wanted to mention.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And then before we get into today’s topic.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I just want to mention that 2 things

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Nyk Danu Yoga: number one, I’m going to read an overview of the podcast.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And then also, I wanted to mention my training, which is coming up.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you’re listening to this live. The

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 2025 spring version starts in March.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It may or may not still have space depending on when you listen to this. But if it doesn’t have space and you’ve been wanting to join me for my end training then you just need to get on the wait list. There is a link in the show notes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that says, Yoga, teachers get on the wait list. Just click that link. That also gives you all the information about what we cover in my program and all the details that I won’t go into right now. But if you have been listening to this, podcast you’ve been getting value from it, and you feel like you want to up the game a little bit with your yin training. My, now my training is 100 h.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So some of most of that is with me.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And then there’s about 28 h of sort of like watching videos, written assignments, listening to audio, that kind of stuff. So in total with the 28,

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and this time with me it equals 100 h.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so I knew I always knew that we would get here. I always knew that I would gradually increase the amount of time in this course. Just because there’s so much that I love to share with y’all. And once we get a bunch of yin people in a group together nerding out. I always feel like it’s not quite enough time. So we’re going to do 100 h trainings now.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that is new to this round depending on. When you’re listening to this, it may not be new at all if you discover this later.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but just know that that is there for you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you just click that link, you can join the wait list. Some of the advantages to joining the wait list number one. You get 1st crack at registration. So before I don’t even put it on my website, I just send you the secret link to sign up before everybody else gets it. So that’s number one. Why, you might want to join the wait list. And typically that will that will already like, make the

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the class half or 3 quarters full right there before I even advertise it anywhere on social media.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s number one, number 2. I give a 1st 5 discount code. So the 1st 5 of you that sign up will have access to a discount code. Only to people on the wait list. The 3rd reason is that along the way

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to the registration opening for the next round, you’re going to get little

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Nyk Danu Yoga: stuff from me, little gifties. So you’ll get these podcast episodes. You’ll get videos, you can practice with, you’ll get other interviews that I’ve done on other people’s podcasts. You will get surprise sequences. Occasionally. Pdfs, you will get music or poetry that I’m really into for classes shared. You will get little sneaky peeks behind the scenes, little videos of the training, so that you kind of peek behind the curtain and see what it’s like

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before signing up. So you get all of that stuff just by being on the wait list.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if this season doesn’t work for you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But you want to get on the wait list. You’re on the wait list as long as you want to be

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Nyk Danu Yoga: or once you’ve taken the training, I we take you off the wait list and we put you on a different email list. But

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if you want to join the wait list. That link is in the show notes. Once you’re there, you can either look way up in my picture. There’s a button there. There’s also a but a little bar at the bottom where you can enter your name and email, and if you hang out long enough there will be a little polite pop up, slides out from the side where you can enter your name and email there.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s that. And then I just wanted to read a review that I got recently on the podcast

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this is by Nikki climb sky.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and it says, Hey, doll, 1st of all, Mickey bonus points for the vintage doll reference. I love it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Such a wonderful and vintage way to greet someone, and I adore it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Hey, doll! I had no idea that Paul Grilley was the initial founder and not Bernie Clark.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I was to purchase Bernie Clark’s book for my yin certification.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I really appreciate this information, although I really appreciate Bernie’s book, because it has so many pictures and sequences as well.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This was an excellent 40 min of my time, and I really appreciate you. Not only did you kick me into my yin structure mode before my classes. The information is also so rich. I am full of pointers for those of us who are in this business because we ourselves are the main benefactors, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Thank you. And so thank you so much. And yes, of course, creating content, speaking to us and preparing us with all of the materials for your podcast

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Let’s try that again.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: All right, my friends, I’m going to share a review with you that I recently got on the pod.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is by Nikki climbs Guy, hey, doll?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 1st of all, Nikki bonus points for the vintage reference. I appreciate it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I love. I love the word doll

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so hey, doll? I had no idea that Paul Grilley was the initial founder and not Bernie Clark.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I was to purchase Bernie Clark’s book for my yin certification. I really appreciate this information, although I really appreciate Bernie’s book because it

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Nyk Danu Yoga: also has so many pictures and sequences as well. I agree it’s a great book.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This was an excellent 40 min of my time, and I really do appreciate you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Not only do you kick me into my yin structure mode before my classes. The information is also rich.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I am full of pointers for those of us

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Nyk Danu Yoga: who are in this business, because we ourselves are the main benefactors, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Thank you so much. And yes, of course, creating content and speaking to us and preparing us with all the materials for your podcast are tremendously heavy work. However, you must know the imprint that you leave for us is everlasting

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Nyk Danu Yoga: for hundreds of years to come. We appreciate your vitality, energy, and enthusiasm for this vitally healing

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and important topic. Namaste.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Well, Nikki, you just made my day.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Thank you very much. And yes, this is why I do this. The reason I work with teachers is because I believe that Yoga can change the world.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that I can only teach so many students. But if I can help train teachers, then you can reach more students and so on, and so on, and so on.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s how that goes. So thank you very much. And the heavy work she was referring to is probably me referencing at some point or another a few times that podcasts are a lot of work, and they are. And you should know that if you ever decide to want to start one. You should go in knowing it’s going to be a lot of work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but it is a labor of love, and it is work that I’m excited about, and that I’m passionate about so worth it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But also.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if you would like to leave me a five-star review or a written Review. I would really appreciate that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Super grateful for that for those of you that take the 2 min that it takes to go into your app right now whether you’re on spotify, you can just do 5 stars. You can also leave comments now on spotify. So you could always leave me a comment. I’m gonna start reading those as well.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if you’re on apple, you can do 5 stars and or written review. So I really appreciate that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That helps the algorithms know that this is a value and thereby worth sharing with others.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if you are on Youtube watching this, I love you as well.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you could make sure you subscribe to the Channel

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Nyk Danu Yoga: like this video and leave me a comment that also is super helpful.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if you’re new around here, and you’re like, I can’t do all that. I don’t know if I like you yet. That’s okay. Stay tuned

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Nyk Danu Yoga: all right, my friends, today, without further ado. I want to talk about, how do we teach exceptional yin classes?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, I was actually a little hesitant to do this episode, because I always just have this feeling. I’m going to leave something out. I’m going to forget something.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: gonna leave it out. And then later, I’m gonna

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Nyk Danu Yoga: listen back while I’m editing and go. Oh, you didn’t mention blah blah! But then I realized

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Nyk Danu Yoga: there’s always more episodes. I could do a part 2, a part, 3, a part 10, if I wanted to.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So here we go. How do we teach exceptional yin classes?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Because, dear Yoga, teacher, I know you

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I know that you, if you’re listening to this.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you really take pride in what you do.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that you must really love Yin Yoga, or you wouldn’t be here listening.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that it’s important to you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to to create exceptional classes instead of average classes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Again, or you wouldn’t be investing your time listening to this, podcast

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I have some ideas on how we can do that, and I will share a few of those with you here today.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So the 1st one, the 1st idea on how to share

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Nyk Danu Yoga: exceptional yin classes with your students is to make sure that you are highly trained and highly qualified.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now that might sound obvious.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But it’s not. There’s all kinds of people out there, and you might be one of them who

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Nyk Danu Yoga: are teaching Yin, who have never taken a yin training, not even one, not even a tiny one

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Nyk Danu Yoga: not cool. So if that’s you right now, and you’re listening.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: please get a yin training, whether it’s mine or someone else’s that works for you?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Do some research. Do some soul searching, do some digging around, find a really good yin training and take a yin training.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s the 1st part of this, the second part is even those of you who have taken a yin training.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It may not have been in depth enough or long enough.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So a 20 h yin training it’s just scratching the surface.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 20 or 30 h is like a it’s just like a little teeny toe dip in the water.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: A 20 or 30 h training is enough to let you know whether or not you do want to specialize in teaching it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Someone who does a 20 or 30 h training might be comfortable enough and qualified enough to kind of sub the occasional Yin class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know, at the studio they teach at.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But if you really want to teach high quality, soulful, exceptional Yin classes, you’re going to need to level that up.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I would argue at my at this point that even a 50 h is still scratching the surface.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So, dear Yoga, teacher, please know if you are passionate about yin, it is not at all uncommon to do multiple yin trainings from different teachers.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: In fact, I would highly recommend doing that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that you could have hundreds of hours of yin training and still be studying this practice.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So I just wanted to mention that. So the very 1st thing about how do we teach exceptionally in classes is, make sure that you are highly trained and qualified

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to teach yin yoga, which means you have to have a training in yin yoga.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that these shorter trainings probably aren’t going to cut it. They might be enough to kind of wet your whistle to get you excited to you know, sub. Some in classes to start out.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But if you really love yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if if your heart is just like yen it forever.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: then you’re going to want to do more.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you’re going to want to do more trainings, maybe by different teachers, longer trainings, more in-depth trainings.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: There’s so much. And I know this because I hear this constantly from people that have listened to the podcast who send me Dms or write reviews or comment below posts on Facebook or on my instagram, that I’ve had so many people say that they’ve learned more about yin yoga

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Nyk Danu Yoga: from listening to this podcast than they learned in their Yin Yoga training.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this is just evidence to me

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that the Yin Yoga trainings out there. A lot of them are not long enough, and they’re not in depth enough.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay, so that’s number one.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 1st you must become an avid student of Yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I once had somebody reach out to me in my Dms on Facebook. I I

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I think, a newer teacher

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and ask me how I she’s saying she wanted to run a Yin teacher training, and how would I advise that she gets started with that?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: anyone who’s listened to the whole podcast. Knows I’m not a fan of Yoga Alliance. If you don’t know that you can listen to those episodes. It was a two-parter on Yoga alliance.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But regardless, I did notice that she was a yoga teacher. That was an 200 h. Yoga, teacher.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I don’t even think that she was an experienced or an E. 200. Yet she may have been, but she definitely was not a 500 h teacher, and she was not an experience level 500 h teacher.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And again, I’m not. I don’t buy into Yoga alliances system of so-called credentialing and qualifying people.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But it does show to me that you probably haven’t been teaching long enough.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: or studied in depth enough, perhaps, to be training other teachers.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So the 1st thing I mentioned to her was that she should probably look at 1st of all becoming at least a 500 h teacher, if not much more, before she started training teachers.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I told her to study as much in as possible from as many sources as possible.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: At the time my teacher, Paul Grilly, was no longer. He had just switched. He was no longer. He’s still not at this point. Training teachers from the get go to become yin teachers. What he is doing now is, he’s offering different trainings and courses for us, who he has already trained so that we can dive deeper and continue to study with him. But he is not training teachers anymore to become yin teachers. So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I said to her, You know I have 500 h with Paul Grillley alone

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so 500 h in just Yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: not to mention all my other trainings, which is which they’re abundant at this point.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And so I said, so 1st you want to become a 500 h teacher at least

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that you need to study in in depth like you need to eat, sleep, and breathe in Yoga before you start trying to train teachers in it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Teachers that take a 50 h training and then start training teachers in a 50 h training. This is why.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: there’s so few exceptional yin classes out there, and so few highly trained and qualified yin teachers. So if you want to

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Nyk Danu Yoga: do something. Well, then.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: commit to studying it. Commit to immersing yourself in it. And because, you know, Paul no longer does these programs, and most of us that were trained by Paul or trained by Paul’s people who were trained by Paul. Our programs are kind of somewhere in the 100 to 200 h range and so, you know, take as many of those as you can.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: study deep

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Nyk Danu Yoga: check out different yin teachers. Take call, take classes with them. Most of us have got zoom classes. Take some classes when you find one that really resonates with you, study in depth. With that teacher take their training. You can even see if they have mentorship. Beyond that, I know I do. So anyone that takes my training who wants to do ongoing member mentorship that is always available. So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if you want to teach exceptional Yin classes, study, learn.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s number one bullet point number 2.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you want to teach exceptional yin yoga classes you ready for this.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You have to practice yin yoga in your home practice.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Wah! Wah! I know teachers don’t like this answer, but if you aren’t practicing

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Nyk Danu Yoga: what you’re trying to teach. How are you teaching it?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What you are teaching is gleamed from your training and experience. Yes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but also your own felt, lived, embodied experience of this practice in your own body.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: your own nervous system, your own Psyche.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you don’t do that, then you are just parroting and repeating what your teachers have said.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and for a class to be exceptional, it also needs to be original.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, by that I don’t mean you need some fancy sequence that no one’s ever thought of. That’s not at all what I’m talking about.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m talking about when you’re sitting at the front of the room in the seat of the teacher as the guide.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You need to have a felt, lived experience of this practice in your body.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so that when you are speaking. You are speaking from your own experience.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You’re not just repeating things that you’ve heard other teachers say.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so many of the words that I use.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and the ways that I teach and practice

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Nyk Danu Yoga: are because of my years of yin Yoga practice on the mat.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: For myself, this is where the wisdom is gleamed.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is where you get to dive deep.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is where you get your Ahas that you can share. Then share with your students.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So point number 2 would be

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if you are not practicing Yin Yoga regularly

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Nyk Danu Yoga: on your own at home, not in a class, not from a video, not from, you know a sequence that someone gave you. Now, I’m not saying that you can’t do those things as well. I once in a blue moon I like to pull up a video on Youtube just to keep things fun.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But you must learn to practice yourself.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you do not have a home. Yoga practice for Yin, then your classes will always fall flat, and they will feel like regurgitated information from somebody else.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: thereby not so exceptional.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So you need to practice yourself on your own

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Nyk Danu Yoga: at home, and some of the kickback I get from this is

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that people get bored. Well, guess what

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Nyk Danu Yoga: boredom is part of a yin practice. Yep, it is

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Nyk Danu Yoga: learning to sit with your boredom and witness your boredom, and be curious about your boredom, and to analyze, why am I so bored? That is part of the practice. So you just need to get over yourself. Get your butt on your mat and start doing some yin. So that’s number 2.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Another way to create exceptionally in classes is by being clear in your descriptors of your class. So whether it’s a run class run by yourself or at a studio. Please do your best, and I know we only have so much control. If we work for a studio as to what words they choose to use for classes. But if they do allow you to have input, or write the description.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: make sure you’re writing a very accurate and clear description of what a Yin Yoga practice is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that people understand that when they show up to that class they are going to be in stillness

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and quiet and doing long holds.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Yeah. So make sure that’s in your class description.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So another way to create exceptional classes is for people to show up

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to what they felt like they were showing up for

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to not show up for a yin class and be surprised with something else.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Right? I’ve been to classes that were deemed yin where I showed up, and there was more movement in the class and more traditional Hatha Yoga than there was yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know. Had I been situated a little closer to the door. I would have left that class, but I was in the back corner, so I just sucked it up.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but I’d never go back to that class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because not only was it not a Yin class, not authentically a yin class

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that the class description wasn’t accurate. If that class description had said, This is a Yin Yang class, and that we’re going to combine yin poses with some movement in between. Then I would have known when I went to that class what I was getting myself into, and I might not have minded the class. But when I signed up for a Yin class. And then all of a sudden, I’m transitioning through downward dog. And there’s planking and cat cowing happening. And I’m like Wtf.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this is not a yin class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So make sure your descriptions are clear and accurate, and that what you’re teaching matches the description

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Nyk Danu Yoga: of the class. So that would be point number 3.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this is all before you even get the class going right. This is all like preemptive.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is the this is the buildup. To how do I create an exceptional class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now let’s talk a little bit more about the actual class experience.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: hopefully, you have a strong understanding and framework of how Yin Yoga is different than other forms of Yoga.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You may need that information. If you’ve got a lot of new students, you might need to take a few moments at the start to just kind of explain what the hell this yin Yoga business even is in just a few minutes doesn’t need to be long. In fact, it shouldn’t be too long.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But students will be

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Nyk Danu Yoga: far more accepting, and they will have a far more impactful experience in your class if they kind of know what to expect. So things like

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this class is stillness. Floor based long holds that we’ll be dealing with the deeper tissues of our body, and that the mind here can be the challenge, the mental, emotional realm. So if we would touch on each of those points briefly, very briefly, at the beginning of class, then students are more likely to be open and receptive to the experience they’re about to have in the class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because they kind of know what to expect, which allows their nervous system to settle a little bit more.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If somebody just comes into a yin class, and they’ve only ever done Ashtonga, and they just came to a yin class because it happened to work for their schedule. But they don’t, and they didn’t even read the description. They don’t even know what yin is. And all of a sudden you’re throwing them in 5 min holds for everything and not talking about it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s not cool, so give them a little guidance as to

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Nyk Danu Yoga: here’s what a yin practice is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and here’s how it’s different now. You might be thinking, well, how do I know if I have students that are new to Yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Well, you could ask.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so I’m not saying you should get everybody to sit up and raise their hand, and be because some people are going to be very uncomfortable, being, you know, put on the spot like that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But you could say things as people are coming in the room, hey? If you’re brand new to yin

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before the class, just you know, pop up, pop up to my mat and say Hello! You know, or what I do, you’re welcome to borrow this idea. I have not trademarked. It

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Nyk Danu Yoga: is. I start all my classes in constructive rest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and there will probably be a whole episode on that pose at some point, because that was requested. But for now we’ll just say constructive rest is how I start my classes because I want to focus on nervous system before I get people making funny shapes with their body.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And when they’re in constructive rest just before I bring them into their 1st yin shape. I say, if you are brand new to the practice of yin, Yoga, put one hand on your belly and your other hand at your side. If you’ve done yin yoga before, even if it’s just one or 2 classes, let your hands rest at your sides. So now I have a clear visual. When I look around the room to see how many brand newbies are there, and how much should I talk about

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Nyk Danu Yoga: what you can expect in this practice.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that would be another way

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to create an exceptional Yin class is to give your students the opportunity to understand that this practice is going to be different, to set the stage a little for them, to prepare them, so that their nervous system will then be more likely to be able to rest in the practice.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay, so that’s the 3rd point.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Speaking of nervous systems

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Nyk Danu Yoga: for me, that would be the next point.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Can you in some way, and which ways we could do. This is beyond the scope of this particular episode. But we can. We can do some later.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But can you in some way guide your students into their parasympathetic nervous system, their relaxation response before class begins.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So getting people to just kind of roll up

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Nyk Danu Yoga: into the class right away and jump right into their 1st yin shape. Not overly skillful.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: They may have rushed to get there. They may have had a really stressful day.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Who knows? Depending on the time of the class right? They might be having a stressful life in that moment.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So allowing people intentional, conscious time guided by you to settle, to ground, to come into their parasympathetic nervous system. The relaxation response before

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you start adding, Yin poses to the mix is a great idea.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I do that with a guided

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Nyk Danu Yoga: sort of a bit of a guided mindfulness. Experience what I call dropping into center while people are in constructive rest. But there are other ways that you could do this.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You could bring their awareness to their breath.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Anything you could do, a small meditation, anything that you like. That, you know, is useful for bringing people out of that fight flight or freeze response into that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: relaxation response, or another way to say it is out of the busy I rushed. I’m stressed to get here. Response into. I’m grounded in my body and ready for practice response.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that would be another point. How do we create exceptional classes?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Prepare their mind for what’s going to happen by telling them what happens in Yin. Now prepare their body and their nervous system by allowing them to switch gears from that busy fight or flight, or busy stressed, rushed response that they came in the door with

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to a more grounded, calm state, and I’m not just saying that having them sit on their yoga mat is going to do that. It’s not. You need to have some little tool in your toolbox. Whether it’s a breath technique

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Nyk Danu Yoga: or there could be a million things there could be tapping. There could be vagus nerve. There could be a meditation, a million again, a million ways.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You should find the one that resonates for you, but find something that you can add to your classes as part of your sort of signature, offering that you do at the start of class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to ground them, to anchor them, to get them in their parasympathetic.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So many Yoga classes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: are just start right off the hop, and they’re counting on Shavasan at the end to do that. That’s a very young way of looking at a class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We want to start people in their parasympathetic grounded, centered at the beginning of class because the Kol Yin practice, then, is going to be far more effective because our nervous system is a key player in deep fascia.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which is something that we’re working with in our yin practice. So that would be my next tip is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: can you

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Nyk Danu Yoga: find some way to take a few minutes? That is not an Asana. It’s not a shape. It’s not a stretch. It’s not something to give them compression or whatever.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and to ground them in the moment.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Is it a breath technique? Is it a small meditation. Is it something like constructive rest? Is it sort of some kind of self, body care thing? Who knows? Right? There could be so many things that you could choose to do

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so. This is all before we’re even getting to the class

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before we’re even getting into the poses next your intention as the teacher.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So take a moment before each of your classes and ask yourself, why do I do this?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What is my intention? Not just for this class. You can also do that. You can have an intention as a teacher for each class if you want to.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But what is your bigger? Why, what is your intention as a teacher. Why are you teaching Yoga?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I mean, because let’s face it. This is not an easy business to be in. This is not an easy industry to figure out. So if you’re doing this.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: why are you doing this

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before your practice starts? Before you start teaching, whether it’s before you walk in the door of the studio, or whatever. Take a few breaths, take a few moments to check in with your why?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Why am I doing this?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Why do I teach Yoga?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What do I want to give my students what gifts of this practice are, what I’m giving them?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Why do I teach Yoga in the bigger picture of the world.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay, so I’ll give you my example.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I teach Yoga

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because I believe that Yoga can change the world. And no, I’m not trying to be like Trite and Pollyanna with that I am being literal. With that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I believe that when people are stressed, rushed, dysregulated in chronic pain and overwhelmed. Then it’s really hard to be kind humans.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: right? Anyone who’s had chronic pain or really stressful time in their life. We know we’re more prone to snapping, to being impatient to being overwhelmed, etc. And so it’s real hard to be kind

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to our fellow human beings when we’re in that state.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So I teach Yoga to help people with their own self-care, their own nervous system, their own persistent pain, so that they can feel more grounded. They can heal, they can balance out their nervous system. They can relieve some stress so that so that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when they go back out into the world they are kinder humans, they’re more able to be present, patient, kind, and compassionate to themselves.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to their loved ones, to their communities, to the world at large.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that is my, why.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So each time I practice I bring my why to mind each time, because that’s my own personal. Why

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I want to be more regulated. I want to be more grounded. I want to be a kind human.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Each time I teach I pause, and I acknowledge that that this is my why.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that energy will come out in your class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This sounds like a small thing. Why would I take, you know, 3 to 5 breaths before I start teaching, or before I walk into the studio to remind myself of my why? Because that energy can be felt, it is palpable.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It also gives you a moment to center

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before you have to start holding space for other people.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which would be my next point.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, I’m talking to you, Yoga. Teachers that are always running late, running in, scrambling in a panic right before your Yoga classes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Don’t do that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you want to be that person in the rest of your life. I don’t know why you would. I’m an always early person. That sounds incredibly stressful to me, but fine whatever

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when you’re teaching, arrive early, arrive early, for many reasons.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the 1st one being to give yourself time to ground.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to remind yourself of your why, to give yourself some time for your nervous system, to settle for your breath, to regulate, for you to become calm.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so that you can then hold brave space for your students.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you are rushing in right as class starts throwing down your mat, calling out to people what props to grab, while you quickly mess around with the stereo.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s not a grounded place to start with.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I also realize that sometimes transitions between classes are tight. I I deal with this as well. I also teach at one studio, and sometimes we have 30 min between classes, but that also includes someone cleaning all the mats, me setting up the candles, getting the music started, etc, etc, so I can’t rely on

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Nyk Danu Yoga: time right before the class starts to ground myself. I need to do that before I get there before I get into the room. Okay, so take the time to ground thyself before you enter the space to start teaching.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because people will feel that energy.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You will also be calmer as you set up the space. If you’ve taken that time

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to go over your, why, take a few breaths, do whatever it is you need to do to settle or ground yourself. So being early is being professional.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and it is also going to translate

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in your energy field with your students when you take the time to be there early, to ground, to anchor, to set the stage for the class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to figure out any last minute things that may have gone wrong because things go wrong.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: then you will feel more grounded and centered that students will feel that energy when you are grounded and calm. It’s easier for the students to ground and calm. So co-regulation of nervous systems. So you are responsible for the energy and your nervous system. When you walk into that space, so be responsible for it consciously and deliberately.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so this is all before class even begins. This is how we teach exceptional classes. This is how we become

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Nyk Danu Yoga: professionals.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So what is your intention? As the teacher

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Nyk Danu Yoga: remind yourself, why do I do this? What is your bigger? Why.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: take a few moments to ground yourself

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before you enter the space. If you have a nice window between the last class and yours, feel free to ground yourself in the space as long as you can be early enough that you’re not taking away from connecting with the students.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so have some sort of a ritual of intention before you even begin to engage with the students. One way that I do this this is just my own personal practice is I. 1st of all, I always take 3 to 5 breaths outside of the building door before I even go in.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I just pause. I take 3 to 5 breaths, my eyes closed just to settle a little bit, because I walk everywhere, so I may have been huffing and puffing. I might be a little.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I walk quickly, too. I might be a little warm, depending on the time of year, so I take a few breaths before I put my hand on the doorknob to go into the space.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I allow myself to settle.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then, when I’m in the space, if I have an opportunity, in the space itself in the studio room to do some more intentional grounding, then I’ll take it, but if it’s a quick transition from one class to the next, I’ll usually do it in the lobby, or kind of just before I go in, so I’ll be early enough that maybe the other teachers, still finishing up. That gives me some time to ground and to settle.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I have a small ritual that I do where I take earth energy literally with my hands, cup my hands over the earth. Energy! I bring it to my heart.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then I bring my palms together, and I bring them up through the midline, and I make a big circle around me.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: big energy field around me of protection. So my 1st round is, may I be protected because I’m very empathic.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I want to be there for people, but I don’t want to leave with all their stuff. So my 1st one is I cup the energy I’m showing on Youtube. But you can’t see this if you’re listening to. I literally put my hands like little cups on the ground on the earth.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I scoop up that earth energy and I bring it to my heart.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then I turned my palms to face each other.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Anjali Mudra, and then I bring my arms up through the midline of my body, out to the sides, and I create like a big huge circle around me.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And that 1st round is, I say to myself, may I be protected? So that’s where I’m actually visualizing this

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Nyk Danu Yoga: protective energy around me.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: My second round, so do the same thing again. Scoop up the earth energy, bring it to my heart. So earth and fire. I’m taking the earth, and I’m bringing it to my fire element because I don’t want to be too excited, too anxious to with my fire. So I’m bringing a little earth to my fire. Then I’m going to bring my palms together again. Bring them up.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I make a second circle.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The 1st one is, may I be protected? The second one is, may I be present

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to whatever shows up in the room today? May I be present?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 3, rd one same thing. I scoop the earth. Energy, bring it to my heart, palms together. 3rd circle. May I be a conduit for healing?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: May I be a conduit for healing.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so I’m old enough and wise enough to know that I’m not a healer. I don’t heal people. They heal themselves.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but I can be a conduit for their healing.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I can share practices and words that may help them in their own healing. So that’s my 3rd circle, and this is what I do before every single class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that when I start teaching I’m coming from what is my, why? Why do I do this for a living? I’ve paused to take a few breaths. I’ve slowed myself down a little bit.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’ve done this this little centering, and you know, don’t just borrow mine if it doesn’t resonate with you. Do your own version of a centering. It could just be even hands on your heart, a few deep breaths. Whatever is going to ground and center. You come up with your own practice. Take a few moments to do that. If you have time to do it in the space itself

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Nyk Danu Yoga: great. If not, do it in the waiting room or the front entryway, or wherever you can.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is before we even begin class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So we’re making sure we’re highly trained.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: right? And we’re doing these things. This is all going to be felt in your students experience.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: then we have the intention of the class or the the mood, the vibe, the atmosphere. Right? So it’s like you’re bringing in your intentions. You’re bringing in your groundedness, your calmness.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, what do we do about the space itself? Right? So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m a highly sensitive person. So I’m 1 of those people who can enter a room and immediately see and notice

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Nyk Danu Yoga: what doesn’t feel right and what needs to be adjusted. Not everybody has that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I used to be a curse. Now I consider it a gift.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So if you’re not the type of person who really notices the energy and the feeling of a space as you enter it, then you might have to take a few moments again. Come early.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and just kind of look around the room.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What are some things that you could adjust?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: How’s the temperature?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You know? I’m not saying we want to heat the room to the point where we’re doing hot yin. I know some of you teach that. That’s a that’s a

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Nyk Danu Yoga: episode for another time.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But, you know, is it freezing in there?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Is it too warm? What’s the temperature? Can we? Can we make them a moderate temperature for the for the people in the room.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What’s the lighting like?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Is it bright in there? Can you? Can you dim the lights? Can you lower the lights.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Can you make the lighting a little softer? This, again, is going to help with the nervous system?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Can you get the props that you’re going to use for class set up at your mat

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so that you can easily just point to people. This is what you’re going to need for class and tell them where to find it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Sometimes, when I’m really lucky this doesn’t happen anymore, because I have. But the windows between my classes are too short now where I teach. But

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when I had a longer window of more than 30 min between classes, and I had a helper, a Karmi yogi. Often, if I had a very full class, we would actually set up the props for them. So the studio I teach at already has the blocks and the bolster myself and my helper would then go and put a blanket and a strap on the top of each bolster, so that all people literally had to do was roll in and sit down.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: They didn’t have to look around the room. Figure out where stuff was, you know. Maybe they had to turn their phone off and go pee. But other than that, they were good to go. That’s not happening as much anymore because they don’t have that extra window of space. But if you have that kind of space, you maybe have a helper at the studio that can help you set up some props. Why not? Now? They can still put them away on their own afterwards. But you know, arriving to a space that is ready to go.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: can you get the if you use music? And you know I did a whole episode on music. You can listen to that if you want to hear me debate whether or not you should use music in Yin. I’m not going to tell you either way, but if you do choose to use music.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: what is the quality of the music

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in that episode about music. I go into a whole lot of like what I do not think you should use for music.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so you can check that episode out.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Should you use music? Indian? Yoga? I think it’s called

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to get more detail on that. But if you’re choosing to use music.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: do you have the music started is the volume at a good level that it’s not super distracting, but it’s just creating the atmosphere. Is it ready to go? etc? So music, lighting, temperature.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: things like that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Keep that in mind. This is all setting the stage props.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Get your props ready in front of your mat so that you can clearly show them what props you’re going to use.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if right now you’re thinking, Well, how do I know what props they’re going to use if I until we get into the class, because I don’t know their bodies, then grab everything.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It’s always better to have the props sitting there and to ignore them.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then to realize, partway through class that somebody actually really could have benefited from using a bolster or a block here. But you didn’t bring one down from the prop shelf because you wanted to see where everybody’s bodies were@firstst

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Get the props! Get everybody to grab the same props period, the end that you may have to still go. Get more for some people, but get everybody to have the same props and get them ready if you have time to prepare them

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Nyk Danu Yoga: at their mats for them. That’s a lovely extra bonus gift, not always realistic, but at least have yours set up so they can look and see. This is what you’re going to need. Ask everybody to grab the same props so that you are ready to begin

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Nyk Danu Yoga: quiet.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Can you create a container of quiet?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Sometimes this is hard in a busy studio when there’s a quick exchange again, between classes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But there are some ways that you could encourage quiet at the beginning of class before it starts.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, in my generation, way back in the dinosaur days, we just knew this like, we just read the room like we came into a yoga space and we were just quiet. We didn’t chat. We weren’t like

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Nyk Danu Yoga: with our friends talking about what we did Friday night.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: None of that was happening. We just

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Nyk Danu Yoga: read the room right? We walked in. We were like, this is a sacred space we had that reverence and we were quiet. I’ve noticed that does not happen anymore with the younger generation of students. And so it may be your job as a teacher to encourage that one subtle way to do it is to sit on your mat with your eyes closed in some sort of a meditative posture.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Anyone who is

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Nyk Danu Yoga: sort of intuitive or empathic or aware is going to see that. And they’re automatically going to be quiet.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That does not mean everybody’s going to be quiet, but it’ll it’ll help

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Nyk Danu Yoga: other things you can do is actually just

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Nyk Danu Yoga: flat out. Say it. If there’s a group or a couple of students that are like really talking loud in the corner. They’re using this as their catch up social time instead of like, Prepare for yoga time. You can just go over and mention to them.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You know. One thing that I say is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: hey? I’m so glad that you came to Yoga with your friends, yay, friends who do, yoga.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but a lot of people. This is their only quiet time in their week right now before this class.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So if you wouldn’t mind.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and then I give them a couple of options depending on the space I’m in. If the space has a waiting room.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: tell them that they can go ahead and get their spot set up

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and go, you know, into the waiting room and catch up, and that you’ll you’ll come and wave at them. When you’re ready to start right, remove the conversation from the room, if at all possible.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if that’s not possible, which it isn’t in one of the spaces.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I just ask people

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to whisper so if it’s only 2 people doing it, and like they’re just not reading the room. Everybody else is like doing a pose or relaxing, and they’re just like doing their thing. I’ll just go over and say, Hey.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: we prepare in quiet, and you will

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Nyk Danu Yoga: be silent or whisper, because for many people this is their only quiet time this week, so I’ll just go and say it now, if it’s a lot. And this has happened recently, especially, I teach a Friday night class, and so sometimes that class people are a little revved up when they come in where it’s like there’s many conversations going on all over the room, and they’re all a little too loud, because they’re now all talking over each other. I do not hesitate to become all school teachery, and I will pull out a singing bowl or a set of chimes, and I will ding them

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 2 or 3 times, and then I will say.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: let’s bring the volume down. It’s getting very loud in here. Can we prepare for the next few minutes for class with some

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Nyk Danu Yoga: quietude, so don’t be afraid to ask for people to be quiet, so can we prepare some quiet

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Nyk Danu Yoga: because yin is a quiet practice, and that energy of blah blah talking to each other right? That’s got a phonetic kind of young energy to it. And now we’re going to ask those same people to be still and quiet in their poses. So maybe if we just set the stage a little bit at the start for that quiet that will make that transition easier.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: hey? So quiet. This is another way to have an exceptional class

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when somebody walks in. Can they feel that yin vibe and energy in the room before they even get on their mat.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s the goal wherever possible.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Couple other things. The breath in yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I do teach a little bit of guided breath stuff kind of at the start of class, or maybe at the end, depending on the technique. Again, because I’m all about the nervous system. So sometimes I will use a breath technique as a way to allow people

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to settle into their body, to settle into that moment in time and to settle into the space.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But what you can notice a lot is that people, especially if they’re new to yin. There’ll be a lot of Ujjayi breath going on or breath with sound. So you may have to address that. This is again another aspect of

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Nyk Danu Yoga: quiet and going inward.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this is another way, little thing, that you can drop in to teach exceptional Yoga classes, Yin Yoga classes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: having a trauma-informed space.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now I realize that trauma is like the new sparkly showboat of the Yoga world, and that people are talking about trauma all the time, and trauma informed, and trauma this and trauma that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’ve got some episodes on that as well, that you could go back and listen to.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I’m not saying that we should not

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Nyk Danu Yoga: try to offer trauma-informed spaces. I’m saying we 100 should. However, there’s a lot of misinformation out there about what that actually means.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: make sure that you take a good trauma training, even if you don’t want to specialize in teaching populations

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that are.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know, you know, outreach or things like that. If that’s not what you’re doing, you’re just teaching studio classes. You are still teaching traumatized people, because every human being on the planet has trauma.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So I would highly recommend that you take at least a short trauma training, even if it’s not something you want to specialize in.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: There were some key things that I never, never occurred to me. I’ll mention a few of them. I talk more about them in the episodes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and Nicole Marcia, who I did interview in the trauma episode. I took her trauma training, and then I mentored for it. And then I took another training with her. So I’ve taken several with her and she’s an amazing facilitator. Her website is linked in that episode. So go listen to that episode. If you resonate with what she says that I would recommend her. But wherever you take your trauma training, just vet your teachers right? We should always vet our teachers. What is their experience? What is their education? This is something we should just do always for courses.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so things that I never considered

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before taking my trauma training about

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the space and my presence in the space

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and now discuss when I’m going to walk around the room.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So before I would have just walked around the room. It never occurred to me that that could be sort of

448
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Nyk Danu Yoga: unnerving for people right to just be in this sort of relaxed, vulnerable position, and have the teacher walking around the space that never occurred to me.

449
00:54:22.810 –> 00:54:26.800
Nyk Danu Yoga: So once I took my trauma training that changed. So now I pretty much stayed in my mat.

450
00:54:27.349 –> 00:54:31.719
Nyk Danu Yoga: If I need to leave by Matt, I will say I’m just getting up

451
00:54:31.910 –> 00:54:37.959
Nyk Danu Yoga: to go to the back corner of the room to dim the lights a little for our final stillness practice.

452
00:54:38.980 –> 00:54:49.160
Nyk Danu Yoga: You don’t need to move out of my way, and then on the way back, I’ll say I’m just going back to my mat now. So people know why I’m moving around the room where I’m going and what I’m doing it for.

453
00:54:49.570 –> 00:54:56.989
Nyk Danu Yoga: or I might say I’m just going to move around the room for a few moments to help some of your Yoga friends get more comfortable with props.

454
00:54:58.450 –> 00:55:06.910
Nyk Danu Yoga: and then I’ll say, I’m going back to my mat. Okay? So those are the only 2 times I leave my mat is, if I need to adjust something in the space music, lighting, etc.

455
00:55:07.290 –> 00:55:17.379
Nyk Danu Yoga: or if I can see that somebody’s really uncomfortable, and I know that I could make them more comfortable with the prop, and I’ve already called it out verbally a couple of times, but they’re not hearing me. I may go over and say, Hey.

456
00:55:17.630 –> 00:55:35.740
Nyk Danu Yoga: how about a bolster under your legs? Here? Is that more comfortable? Be clear. I’m not touching them. I’m not adjusting them. I did an episode on that, too. I’m just offering them a support, and then but I will announce that I’m going to do that. I will go do that to a few people, and then I will announce that I’m going back to my mat. So those are things that I never would have considered

457
00:55:36.220 –> 00:55:37.180
Nyk Danu Yoga: beforehand.

458
00:55:37.746 –> 00:55:43.870
Nyk Danu Yoga: There’s probably much more that I could go into with that. But just a couple of things to help to create a container.

459
00:55:44.030 –> 00:56:12.369
Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, I also want to be really clear here that when we’re talking about trauma and creating a container, I’m not talking about creating a safe space. I don’t believe there is such thing as a safe space. There is no space where everyone will feel safe 100% of the time, and it does not matter how hard you try, dear Yoga, teacher, to create a air quotes safe space. You cannot do that because you are not a mind reader, and you don’t know what everyone’s trauma is, and you could say something completely innocent

460
00:56:12.370 –> 00:56:20.230
Nyk Danu Yoga: that isn’t even in your list of things, not to say from your trauma training. And it could still upset somebody. Okay. So we just have to get over that.

461
00:56:20.490 –> 00:56:23.819
Nyk Danu Yoga: We’re not trying to trigger people not trying to upset people.

462
00:56:23.930 –> 00:56:27.739
Nyk Danu Yoga: But sometimes, no matter how much you try it could happen.

463
00:56:28.160 –> 00:56:34.379
Nyk Danu Yoga: One example of this I sometimes refer to the mind in Yin as a two-year-old.

464
00:56:34.980 –> 00:56:48.070
Nyk Danu Yoga: and so I tell you, share this little analogy about how you know, toddlers can’t stay focused and like, can we all be gentle with ourselves like we would a toddler? I think you get the general gist of it, and that really upset somebody because they were missing

465
00:56:48.460 –> 00:56:49.510
Nyk Danu Yoga: their children.

466
00:56:50.090 –> 00:56:55.650
Nyk Danu Yoga: There’s no way I could have known that I could not have prevented that right? Somebody got upset. They cried a little.

467
00:56:56.780 –> 00:56:57.810
Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s life.

468
00:56:57.950 –> 00:57:05.320
Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m not talking about creating. This artificial air quotes safe space that people in Yoga circles talk about which is impossible.

469
00:57:05.870 –> 00:57:08.870
Nyk Danu Yoga: I am talking about creating a brave space.

470
00:57:09.440 –> 00:57:21.630
Nyk Danu Yoga: and I did a whole episode with the lovely grace on that. So you can check that episode out on how to create a brave space. But there are some simple things that we can do

471
00:57:21.750 –> 00:57:27.940
Nyk Danu Yoga: to allow people to feel more welcome and to allow them to settle more into the practice.

472
00:57:28.720 –> 00:57:35.600
Nyk Danu Yoga: So can you be a little bit trauma informed in your class.

473
00:57:35.800 –> 00:57:43.999
Nyk Danu Yoga: And again, if you don’t have any trauma training highly recommend. You take even a short one just to get a few little things that you can add to all of your classes.

474
00:57:44.630 –> 00:57:46.579
Nyk Danu Yoga: It’s really, really, really worthwhile.

475
00:57:46.710 –> 00:57:48.789
Nyk Danu Yoga: Make sure you vet your teachers well,

476
00:57:52.840 –> 00:57:56.439
Nyk Danu Yoga: And then can you, as the teacher.

477
00:57:59.990 –> 00:58:07.609
Nyk Danu Yoga: hold brave space, so one way to create exceptional classes

478
00:58:08.500 –> 00:58:19.600
Nyk Danu Yoga: is to hold brave space is for you to be okay and comfortable enough, and grounded enough in the seat of the teacher that if stuff comes up mentally and emotionally for students. You have the presence

479
00:58:19.910 –> 00:58:27.290
Nyk Danu Yoga: to be there for that, and to not get pulled into trying to fix things.

480
00:58:27.670 –> 00:58:30.640
Nyk Danu Yoga: So again, there are past episodes on that

481
00:58:31.004 –> 00:58:48.370
Nyk Danu Yoga: the mind in yin emotions in yin, and how to hold brave space all go into that stuff in much more in depth as well as the trauma episodes. And if you’re like Holy Crap Nick, you’re just giving me a big, long list of other episodes to listen to. Yes, I am. And on that note in the show notes

482
00:58:48.440 –> 00:59:02.349
Nyk Danu Yoga: there is a link that says all episodes at a glance. And that just takes you to a Google Doc, where I have literally listed every episode from season one to it’s just the season, the name of the episode, and a link, so that you can find them all in one place.

483
00:59:02.570 –> 00:59:11.599
Nyk Danu Yoga: You’re welcome so you can go ahead and catch up on any of the ones that I’m mentioning, that you may not have heard, or any other ones that strike your fancy.

484
00:59:13.810 –> 00:59:25.650
Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s a little bit about kind of creating the container of the space, preparing yourself as the teacher. You know, getting into the role of the teacher, settling, grounding, etc.

485
00:59:26.170 –> 00:59:29.679
Nyk Danu Yoga: And then, of course, we have skillful sequencing.

486
00:59:30.700 –> 00:59:35.229
Nyk Danu Yoga: I have a whole episode on sequencing for yin, you’re welcome, you can listen to that

487
00:59:35.520 –> 00:59:49.180
Nyk Danu Yoga: and my opinions on sequencing. So I’m not saying that you have to have like a super advanced, cleverly prepared sequence decided in advance. Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. It really depends on the teacher. I don’t sequence in advance anymore.

488
00:59:50.020 –> 01:00:00.859
Nyk Danu Yoga: But you know, if you wanna if that helps you, then make sure you have a cleverly created sequence and be ready to adapt it for the needs of the group at the time. That’s the other thing.

489
01:00:01.250 –> 01:00:20.110
Nyk Danu Yoga: Exceptional. Yoga teachers are able to roll with the punches, so if they have a pose planned, and then they look out at the people in front of them. And they’re like, Oh, crap! 90% of this room. They’re not going to be able to do that pose without me spending 20 min on props. Maybe I’ll take that out, and I’ll put something else in instead. So

490
01:00:20.360 –> 01:00:22.680
Nyk Danu Yoga: can you be flexible and adaptable

491
01:00:23.190 –> 01:00:26.289
Nyk Danu Yoga: in the moment serving the people that are in front of you

492
01:00:26.660 –> 01:00:28.190
Nyk Danu Yoga: feel free to have a sequence.

493
01:00:30.130 –> 01:00:32.000
Nyk Danu Yoga: We talked a little bit about music.

494
01:00:32.670 –> 01:00:45.129
Nyk Danu Yoga: Sometimes people ask me if I share a dharma talk, or story, or quote, or something before class, and I will say that for years I did not. I wouldn’t say I do a dharma talk.

495
01:00:45.250 –> 01:00:57.950
Nyk Danu Yoga: and I know that that word is used rather loosely in the Yoga verse, like people use the word dharma talk to just mean, like, I talk a little bit about stuff at the beginning of class. That’s not a Dharma talk. Please stop using these Sanskrit words incorrectly

496
01:00:58.833 –> 01:01:06.770
Nyk Danu Yoga: so an actual dharma talk would be lengthy. It’d probably be 20 to 30 min long, and it would have a subject, you know, based on either.

497
01:01:06.950 –> 01:01:16.939
Nyk Danu Yoga: Whatever tradition you study in right, it would have some sort of philosophical content that you’d be sharing with your students. So if that’s not what you’re doing, stop calling it a dharma talk and just call it something else.

498
01:01:17.230 –> 01:01:19.869
Nyk Danu Yoga: So I don’t do. Drama talks because I don’t have enough time.

499
01:01:20.380 –> 01:01:25.189
Nyk Danu Yoga: If I had 2 h classes, or if I was teaching a special series on

500
01:01:25.500 –> 01:01:42.449
Nyk Danu Yoga: Intermediate Yoga with intermediate Yoga students in students, then I would have the time in there for a dharma talk. When I have my seasonal Mini workshops, then I have a little bit of time to go through some information. It’s still not a dharma talk. It’s it’s theory about our practice.

501
01:01:42.928 –> 01:01:47.729
Nyk Danu Yoga: So yeah, if you wanna if you want to introduce some of that at the beginning of class, please feel free.

502
01:01:48.820 –> 01:02:01.500
Nyk Danu Yoga: A little story. A brief story can be good, a quote, a poem. Sure I didn’t for years, because when I was in other teachers classes, and I heard the quotes and the stories

503
01:02:01.620 –> 01:02:19.540
Nyk Danu Yoga: they all felt in the poems. They all felt a little too saccharine, a little too, Pollyanna, a little too good vibes only for my personal liking, and so I never did offer poetry in classes or quotes, because I just felt like anytime I had witnessed that

504
01:02:19.780 –> 01:02:24.940
Nyk Danu Yoga: it just kind of made me want to throw up in my mouth a little like it was a little bit disconnected from

505
01:02:25.500 –> 01:02:32.700
Nyk Danu Yoga: the depths of the human experience. The real world the fact that sometimes people are suffering and not everything is unicorns and rainbows all the fucking time.

506
01:02:33.340 –> 01:02:42.660
Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s why I didn’t. But then I discovered and stumbled across some poets that just really, you know.

507
01:02:43.310 –> 01:03:03.369
Nyk Danu Yoga: resonated deep in my bones when I read their words. And so I started keeping those and collecting those. And so now I do share a poem. I share it fairly near the beginning of the class. So either what either, if they have experience right when they’re in constructive rest before I bring them into their 1st pose. I’ll share it

508
01:03:03.500 –> 01:03:21.169
Nyk Danu Yoga: if I have a lot of new students, and I need to do a little bit of the new to yin speech. I’ll do that first, st and then I’ll share the poem or the quote before we move into quiet, and then I will share it again at the end of practice before they go into their final stillness practice.

509
01:03:21.400 –> 01:03:23.970
Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s how I do that personally.

510
01:03:24.853 –> 01:03:26.370
Nyk Danu Yoga: So if that helps you.

511
01:03:26.550 –> 01:03:30.190
Nyk Danu Yoga: then you could be intentional. With that you could also do a meditation.

512
01:03:30.630 –> 01:03:59.310
Nyk Danu Yoga: So can you do some sort of a signature thing that you know you do your signature thing at the beginning of class to kind of ground to anchor people. And could you add something at the end of class. That is also sort of unique to you. Some of your sort of signature special sauce thing that you want to add at the end of class as well. And again, that could be a poem or quote, it could be a breath technique. It could be a meditation. You should do what works for you do make sure, though, that if you’re doing things like sound

513
01:03:59.600 –> 01:04:05.409
Nyk Danu Yoga: healing or essential oils, or any of that kind of stuff that that’s in your class description

514
01:04:05.770 –> 01:04:07.249
Nyk Danu Yoga: right? Don’t just like

515
01:04:07.670 –> 01:04:35.559
Nyk Danu Yoga: have an average in class all of a sudden. Pull out your lavender towels and start walking around the room and putting those on people if you didn’t mention it in your class description, because there’s a whole bunch of people that have sensitivities even to natural products, like essential oils. So if you’re doing any of that stuff, if that’s part of your special sauce, 1st of all, make sure you have education and training in it. And second of all, put it in your class description. Essential oils are used in this practice, so that anyone that has sensitivities can just avoid your class.

516
01:04:36.010 –> 01:04:43.489
Nyk Danu Yoga: But do you have a little thing that you love to do at the end of class? Maybe it’s ringing a bell a certain amount of times, or a gong, or something like that.

517
01:04:43.770 –> 01:04:49.259
Nyk Danu Yoga: whatever it is, for you feel free. That also can create exceptional classes

518
01:04:51.720 –> 01:05:08.419
Nyk Danu Yoga: holding brave space. We talked about that a little bit. And again, I don’t want to go into that too much, because there’s a whole couple of episodes on. How do we deal with students? Emotions when they come up in class, and my interview with with Grace, where we had a good chat about holding brave space. So those are things you could check out.

519
01:05:10.760 –> 01:05:12.870
Nyk Danu Yoga: and that, I think, is a good start.

520
01:05:13.340 –> 01:05:19.570
Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m sure as soon as I stop recording I’ll think of at least 3 more things that I could have said about how to create

521
01:05:19.800 –> 01:05:22.210
Nyk Danu Yoga: exceptional Yin Yoga classes.

522
01:05:22.630 –> 01:05:26.530
Nyk Danu Yoga: But I think that’s a good start, and if I come up with more we can always do a part. 2. Right?

523
01:05:27.280 –> 01:05:29.960
Nyk Danu Yoga: So I hope that you find these things helpful

524
01:05:30.740 –> 01:05:33.600
Nyk Danu Yoga: again. Dear Yoga teacher, listening to this.

525
01:05:33.940 –> 01:05:37.939
Nyk Danu Yoga: I am convinced that if you are listening to this, and you have made it this far.

526
01:05:38.060 –> 01:05:41.650
Nyk Danu Yoga: You want to teach exceptional Yoga classes.

527
01:05:41.940 –> 01:05:48.640
Nyk Danu Yoga: Not average, not okay, not I. Got by Yoga classes, but exceptional

528
01:05:49.570 –> 01:05:53.430
Nyk Danu Yoga: Yoga classes, where your students can really heal and ground.

529
01:05:54.530 –> 01:06:05.980
Nyk Danu Yoga: And so this takes commitment, time, intention, education, experience.

530
01:06:06.190 –> 01:06:09.399
Nyk Danu Yoga: in order to create that container

531
01:06:09.520 –> 01:06:12.929
Nyk Danu Yoga: known as exceptional Yin Yoga class.

532
01:06:13.640 –> 01:06:21.800
Nyk Danu Yoga: It starts with your education and your experience. It’s your intentions, your whys, the energies you bring into the room with you.

533
01:06:22.310 –> 01:06:26.890
Nyk Danu Yoga: creating the container of the space being able to hold brave space.

534
01:06:27.260 –> 01:06:28.629
Nyk Danu Yoga: All of this.

535
01:06:29.660 –> 01:06:43.070
Nyk Danu Yoga: and of course, a great sequence, right? But notice, I didn’t start with a great sequence. Some of you probably turned on to this episode, thinking, Oh, I’m going to get some information on how to create great sequences.

536
01:06:43.430 –> 01:06:44.180
Nyk Danu Yoga: Nope.

537
01:06:45.230 –> 01:06:51.370
Nyk Danu Yoga: I did a whole episode on sequencing in Yin. 1st of all, and second of all, what is a great sequences? That’s up for debate.

538
01:06:52.570 –> 01:06:55.900
Nyk Danu Yoga: What I want you to do is yes, you’re going to have

539
01:06:56.080 –> 01:06:58.419
Nyk Danu Yoga: an exceptional sequence, whether you create that

540
01:06:58.830 –> 01:07:01.430
Nyk Danu Yoga: in advance or in the moment.

541
01:07:01.800 –> 01:07:08.810
Nyk Danu Yoga: as you get feedback from your students, that is up to you as a teacher to choose, based on your own skill, level, experience, and comfort level.

542
01:07:09.440 –> 01:07:12.920
Nyk Danu Yoga: But what I will say is that the sequence

543
01:07:13.620 –> 01:07:16.559
Nyk Danu Yoga: is not what creates an exceptional Yin class.

544
01:07:18.600 –> 01:07:22.349
Nyk Danu Yoga: One more time. The sequence is not

545
01:07:22.770 –> 01:07:25.240
Nyk Danu Yoga: what creates an exceptional Yin class.

546
01:07:26.110 –> 01:07:31.430
Nyk Danu Yoga: Everything else I mentioned, and the little sequence sprinkled on the side.

547
01:07:31.580 –> 01:07:33.529
Nyk Danu Yoga: little sprinkles on the top. Maybe.

548
01:07:34.580 –> 01:07:58.460
Nyk Danu Yoga: Alright, dear teachers, I hope that you found this helpful. If you are listening to this on spotify or on Youtube. Let me know in the comments below, what was your key, takeaway? What was the thing where you were like? Oh, that’s good. Hadn’t thought about that. Gonna add that now I want to know. Let me know in the comments. If you’re on Youtube, or if you’re on spotify, if you’re on apple. You can always send me a DM. On the Instagrams. Or

549
01:07:58.520 –> 01:08:13.080
Nyk Danu Yoga: if you’re on my website where the blog for this lives, there’s comment function there as well, so you can pop over there and let me know in the comments what were your key? Takeaways, give me some feedback. Let me know your thoughts on this also. What did I miss?

550
01:08:13.220 –> 01:08:20.039
Nyk Danu Yoga: What did I miss? What did I not talk about? That creates exceptional yin classes? Let me know in the comments.

551
01:08:20.979 –> 01:08:24.230
Nyk Danu Yoga: and until we meet again, bye, for now.