7 Types of Yoga Teachers

Perhaps this is not even something you have thought about yet if you are just starting out, however we have noticed a recurrent thread of different styles, approaches and trends that are as different and quirky as the next.

Despite the cultural and social backgrounds of yoga teachers around the world, sharing the common denominator of spirituality, healing, personal and physical development through asanas (yoga poses). There are similarities between us all, however many yoga teachers also share the same bias natures in their teaching styles and identities.

Overview
Here we will cover the 7 types of yoga teachers that are trending and how you can stand out from the crowd, to be within the best teachers of the bunch….if we don’t say so ourselves.

1. BOOTCAMP yoga teacher

Do you fall into the bootcamp teacher category? Perhaps you are structured, militant, enjoy routine and putting your students through their paces. There are many yoga teachers that are authoritative like who always throw the more challenging poses into the mix and really enjoy pushing their students to their limits. If you have a fitness background this might be an area of teaching you will naturally fall into, as you blend your experience of strength training into yoga to increase endurance, stability, power and focus into your classes. This isn’t such a bad thing, we have all been to a class where we enjoy that extra push however if you do fall into this category be mindful of meeting your students where they are at any given time.

2. SPIRITUAL WOOWOO yoga teacher

The spiritual woo-woo teacher, we have all heard of the phrase ‘woo-woo’ in the 21st century. But what does it mean? The woo-woo teacher normally comes in the form dressed in white, embodies a higher spiritualistic sense of self, has a strong emphasis on using mantras within their classes and will glare into your soul through staring deep into their students eyes. To state, there is nothing wrong with being woowoo – it’s just a style that many teachers can fall into if they have a strong philosophical practise and who love sharing this with others. The spiritual teacher will draw from many ancient yogic texts such as the yoga sutras or the bhagavad gita and integrate these into their classes. They will typically set many intentions at the beginning of their class around these. However, you might find they bribe you to their new cocoa ceremony on the weekend….

3. STICK TO MY MAT yoga teacher

Are you playing the floor is lava game when teaching and not step outside your mat? Are you the type of teacher who will conduct your whole class whilst practising along and instructing your students whilst doing so? That’s okay – but repeating this class after class may lead to a yoga teacher burn out with little room left for your own practise. Something that is so essential to your teaching and adaptability to your students within the room.

That’s okay! But we feel in 2023 that its’s time to step into the shala, studio or classroom and into your own power. Walk around the space, make use of physical adjustments (that’s what they are there for!), engage with your students energy levels and start to build a rapport with who is in the room to ensure they return to your next class. You never know, you might even be able to dare we say it, have a little fun teaching 😉

4. TRADITIONAL Ashtanga yoga teacher

COUNT, POSE, BREATH, DRISHTI – does that pretty much sum it up?

Strictly speaking, when teaching traditional ashtanga that is all you need. However you might want to inject a little more personality into your teaching style. We all know Ashtanga isn’t the easiest of styles of yoga to grasp as a student, therefore not sticking to the script will help you explain the tougher asanas and make the practise more personal and achievable for a wide range of students that you have in front of you. Our top tip is to make the practise fun, engaging and build your beautiful personality into the beauty that is Ashtanga.

5. INSTAGRAM yoga teacher

Okay….so we are all guilty of a little instagram video, picture of an inversion or post of a flow that we particularly like – however it’s not something to be focusing on whilst teaching. You want your students to feel that they have your presence and attention whilst you’re teaching them. However, if you are on your phone taking a selfie during the class and your thoughts are elsewhere your students won’t feel connected to you and it very may well distract them from their own practise. Save the pictures and videos for after the class, social media and instagram is one of the best free selling tools out there so utilise it, but try and use it as a business tool for your teaching rather than using it to demonstrate your most recent variation of pincha mayurasana.

6. DJ yoga teacher

Have you been to the yoga class where your teacher is more focused on the beats? There is nothing quite like the perfectly curated playlist and designing a sequence that flows alongside it. However, try to use the music to create and add to the atmosphere of the class and environment you are trying to achieve. Your use of music also might vary depending on the tempo and nature of the group you are teaching, so be mindful to switch things up! Additionally, be wary of the use of lyrics in a class and try to steer away from songs that might hold strong resonance with your students. Yoga is the practise to invite ones self inwards, by using music you don’t want to have the opposite affect and end up distracting your students away from their practise and the space you are holding for them.

7. ALL YOGA teacher (best of them all)

We might be biased but our graduates and students do go on to become the best of the bunch. All Yoga Teachers are successful as they have a strong sense of self practise, they are able to guide their students in an authentic nature, whilst safely adjusting throughout the class, understanding how to work the room all whilst having fun and making their classes unique and challenging at the same time!

The All Yoga Teacher is confident, playful and creative in their teaching as they have the freedom to sequence in a style that is authentic to them all whilst drawing on a strong foundation of the modified primary series, derived from the full primary series of Ashtanha Vinyasa Yoga.

Our teachers understand how to guide their students through meditation and asana as they have an all rounded understanding of yoga philosophy, an indepth knowledge of asana, sequencing, pranayama techniques, subtle engeries, chakras, alignment, and the origins of yoga.

If this resonates with you and you want to become this type of yoga teacher? Join us!

• So what teacher do you think you will be?
• Do any of the above sound like they would resonate?
• Maybe you are yet to explore what type of teacher you are and that’s totally fine!