If you’re a yoga teacher, you’ve probably noticed that some people in your class are really distracted. If you’ve been teaching for a long time, like me, you’ve probably noticed it’s gotten MUCH worse in the past few years. When in the past, not a person in my class would dare to bring in their cell phone; now it’s commonplace. The only solace I take is that most students don’t actually use their phones but several times, I have had to ask students to stop texting during class. But even in the case of students who don’t text during class, the fact that the phone is on or next to the mat is a distraction in and of itself.
But it’s not just the presence of the cell phone that’s a distraction. Students look around, stop mid-practice and fiddle with their hair or clothes, leave class and return, pick at their toes (always an interesting distraction) and a myriad of other things to avoid… well, what? To avoid being in the pose. There are a host of reasons for this. Some people have a clinical condition that make it hard for them to focus. Sometimes, you need to run out to the restroom or get a drink of water (I get that). Other times you have that wayward clump of hair that keeps falling out of your barrette or you might want to just re-adjust your yoga top to be more comfortable. We’re not talking about a one time movement that you take mindfully, while staying in the spirit of the practice; we’re talking about ongoing distractible behavior that gets in the way of your practice. (and just to note, we’re not talking about resting in Child’s Pose.. that’s staying in the flow and taking good care of yourself).
The challenge for teachers is that we can’t talk to the student directly so we don’t know what’s going on in their mind. So, we are assuming from their behavior that they’d prefer to do what they’re doing rather than stay in the posture. And, of course, as teachers, we’re not there to judge anyone but rather to encourage them to stay focused on their breath and continue with the sequence. So, what can you do to help them?
I like to use anatomically based cues in general in my teaching and find that they are perfect to help students stay focused. Why? Because they are easy to understand if presented clearly and with good word choice AND they give students another point of focus– basically, it gives them something else to do besides follow their wandering mind. Here are a few ideas that involve using anatomically based cues to cut through distraction:
- Keep your cues short. The longer the cue, the greater the chances you’ll lose their attention.
- Keep your cues focused on action. The more you talk about feelings, the harder it will be for students to interpret what you want them to do and the more their mind might wander beyond the feeling you want them to focus on.
- Ask them to do specific things, wait and if it does not happen consistently throughout class, find another way to say it, using different cues. If that doesn’t work, move on to the next thing.
- Refrain from holding them in poses beyond 5 breaths.
- Gently bring up the idea of distractibility; so for instance, you might say something like, “If you’re having a hard time staying in the pose, try counting to five.”
- Keep the sequence moving. This relates to the earlier suggestion to hold poses for no more than 5 breaths. Along with that, be prepared to keep the sequence steady and flowing. It doesn’t mean you’re going to speed it up, but it does mean that you’re moving them through the sequence at a steady pace.
- Use questions as part of your cues to keep them on track. So, something like, “Can you direct your right sitting bone towards your back heel?” is an example of this. It not only uses a question format but also integrates an anatomically based cue to help keep them on track.
- Introduce anatomical actions, muscle names and transferability to life off the mat as a way to spark their curiosity and keep them focused. An example of this would be to place them in a behind the back/fingers interlaced bind position and then have them forward fold. While in the fold, use the question format and ask them, “Can you feel the muscles in between your shoulder blades contract? Those are your rhomboids. Can you feel the resulting stretch across your pectoral muscles in the front? This is a helpful way to negate the effects of hunching over your phone or computer.” Now, while this is more of a conversational cue versus a short one, it’s almost like a short story and can help to keep them focused.
- Introduce challenges as a way to see if they’re willing to stay focused. Again, this is not a contest and yoga should be done at the pace with which the student is comfortable. However, in the context of what we’re discussing here, it can sometimes be helpful to offer a challenge. It could be something like, “Now that you’re in Twisting Triangle, see if you can hold a steady gaze for 5 counts.”
As you know, our lives these days are full of overstimulation. A huge part of the benefit of our practice comes from the time we take AWAY from these distractions. If we keep using our phones, succumb to every whim of the mind while we’re on the mat, waste our energy looking around and break the flow of the practice to do all sort of other things, we’re shortchanging ourselves as to one of the biggest benefits we can get. Many times we can kid ourselves to thinking that because we did the actual practice (meaning, the physical movements) we’re getting the maximum benefit. But the reality is without the cooperation of the mind to relax into the present, we are missing an essential part. Think of the person who goes to yoga for stress relief but practices in a distracted way the entire class, leaves before Shavasana and runs out while talking on the phone. While there is some benefit to that, there’s certainly a huge piece missing.
If you want to learn more about how to provide effective yoga cues, watch my recent webinar by clicking here.Â
I would love to hear from you about this topic so please feel free to comment below.Â