Better Late Than Never?
I should be fairly skilled at handling distractions by now as much as I do yoga. But the concentration that comes so easily when I'm taking a yoga class is nowhere to be found when I'm teaching one. Blaring car horns, gusts of barbecue-scented wind from outside, and passersby peeking into the tiny window in the studio door have all thrown me off so much that I've left my poor students holding Downward-Facing Dog while I try to remember what pose I had planned to teach next.
The class I taught yesterday was a classic example of this. It seemed like every few minutes, a student would come in 5, 10, or 20 minutes late, plop a mat down, and assume whatever pose I was attempting to explain. I had to let said students know if we were on the second side, what props to get, etc. For the first time, I completely understood why some yoga teachers are so strict about not allowing students to come in late.
I have no idea how to handle this. I want to welcome everyone. However, if something as minor as a car horn throws me off so much, a bigger distraction like a noisy latecomer could really keep me from giving my students what they need. At the same time, I don't want to be rigid and unyielding because I don't believe that's what yoga is about.
So this is the question: Would it serve my students more to change my classroom rules and be more strict around class start time? Or do I change my mindset—and possibly the structure of my classes— so I'm not so thrown off by little distractions? I'm going to Los Angeles tomorrow to figure all of this out at a five-day intensive about how to approach teaching high school students.
Comments
Hi, there! I am grappling with the very same dilemma! I have several students who not only walk in late, but talk to other students when they walk in! I have shot them looks and even put my fingers to my mouth in the "shush!" symbol, but to no avail.
Recently, I sent out a survey about my classes and the one comment that kept coming up was just how disturbing late-comers are during meditation. The students begged/insisted that I have a more strict policy about this, so effective immediately, I do!
Posted by: Linda A | August 22, 2007 02:01 AM
I think the latecomer should lie down as quietly as possible until the next pose. Arriving on time is very important since the class is a sequence. There may be a whole series of prep work leading up to a pose that one shouldn't just jump into.
Posted by: djd | August 22, 2007 09:46 AM
Let the students know that you start and end classes on time. Have a sign on the door that tells latecomers to wait for the beginning centering/meditation/pranayama time so that you can really have no distractions during at least the first 5 - 7 minutes of class. Once students get accustomed to these parameters, and to the peaceful, uninterrupted first few minutes of class, chances are that they won't want to be late again.
Posted by: Janna Sage Peterson | August 23, 2007 01:24 AM
I teach at a local YWCA and several of my students have developped the habit of rolling in late. I am not so easily distracted by it, but I worry that the other students are.
At the end of my last class I gently reminded the entire class that I begin teaching at 10 AM sharp so that I do not run into the time alloted for the tae-kwon-do class at 11:30.
Posted by: Molly | September 17, 2007 05:08 PM