Why I Rarely Offer Tactile Adjustments (hands-on adjustments) as a Yoga Instructor
Don’t get me wrong, I love a hands-on adjustment during yin or a gentle massage during Savanna that makes you melt into the ground like jelly.
But sometimes during a Vinyasa class, it can be so freeing to close your eyes, get lost in your movement and allow your breath to guide your flow.
Empower your students to let go of what’s ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ and simply move in a way that feels good.
1. Building Neural Pathways:
As a teacher, you can watch the room and offer verbal cues according to what you’re seeing.
You can offer verbal or visual adjustments to help students improve their alignment, switch on the right muscle groups or use the assistance of props to strengthen their shape.
When students can hear and interpret a cue and adjust their bodies accordingly, they actively form neural pathways.
This process deepens body awareness, enabling you to better feel the subtleties within and switch on the correct muscle groups.
Creating these neutral connections helps to form mind and muscle memory enabling students to come back into the same shapes and movements in the future.
2. Maintaining Inner Focus:
Touch, while a beautiful form of connection, can sometimes disrupt your inner journey.
Touching a student may inadvertently pull them away from their inward focus.
This could cause them to overthink their movement or even lead to self-judgment.
The ego might surface, driven by the desire to perform postures ‘correctly’ in the teacher’s eyes.
Giving clear cues that inspire people to move their bodies with confidence, creates a space where focus remains anchored deeply within.
3. Clear and Precise Cues:
Sometimes less is more.
When your cues are clear and precise and offer variations, students should be able to navigate their way into a position with ease.
In our practice, our words hold immense power and we can empower our students to understand and adjust their bodies independently.
4. Personal Practice:
Yoga is a personal practice, a unique expression of oneself. As long as safety is prioritised, it’s great to encourage students to move in a way that feels good to their bodies.
When you physically adjust a student, they may think they were doing something incorrectly.
Allow your students to release the notions of ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ and let their breath and intuition guide their movement.
5. Breath and Intuition as a Guiding Force:
The breath is the compass of our practice. By letting it guide our movement, we dive into a space where judgment fades, and intuition leads the way.
Inviting students to be guided by their breath anchors them into their bodies. They can form an inner harmony between their breath and mind-body and can flow in a way that feels inherently right to them.
Verbal, Visual, Imagery & Tactile Cues
I always want my students to walk out of my classes with a peaceful mind and and relaxed through their body.
I want to ensure that they get the most out of their practice by getting as deep into their shapes as they can; opening up their joints, softening and lengthening their muscles and fascia and releasing any aches and pains.
Verbal & Visual…
As I walk around the room giving cues on what I can see arising, I will first offer a verbal cue and perhaps visual if students are already looking in my direction.
Imagery…
If I can still see some people could adjust themselves to avoid injury or get more out of their shape then I may offer imagery to help students better understand how to adjust their own body.
Everyone learns and interprets information differently, so repeating the same cue in a different way can help students grasp a deep understanding of where their body is in space.
Tactile…
If I have offered a verbal, visual and imagery cues and I can still see some students in a position that could cause injury, this is when I may offer a hands-on adjustment.
I will go over and ask permission to help them adjust their shape and explain why.
Explaining to the student how I am moving them and what it will achieve, will help them to form those neural pathways between mind and body so that they can bring themselves into that same alignment in the future.
Ensuring a transformative and safe yoga experience is at the heart of my teaching.
My intention is for students to leave their mat feeling empowered, rooted within their body, with their mind-body feeling open and relaxed.
As a yoga or wellness instructor, you hold a wonderful position where you can empower and guide others on their unique journey to transform their inner landscape.
Just remember that everyone’s journey is entirely unique and appearances will naturally differ, that’s okay.
It is our responsibility to create a space where each person feels safe and connected as they navigate their individual practice and journey.
