Teaching Tips: Dylan Werner Shares 3 Ways to Assist Students
For yoga teachers, assisting doesn’t only come in the form of physical touch. There are a variety of ways to help students find safe alignment, modifications, relaxation, or deepening in poses during class. And with different types of learners ranging from visual to auditory to kinesthetic, teachers can learn how to incorporate assists that benefit each student, no matter their learning style. Learn about the three ways to assist students from master teacher trainer Dylan Werner.
1. Vocal Cues
According to Werner, vocal cueing “is the most effective and greatest way to assist” because you can assist several students at the same time. Vocal cueing allows students to use different senses to find alignment in their own body. If a teacher’s cues aren’t taking them where they need to go or they are confused by the cues, you can use other ways to help them find alignment, such as…
2. Visual Cues
If vocal cueing isn’t enough or the teacher’s particular language doesn’t speak to them, the teacher can physically show students the pose. A picture is worth a thousand words — show a student everything you’re trying to convey through a physical demonstration. If you see that a student looks uncomfortable, needs to modify, or is in an unsafe position, you can assist through...
3. Touch
There are two types of hands-on assists: active and passive. In an active assist, you use touch to move their body where it needs to go. With a passive assist, you ask them to move into that position. No matter what type of hands-on assist you use, it helps to remember the golden rule of assisting: touch a student how you want to be touched. When you understand what kind of assists you like, you’ll understand the kind of assists you want to give. It also helps to get feedback from others and from the student themself: “How does this feel?”
Whether you’re doing a visual assist, audio assist, or tactile assist, you’re using your voice for all of them. Show students the pose and tell them how to move into it. Tell them where they’re going, what they’re doing, and where you’re asking them to go. This creates a clear line of communication to keep everyone safe, especially in tricky poses. This way, they have they have the opportunity to go deeper in a safe way.
Bottom line — “Assists should always be thoughtful,” says Werner. “When you have a thought behind your assist, it’s going to reflect in the way you touch your student. When you feel an assist with purpose, it will be clarifying and take students exactly where they want to go.”