Being consistent as a yoga teacher, turning up again and again and again and again… it is hard.
If you are a new teacher, setting a time for a class and being there week on week can bring with it so much. From the obvious, ‘will anyone show up?’ to the surprises that come when they do, ‘why are they here?’ ‘I hate how I look on screen!’ ‘Why do they look so unhappy?’
Holding yourself through the weeks where no-one books, through the curious, unintentional voyuerusm of an unexpected one-on-one… keeping up with the admin…
… the horror of social media, the marketing (no matter how much we resist it we have to keep reminding people we exist)… it’s a lot.
And it brings so much more than what we list here.
This is where supervision steps in
Well before Carolyn Cowan taught the first cohort of Kundalini Global trainees, when it was but a plan, an imagining, an idea, the goal that all teachers would be offered supervision, and encouraged to take it up, was always to be a fundamental part of what makes this specific style of yoga unique.
Supervision for yoga teachers is important, valuable for both the supervisor and supervised and builds conscious awareness and integrity in teachers who commit to the process.
But what is it and what does it look like?
If you’re considering taking on the Kundalini Global teacher training you may be curious, as supervision is a non-negotiable aspect of the whole experience, with 4 hours of supervision on every 4-day training weekend.
Supervision, in this context, is a therapeutic word, used to describe a formal arrangement for a yoga teacher (or a therapist) to discuss their work regularly with someone who is experienced in both teaching yoga (or in therapy) and in supervision.
For the person receiving supervision it is an opportunity to discuss what is tripping them up… it could be anything from a tricky client to a specific aspect of teaching that they find triggering (perhaps the teacher notices that they always feel embarrassed and uncomfortable when demonstrating a Shoulder Stand)…
It could be that the teacher has noticed that they never attract anyone who doesn’t fit the same demographics as themselves, relative to age, gender identity, race and ethnicity, gender preference… and would like to explore why that is and what they can do about it. Perhaps they want to discuss where they are not open-minded, challenging unconscious bias, where classes have become exclusive rather than inclusive.
It may be that a teacher has a big project, workshop, idea, that they are working on that it is useful to have an experienced other support with…
It may be that a teacher has been taken aback by how very exhausting they are finding teaching or that they are hitting issues with their own body dysmorphia (of course, there are lines where therapy is also a good idea, but nonetheless supervision plays a role too).
We could continue for many thousands of words. Supervision is support. Support that is profoundly needed because something very many people refuse to acknowledge is this:
Teaching yoga is not easy
Teaching yoga can be incredibly strange. Peculiarly lonely. And what we hold as we move through our lives as yoga teachers is much more than others may imagine.
As Kundalini Global teachers we recognise that we really do need to be supported as much as we need to support ourselves.
This has nothing to do with the specific style we teach, not about our open-minded and inclusive approach, and not about us being ‘less than’ any other teachers.
In fact, we believe that it makes us better teachers.
We need supervision because when you teach yoga all kinds of ideas and projections are put on you. What people think you ‘should’ be like, how they think you should act, talk, be, teach… We need supervision because yoga teachers can be idolised, criticised, crushed-upon, rejected, copied…
We need supervision because we walk into rooms (or join them on Zoom!) where we endlessly meet people in need. All kinds of needs, and all kinds of acting on those needs. And checking in on our boundaries, our awareness of the gaze on us and what we do with it (and what our gaze back has become)… it is an essential part of being in service.
Self-reflective not self-obsessed
Sometimes we may do supervision in group (as is experienced on the Level One training) and sometimes teachers may choose to commit to supervision with an experienced teacher and supervisor one-on-one too.
Nothing we write could quite do justice to the essence of the interpersonal supervisory relationship, which is a wonderful, enriching and comforting thing that allows for teachers to hold themselves out in the universe of yoga ”In These Times” with the commitment, grit, boundaries, and self-care necessary to be an excellent teacher.
As Kundalini Global teachers we have to learn to be supervised. It is a process of becoming self reflective rather than self obsessed (as many trainees can attest this is sometimes more tricky than it sounds). The on-going learning process that is at the heart of supervision that unfolds, in relation to the ever-changing-landscape of teaching yoga and on an individual teacher’s journey… it is something that we are very proud to offer, grateful to receive and committed to working with as a career-long undertaking.
We believe all yoga teachers should be supervised and we hope that, as a profession, more make the same commitment we have to the work.
Becoming a Kundalini Global teacher is a brave, bold and extremely wonderful thing. If you would like to find out more make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to hear about the next round of the training that begins in May 2022.
