Yoga Teacher Talk is a series on YBC for current, new or prospective yoga teachers. We also have an entire section on our Yoga Forum for teacher talk and we'd love to chat you up there!
A lot of weird things have happened to me while teaching. Once, I went through the entire class only to come down to the seated sequence and notice that my pants were on inside out. Another time, I had paused my music so I could demo something very important (I am so one of those people who turns down the music in order to better focus on where I'm going when I'm driving, haha) and when I pressed play again, it somehow changed my ambient beat music to blasting Puff Daddy circa 2006. In the middle of Morocco, by the way.
But hands down, one of the most horrifying things to happen to me came in Germany. I was teaching a huge class - at least forty people - and it had gone about as well as it can go when you're an American teacher who speaks German like a four year old...which is to say, kind of funny in an adorable 'gosh, we really don't speak the same language but I just kind of love you' sort of way. Anyway, I had brought them into savasana, and I started going around the room like I said I would at the beginning of class, to give them an adjustment and aromatherapy "treatment" (I'm at a loss for words here - it's not really a treatment, I'd just put some essential oil on my hands and hover my hands over their faces maybe a foot or so above their faces as they'd breathe in).
So I get to the very last person, a girl who had come in a little late, and I quietly approach and put my hands over her face. AND SHE SCREAMS.
Like a blood-curdling, axe-murder seeing, glass-shattering scream.
Which only made me scream. And made everyone in the room jump out of their skin!
Because she'd come in late, I forgot that she wasn't there for the intro when I said that I was going to be coming around with essential oil on my hands.
We all had a good laugh but I was mortified! What a way to end a class, huh?! And lesson learned: I always remind the class immediately before savasana that I will be coming around for adjustments and aromatherapy.
I'd love to know: Any funny stories from your yoga class?!