February 24, 2012

So last night I had our visiting yoga instructor, Cat McCarthy, come to my class to assess and give me some feedback.  Guess how it went?  One word: DISASTROUSLY. 

I know what you are thinking.  It probably wasn't as bad as you think.  Maybe.  But it also wasn't as good as it could have been.  Essentially I invited someone to come to my class and then assess me, but to assess me on a teaching style that I never teach!  I didn't follow my lesson plan, I flubbed my theme, everything I said sounded hollow and weak, and I was watching the clock like a hawk, just dying to get to savasana.

All the while I am watching her stop, scribble something down, then start practicing again.  What did I just say?  What is wrong with that?  I always say that?  Maybe it wasn't that, maybe it was what I said before that.  Wait, what was I going to say next?  How long have I kept them in this pose?  When was the last time I walked to the back of the room?  OHMYGOD make it stop.

Full-on stage fright.  So now I get to get feedback on my worst class ever.  How lame is that?

The good news is that I get to be a student all weekend, doing what I do best: show up and do what they say.  Then ski in between.  At the least I am hoping to get some nuggets of insight that will propel me into the next level of teaching, but I am not so sure that is possible if her perception of my current level of teaching is sub-par.

I will let you know how it turns out.