The Power Of Language In Practice

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THE POWER OF LANGUAGE IN PRACTICE

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴!

Either you have heard teachers saying this or thought that practicing will get you to whatever you are trying to achieve.

𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵? 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭???

Students ask these all the time.

And I always answer: “𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲, 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁.” 😬

These days I have been reflecting on the language we use as teachers.

Why?

Simply because language matters since it is the channel we use to communicate with our students.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀.

“One day your elbows will touch your feet.” -Paschimottansana (Standing forward fold)

“One day your legs in your dancer’s pose will look like a split.” -A script in the classic Bikram sequence

I have said these things in my class.

And the more I evaluate these languages, the more I have realized their impact.

That’s why I have been consciously practicing to REMOVE them when I teach.

While we may want to do yoga to improve flexibility, mobility, strength, and/or whatever that is…

…𝘺𝘰𝘨𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 “𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦” 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦.

. . .

I used to think the more and longer we practice, the more we can “achieve”.

What I eventually learned is:

👉The longer I practice, the more I find things that I cannot do. 👉The deeper I get into the study of yoga, the more I realize that there’s so much I don’t know.

So: ✨ Instead of setting a goal to do splits, set your practice aim on improving hamstring flexibility.

✨ Instead of thinking about whether you can reach your heels in Wheel, think of improving spine mobility.

And as teachers, we must be very clear about our message when we teach.

Language matters.