109: Teaching Yoga One-on-One: Community Conversations with Dana Diament

If you haven’t had or taught a one-on-one yoga session, it might feel like a secret club that you’re locked out of. Today host Rachel demystifies the whole process with returning guest and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist Dana Diament.

In this episode, we talk about the therapeutic benefits of being seen and heard and the importance of helping people clarify their felt experience through both objective and subjective assessment tools.

Listen in to learn tips for teaching private yoga sessions, how to get and prepare for the first session with a new client, and how to manage the challenges that could arise.

“Their subjective experience is also so important. It’s not just about what you see in their body.” – Dana Diament

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“The underlying fear here is: what if I don’t have anything? What if I have no idea how to help? That’s the big fear that holds a lot of potential one-on-one teachers back.” – Rachel Land

Show Notes:

• Dana and Rachel’s first experience teaching yoga one-to-one [2:10]
• Take the stress out of teaching one-on-one: minimum number of sessions [7:41]
• Establish area of focus beforehand [10:12]
• The initial session with a new client: the power of listening [13:12]
• Using initial intake assessment tools [18:23]
• Ending the first session constructively [22:52]
• Developing a working hypothesis between initial and follow-up sessions [25:08]
• Choosing homework for your student [29:08]
• When your strategy needs to pivot [33:23]
• What happens when you hit a wall with a student [41:58]
• When you are no longer the right teacher for this student [45:00]
• How to find students for one-on-one yoga instruction [48:58]
• Final takeaways and resources [53:38]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Dana’s tips for a first session
• Rachel’s take on the “Do this one thing for pain” approach
• Yoga Medicine® Conducting a Comprehensive Evaluation in a Therapeutic Setting Online Course
• Yoga Medicine® Recognizing Red Flags in a Therapeutic Yoga Setting Online Course
• Connect with Dana Diament:

Facebook | Instagram | Yoga Medicine Online | Raia Collective

“It’s like a job interview or a date that one party is paying for, so there is definitely the potential for stress there.” – Rachel Land