Remember your first yoga class? You probably felt awkward trying to touch your toes. Maybe you fell over during tree pose. Or wondered why everyone else seemed so calm while you were sweating through warrior three.
That nervous beginner is still part of you, even if you’re now teaching others. And honestly? That’s exactly why you became a good teacher.
We All Started Somewhere
Every yoga teacher has those embarrassing beginner moments. The time you forgot which foot goes where in the triangle pose. When you couldn’t figure out the difference between downward dog and upward dog. Or that day you realized you’d been breathing wrong for months.
These struggles aren’t something to hide from your students. They’re your biggest teaching tools.
In Indonesia, we often feel pressure to appear perfect, especially as teachers. But yoga teaches us something different. It shows us that being real connects us more than being flawless.
Your Journey Becomes Their Guide
When you share your learning process, students feel less alone. They see that everyone struggles with the crow pose at first. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by Sanskrit names. That’s right, even teachers still fall out of poses sometimes.
Your mistakes become their permission to be human.
Let’s be honest – students don’t need another perfect demonstration. They need someone who remembers what it feels like to be confused, scared, or frustrated on the mat.
Why Yoga Day Brings This All Back
International Yoga Day reminds everybody why they fell in love with yoga in the first place. Not because we were naturally flexible or instantly zen. But yoga met us where we were and helped us grow.
Maybe yoga helped you through a tough time. It may have given you confidence when you felt lost. Or it simply became your quiet space in a busy Indonesian city.
Whatever brought you to yoga, that’s probably what drives you to teach now.
The Real Reason We Teach
What most people don’t understand about yoga teaching is that the teachers don’t teach because they are experts in something. But, they teach because they are so much in love with yoga that they still want to learn it.
Every class you teach, you discover something new. About the poses, about your students, about yourself. Your beginner’s mind never really leaves – it just gets more comfortable with not knowing everything.
This is especially true in Indonesia, where yoga is still growing. Your students might be complete beginners. They might have never heard of chakras or pranayama. So, they want someone to guide them gently, not show off advanced poses.
What Your Students Really Need
Your students don’t care if you can do a perfect handstand. They want to know:
- Will you judge them if they can’t touch their toes?
- Is it okay to modify poses?
- Can they ask questions without feeling stupid?
- Will you remember that they’re new to this?
They need a teacher who sees them as people, not just bodies in poses.
Staying Connected to Your Beginner Self
Sometimes teaching can make you forget how hard yoga felt at first. You get comfortable with the poses and forget why students struggle.
Try this: Take a class in a style you’ve never done before. Or attempt a pose that still challenges you. Feel that uncertainty again. Remember what it’s like not to know what comes next.
That feeling? That’s what your students experience every day.
The Gift of Imperfection
Your journey from student to teacher should not be about becoming perfect. Instead, it should be on learning to guide others through the same struggles you’ve come across.
When you share your struggles, you allow students to have their own. You tell them that failures would come and it’s okay to fail, but they should know how to get back up and take the learnings from failures. When you tell your students that you’re still learning, they feel related to it.
Moving Forward
This Yoga Day, remember why you started teaching. Not because you had all the answers, but because you remembered the questions.
Your students need that person who remembers being confused. Who can explain things simply because they once struggled to understand? Who creates a safe space because they know what it feels like to feel unsafe.
Your beginner’s heart is your greatest teaching tool. Don’t lose it. Share it.
That’s what real yoga teaching is about – staying humble, staying curious, and staying connected to everyone who walks into your class feeling exactly like you once did.