The Art & Science of Teaching Yoga (pdf)

Further Information

In this insightful keynote delivered at the 2013 Australian Yoga Therapy Conference Donna shares the pedagogic model she has developed over three decades of instruction. Considered “the teacher of teachers” Donna discusses the art and science of being an effective Yoga teacher and how this involves having a clear strategy and ethos that informs, supports and guides what we say and do with our students.

Her address, Falling Short of Knowing and the Ethics of Uncertainty: A Pedagogic Model for Teaching Yoga is accompanied by a PowerPoint pdf (download the pdf so you can follow the keynote step-by-step and save it as a resource for study). Donna encourages a model that relies in equal measure on rigorous science and research and the ongoing cultivation of a being in a state of “intelligent unknowing.” Concerned with the increasing incidence and severity of Yoga injuries worldwide, she emphasizes that even the safest of Yoga techniques can be made dangerous if it is filtered through an unsound teaching model where the teacher, not the student gauges and determines threshold. This keynote outlines how to support the student’s independence and ability to make their own skillful choices.

In this keynote, Donna will share:

• How to create a safe and fear-free environment that supports both the teacher and the student
• How to gauge optimal educational thresholds
• How to engage the student’s active involvement in learning
• What happens when safe techniques are filtered through unsound teaching models
• Cultivating the student’s inner reference system as a movement towards independence
• Developing a horizontal communication model
• Embodying acceptance and compassion as the base state for all interactions

Please note: the file size is 29.1Mb.

Are you a teacher?

You may also be interested in purchasing this book, Teaching Yoga, by Donna Farhi which fits really well with this keynote.