176: Yoga Is Sold As Healing and Taught As Performance: What we need to move away from this paradigm

Have you ever been in a yoga class where the yoga teacher gives a long dharma talk about ahimsa, and then when the movement practice begins the teaching style feels very aggressive? Or maybe you have been that teacher yourself. I know I have! I think there are really subtle and beautiful ways to teach the movement part of yoga in a way that has the deeper philosophical teachings embedded within it, but most of us were not taught to do that, and it is more challenging to do than you might think!  Also, many of us claim that yoga movement can be healing, but a performative style of teaching doesn't allow for that. In this episode, I explore an idea that has become central to my work as a yoga teacher and educator: the disconnect between how yoga is often marketed as a healing practice and how it is frequently taught as a performative one. I dive into the ways traditional teaching frameworks—especially the language of "regressions," "progressions," "safe," "unsafe," "full expression," "modifcation"—can unintentionally reinforce hierarchy, competition, and performance-based thinking. If our goal is to help students feel better in their bodies, develop agency, and cultivate discernment, I believe we need a different approach. Throughout the episode, I share practical tools for teaching movement in a way that aligns more closely with healing-centered values. We explore how to move beyond visual ideals, teach from intended benefit rather than aesthetic outcomes, and help students make informed choices based on their unique experiences rather than universal standards. I also discuss the role of teacher authority, student agency, movement literacy, and why teaching in a more nuanced, non-hierarchical way is both more challenging and ultimately more effective. In this episode, you'll hear: Why yoga cannot simultaneously be a healing practice and a performance-based achievement system The hidden hierarchy embedded in common yoga teaching language Why regressions and progressions are not universal How movement experiences vary from body to body The difference between teaching shapes and teaching movement experiences Student agency, teacher authority, and finding the middle path between control and abdication Why "harder" and "easier" are often misleading descriptors Alternative frameworks for cueing movement, including active vs. passive, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical, and stability vs. mobility How to identify the intended benefit of a pose or movement The importance of sensation-based and function-based cueing Common compensation patterns and how to work with them Why nonlinear movement teaching requires more observation, education, and nuance Helping students develop movement literacy and discernment Practical examples from tabletop, lunges, Warrior III, Extended Side Angle, and more Resources Mentioned:  Episode 165: The Intended Benefit + Removing Linear Hierarchy The Sangha  This episode is sponsored by OfferingTree!   Sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor to get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan).  With OfferingTree, yoga teachers put their schedule on a personally branded website where students can book classes and even pay or donate online.  All of this can be set up in 10 minutes or less.