Mastering the assist and helping your students to build inner confidence .

In what can sometimes be a sexualised society a simple touch inviting some relaxation, or better alignment within a yoga class, can leave one student feeling completely different emotions than the next. There is also a growing awareness that some over enthusiastic, and sometimes the inexperienced teachers within our community could actually be a risk to students when assisting. Likewise getting close to a student to adjust/assist can sometimes be just as dangerous for the teacher. This has led to some studios now having a ‘hands off’ approach to teaching, which is a huge shame, because if done correctly, hand on adjustments and assists not only build connections with students, but can actually help with building confidence within your students practice too. It all comes down to learning how to do them in a safe, effective and inclusive way.

"Touch is one of the most powerful forms of connection".

You should always communicate with your student before touching them. You can do this in different ways, but probably the easiest is by just asking “can I assist you?”. This gives your student the chance to say yes or no and establishes communication and respect between teacher and student. Many students who suffer from ailments come to yoga to help them, however there may be some postures that their bodies just physically cannot do regardless of any additional help.

If we have permission from the student, then we should always move in and out slowly. Approaching gently so that they know your presence is there. Most adjustments/assists are done with hands, more specially the palms of the hands rather than pressing with fingertips, however some may require more than this. Any physical touch to your students must always be done carefully, respectfully and always with that important students permission. Once you move in and you touch them, if you can start to link any movement your assist evokes it to the breath this allows the student to still be guided by it.

“Conscious breathing in the asana practice is what gives yoga its transformative potential and opens up the windows of perception to clearer awareness and a more balanced, awakened life” – says Mark Stephens. 

Energy can be transmitted through touch, so if you feel like you’re having a bad day, and you go in to offer an assist, the student might feel that negative vibration and your assist may not be as effective as it could have been. We all have bad days, but when you approach a student with love and with a good intention, your assists will be that much better. 

Making an adjustment/assist 

Before you assist a student, before even seeking permission, it is strongly advised that you take some training in how to assist- spend time learning how to assist safely. A badly performed assist could be detrimental to both the student and teacher. Trying to push students into a posture until it becomes more ascetically pleasing is not the purpose of an adjustment, and could leave a student feeling really frustrated, and ultimately could end their decision to practice with you, or worse, stop them practicing at all!

 
Once that training is in a place, and you have sought permission from your student to make that physical connection, it’s important to establish a stable physical foundation for yourself. Trying to assist a student if you aren’t stable could be very dangerous. Once you have created a strong foundation for yourself, then you’re able to provide a quality asset for your student. If they fall or lean into you, there’s no danger of you going with them. 

Moving away from the student is just as important as moving in. When you move away, you want to make sure that what you help them to create is strong and stable. If the student is having difficulty then stay with them whilst they’re in the pose and assist them out of it.

Beginner students

For beginners especially, moving their bodies into some of the postures we have in yoga can be something they’ve never experienced before, and because of this they don’t necessarily understand their body in terms of activating certain areas from a verbal cue alone.

For example in a Plank position, we ask students to press into the earth to separate the shoulders blades creating space. For beginner students they may not be able to turn that information into a physical movement and ‘self adjust’ - so to help with this, placing the hand between the shoulder blades of your student and asking them to press up into your hand can be just a gently guide in the right direction. 

Simple adjusts in Shavasana for example - just a gentle press on the tops of the shoulders to help open the chest and relax the shoulders down, or a temple massage, can really allow students to feel that posture in a totally different way - it builds trust between teacher and student.

Intermediate and advanced students 

Adjustments aren’t just reserved for our beginner students. Quite often your intermediate and advanced students will require support as well. This support can often be more of an assist than an adjustment.

Moving in to some advanced asanas are almost like being a beginner all over again. Although the student might understand the posture and understand their bodies, it’s just a little bit of direction they need to find that foot or hand, to move into a more advanced version of a posture.

Helping students to find that pose they’ve been working towards and alleviating fear is equally as rewarding to you as a teacher as it is to your student, and is quite often the reason so many of us decide to teach - to share yoga!
 

So what are the Top 3 things to remember when adjusting or assisting once you have the yoga training?

• Seek permission - always seek permission from your student before making any hands on adjustments or to assist. 
   
• Be helpful - ensure what you’re doing is helping the student and not just making a posture look more aesthetically pleasing. Adjusts or assisting a student should be done with great consideration and respect to the body in front of you.
   
• Language - you are not "correcting" a posture as this could leave the student feeling that they’re not doing well - you’re "assisting" or “adjusting".

Our purpose as yoga teachers is to provide inspired support and informed guidance and we can do this in so many ways. When moving in, move slowly and always ask for permission first. Be sure that you are assisting from a stable base and that you are creating stability for your students too ..and only assist if you’ve received training on how to so do safely. When we incorporate all of these things, you have the potential to create beautiful connections that can make a huge difference.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to be able to confidently bring adjustments or assisting into your teaching, you may consider our Assisting CPD course which launches on the 1st of September or our 300hr teacher training course, where we have a full module on this. To find out more you can view the full syllabus via Yoga Course or simply email info@yogacourse.com with any questions.