Teaching: What are some tips for maintaining steady breath and voice control when teaching and demonstrating in class?

The first recommendation would be to arrive at class early so you can sit and ground your energy before your students arrive. This can help with nerves or anticipation which might interfere with breath and voice control when teaching. Take some time to sit in meditation and maybe take some clearing breaths and see if this helps.

Another great tip is to remember that you do not have to physically demonstrate every element of the class. This is particularly important to remember when teaching the asana portion of the class. It can be very challenging to demonstrate the pose, while also projecting your voice and offering all the important teaching cues. Consider offering verbal cues for asana that may be challenging for you to demonstrate while talking. This will also give you the opportunity to watch the students which may in turn stimulate you to offer more cues, modifications or variations based on what you are seeing in the class.

Chanting and mantra are great ways to strengthen the vocal cords and improve the quality of the breath while talking. This might be something you start to incorporate into your classes. You might consider opening with chanting or mantra to set the tone, bhav or mood for the class, while also giving you, as the teacher, the opportunity to warm up the voice and prepare to teach the class with a sense of confidence and clarity in your voice and with good projection and steady breath.

Experience in the seat of the teacher will also be a great way to improve your ability to demonstrate asana while talking and maintaining a steady breath. Like with anything, the more we practice, the more we can refine the skill. That being said, there will always be moments when we as the teacher are short of breath and have to take a moment to reset during the class. This can be a moment to really connect with our students, as they may also be feeling the same need to take a moment to rest, reset and catch their breath. Embrace these moments of pause and encourage yourself and your students to take deep audible exhale breaths, as and when needed throughout the class.