The best tips in the trade.

Introducing… Lesley Leake.

My name is Lesley Leake and I am a yoga teacher in Charleston, SC, USA. I have been teaching for going-on 5 years and I currently teach power yoga, vinyasa, yin, and my favorite: vin to yin.

I am a nature-lover and incorporate concepts and imagery from nature - like the ocean, rivers, trees, wind, and rain - into my classes. For me, teaching yoga is a creative outlet, and I love creating new sequences, playlists, and themes for my classes.

I also run an educational resource for yoga teachers called The Yoga Cuebook. I've created The Vinyasa Yoga Cue Book, which is a workbook for teachers who want to improve their cueing, and I send a monthly newsletter with loads of free resources.

As much as I love teaching yoga, it hasn't always been sunshine and roses. I have had some blunders and uncomfortable moments.

Here are my tips to my fellow teachers, based on my own experience:

Lesley shares…

My favourite self care practice

My favorite form of self care is sitting alone in the sunshine. Even on a chilly day you will catch me outside with my face to the sun (when it is out).

I used to hate running but recently I have been taking short, slow jogs to clear my head and connect to my body. I don't try to run faster, or farther, I just run.

A tip for feeling confident in your teaching

My yoga teacher trainers told me this in my YTT and it has stayed with me since:

You won't be the right fit for every student, or every studio. You will get bad reviews, you won't connect with some students, and you will have off days.

Embracing this will be part of your teaching journey.

A teaching tip for when things don’t go to plan

When you mess up a sequence, transition, or word, call yourself out, have a laugh, and move on. Your students will be happy to know you are not perfect and that it is okay (in fact, encouraged!) to mess up in yoga.

A tip for teachers just starting out

When you first start teaching, work on refining your voice to be succinct, straightforward, confident, and clear; remove filler words or flowery language. Then, work on letting your personality shine through in your classes.

Advice on engaging with your students

Underneath it all, students just want to be seen, to be acknowledged, and to connect. So learn students' names, give them praise or individual attention when appropriate, and get to know them.

Where to find Lesley…

You can find Lesley’s teaching schedule by getting in touch with her here.

Lesley is also SUPER excited to be leading a yoga retreat in Costa Rica this September.

The Yoga Cuebook is one of THE most useful, practical resources I have stumbled across. I would highly recommend downloading all the generous free resources and signing up to the e-newsletter, if nothing else.