Published on July 1, 2026 at 09:28 AM
Yoga teachers are the perfect embodiment of grace and light. Except, of course, when we’re not. Although we aim to help students feel calm and safe, we may end up doing just the opposite. Sometimes, things work out very Row error. Very wrong.
When awkward interactions occur in class, remember that you are not alone. “Every teacher has likely done something equally shameful,” he says. Kat Hegberg Rebara Los Angeles-based yoga teacher and author Yoga inversions. “It doesn’t make you a bad teacher, it makes you human.”
So, if you like to hide behind the cushions in your prop closet, knowing that other yoga instructors also make mistakes from time to time can be liberating. After all, perhaps the biggest mistake we make is expecting perfection from ourselves.
4 Ways Your Yoga Teaching Can Go Very Wrong
As much as we want our yoga classes to be supportive spaces, we can inadvertently create some awkward moments for our students and ourselves. But once we dust ourselves off, it’s possible to learn a thing or two from our mistakes.
1. When our aid doesn’t help
When students agree to practical help, teachers may offer it as a way to help provide further support in the situation. But our modifications don’t always work. Rebar was providing practical assistance to a student in Triangle position When she got a reaction she wasn’t expecting.
“As soon as I touched her wrist, she collapsed into a heap on the floor. I felt bad,” Rebar says. Fortunately, the student was not injured. “She told me she was fine with the practical adjustments,” Rebar says. “You forgot to mention that she was very sensitive, especially on her wrists.” That moment made Rebar understand the possibility that practical aid could have unintended consequences, beyond the well-known issue of consent. Since then, she has been very clear about the type of modification she offers before She offers them.
Other times, practical help bothers not just one student, but the entire class. That’s what happened to Himalaya Behl, yoga teacher and co-founder of the retreat center Embodying Costa RicaWhile her students were in Savasana. “I came up to one of the students and put my hand on her feet as quietly as I could to steady her on the floor,” Behl says. “She trembled and jumped like a jumping bug (like in Costa Rica), and she screamed. The whole room shook.” “So much for serenity.”
Behl now tries to be less stealthy when students are uncomfortable and vulnerable.
2. When we make assumptions
There are times we He thinks We know what is most beneficial to the student, and we are sorely mistaken. Rebar was 18 years old and teaching her first yoga class when a student came in who appeared to be pregnant. Rebar didn’t want to single her out by asking potentially unwelcome questions, so she did her best to avoid teaching any prohibited positions during pregnancy.
“It was going well until we got there Savasana“I went to the student and whispered to her to lie on her left side,” Ribar says. She looked confused and said, “Just me?” Why? “At that point, Rebar realized that her assumption was most likely incorrect. I stammered something like, “It sounds like it might be more comfortable, but do what’s best for you.”
“I was visibly frightened,” Rebar says. “You have at worst offended this person, and at best you have confused him.” Rebar takeaway? “Don’t assume you know what someone needs or what’s happening to their body just by looking at them.”
Diane Bondileader of the Yoga for All movement and author of Yoga for everyoneHe also knows the repercussions of making assumptions. She was about to teach at an accessible yoga conference when she noticed several chairs that appeared to be crowding a student who was in a wheelchair. To give him more space to practice, I started moving the folding chairs away from him. He quickly objected. He was planning to use chairs to help him get down onto the carpet.
Bundy immediately apologized and used a little humor to defuse the situation. “Look at me, I teach a class that is accessible and makes it less difficult to access,” she said. To her surprise, this became an effective icebreaker moment for her and the student.
3. When our words don’t deliver as intended
The foot-in-mouth position is a pose familiar to many yoga teachers. Richard Rosenlong-time teacher and author Breathing yogaShe was talking to a student after class when he noticed a Sanskrit tattoo on her arm.
“I saw right away that whoever had done the tattoo had a poor understanding of the letters, and I casually mentioned that there were some mistakes and that they could probably be easily corrected,” Rosen says. Although Rosen intended to be helpful, the student withdrew. He never saw her again.
Rosen has since stopped correcting people’s Sanskrit, and thinks twice before offering any corrections to yoga students outside of class, when they are not looking for his input.
Christopher Perkins, Co-Founder and Lead Educator at Yandara Yoga Institutehe also had experience saying things that didn’t quite turn out as he thought. While helping Savasana, he said to a student, “You are so loved.”
“When I heard myself tell this, it was clear why I would never do it again,” he said. “In my mind, at that moment, it was just a simple, caring reminder. But she interpreted it completely differently — she thought I meant it.”
He later had the opportunity to check in on the student, who shared what she was thinking about the awkward moment between them. Then Perkins was able to correct the misunderstanding. “Once we had the conversation, (the issue) was resolved,” he added.
What struck Perkins most was how easily a well-intentioned comment could be misinterpreted. “I’ve learned not to rely on assumptions and make room for honest conversations when something doesn’t feel right,” he says.
4. When we do something klutzy
Sometimes our trips are actual trips. Bondi approached one student after class to ask if a support device had worked for her when she lost her balance. “I caught my toe on these yoga pants I was wearing, and I started stumbling toward this student. I’m not a small person, so the look on her face was a look of pure panic,” Bondi says. “Yelling didn’t help me.”
Bondi quickly caught herself and no one was hurt. The student returned to class and did not appear to hold Bondi’s inadvertent gaffe against her. Bondi tries not to bring it on herself either.
“People are far from perfect,” she says. “I try to give everyone grace.” Including herself. Although to this day Bondi stays away from baggy yoga pants.
One time, while helping students in Savasana, I kicked a student in the head. Yes. The class was crowded in a small room. As I was going past her head, my foot hit her face — hard enough that her head flipped to the side and her eyes opened wide.
I was horrified by my foolishness, so I apologised. She seemed very tolerant, but I noticed that she never returned to my class. It wasn’t one of my best moments. However, I learned from him. Now when I don’t have room to maneuver, I don’t walk around, especially in Savasana.
How to move forward with teaching yoga
So how do we get past our yoga teacher’s mistake? Rebar encourages us to keep perspective. “One mistake is not the entirety of who you are as a teacher.”
Likewise, Behl suggests, “Treat yourself the way you would treat a student.” You will likely have some sympathy and understanding, and perhaps even laughter.
You may never forget your awkward student interactions. I’m still kicking myself for kicking that student. But the key is to “listen and learn” from your mistakes, Perkins says.
Yoga teaching mistakes can help keep us humble, and remind us to teach as one person to another and not from above. We might also show our students that it’s okay to stumble on our way to enlightenment.
