The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook

July 6, 2020
Yoga teacher Rountree (Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses) delivers a useful and well-organized guide that will help instructors just starting out but may also prove useful to seasoned instructors. Throughout, Rountree offers gems of wisdom on communicating effectively with students, advising the reader, “as you prepare your welcoming remarks, remember the five Ws and the one H: who, what, when, where, why, and how... briefly cover these at the start of class to give students a clear picture of where the class is going.” Stressing the importance of personal authenticity, she advises writing a “little about your three or four biggest takeaways from yoga” and then using these as one’s guiding principles while teaching. On the nuts and bolts of yoga teaching, she covers getting certified, landing a job, promoting a class or workshop, and creating an inviting classroom atmosphere, among other topics. Rountree includes just the right amount of personal anecdote to make the book engaging and friendly. (“Don’t say inhale without issuing a matching exhale cue. I once realized I’d left students hanging when someone gasped, ‘Can we exhale?’ ”) This clear-cut guide will help readers approach yoga teaching with professionalism and passion. Agent: Linda Konner, Linda Konner Literary.