YMTP²
Cohort 5
Practice Teach # 1
Monday March 16, 2026
The first practice teach will explore how you link individual exercises together and create the container for the experience of yoga and mindfulness. You will have 25 minutes to teach to a small group of your colleagues. For this practice teach, feel free to utilize prepared notes, but avoid reading directly from the manual or posture pages. Except where noted, teach directly to
the people in your group as they are, offering modifications and variations based on what you observe and experience.
As you prepare your practice teach, consider especially how you will start, finish, and transition between exercises so as to create a complete experience within the allotted time. Remember the phases of Preparation, Foundation, Exploration, and Integration as you consider your choices and language. You may choose whether to begin and end seated, standing, or lying down, as well as what position to lead the six movements of the spine and teach the Complete Breath from, but please include the following experiences in the following order:
Centering / Introduction
Warm-Ups: Six Movements of the Spine
Complete Breath — teach as if introducing for the first time
Half Sun-Salutation — give an experience of each posture, then connect them with breath
Centering / Transition
REFLECTION
After your practice teach, you’ll have a facilitated reflection session with your group. One participant will lead the session by following the prompts. You will have 10 minutes for this facilitated reflection process, followed by a 10-minute break for the next teacher to prepare.
1. For the teacher: Staying with your present experience as much as you can, what are you feeling right now?
2. For the teacher: Focusing on the positive aspects of this experience, what do you want to celebrate? What went well?
3. For the students: What did you enjoy about this experience? What did the teacher do or say that was personally helpful or impactful for you?
4. For the teacher: What challenges did you feel during your practice teach? 5. For the teacher: Name one growing edge that you want to focus on in your teaching now?
TIMETABLE
#1: Teach 9:15 - 9:40, reflection 9:40 - 9:50, return at 10:00
#2: Teach 10:05 - 10:30, reflection 10:30 - 10:40, return at 10:50
#3: Teach 10:55 - 11:20, reflection 11:20 - 11:30, return large group at 11:40