Movement Teacher Tip: Don't Be Afraid of Repetition

Are you a movement teacher who secretly worries that your classes might be too repetitive or boring? In this episode of the podcast, I’m going to encourage you to embrace repetition as a valuable part of Mindful Movement practice.

When I was a newer Yoga teacher, I felt that pressure to come up with a brand new class plan and fresh sequences every week. I thought that if I repeated the same practices too often, students would get bored or think my classes were too basic.

However, with more experience teaching, observing others’ classes, and actually listening to my students, I realized that repetition can be incredibly helpful!

Some of the benefits of repetition that I’ll cover:

• you can build a foundation with repetition and then sprinkle in new poses, movements, and sequences over time
• using a repeated class structure can help your students relax into the process
• practicing certain movements repeatedly gives your students a baseline to notice changes
• reviewing practices in class helps your students remember poses and movements they can do on their own
• repetition can allow students to shift from thinking to sensing and go deeper in their practice

We will also talk about that fear of boredom, and where it comes from. In our hyper stimulating culture, boredom might just be the resistance that comes up for us when we’re doing something that slows us down or has less intensity than we’re used to.

While I do hope my classes are engaging, my intention as a teacher is not to avoid boredom at all costs. I would rather help people develop calm, presence, and perhaps an increased attention span.

For my movement teacher friends, I hope this reflection will help you relax around the idea of repetition! It’s more than ok to review, repeat, and remix in your classes. Your students will benefit from a good balance of novelty and familiarity.

--------

For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast.

The 100th Episode of the podcast is coming up, and I want to hear YOUR voice! Send me a short message about why you practice, and I will include it in this special episode. Go here to record your message, or email it to me at mail@movedtomeditate.com.

The Mindful Movement Teacher Training is returning this Fall, and applications are now open! Learn more about this unique program at movedtomeditate.yoga/mmtt.

Feel free to reach out through my website with any episode requests, topics you'd like to hear about, or guest interview suggestions. You can also connect with me on Instagram or Threads at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, pictures of Pacific Northwest nature, crocheting projects, and my adorable kitty, Mustache).