The first thing I learned in my yoga teacher training surprised me.
I assumed we would start with poses, or even yoga philosophy. But the very first thing we were taught was the importance of learning our students’ names.
My teacher went over strategies for remembering students’ names, and said, “Even if you have to ask their name every class, make the effort. It shows that you care, that you see them, that they are a real person to you.
Now that I’m in my tenth year of teaching, I cannot say how invaluable that first lesson has become. It is something I think about in every class that I teach. I love saying hello to people and voicing their name. I can tell that some people are surprised that I have made the effort to remember them, and by their smiles, I can tell that they appreciate it.
The Branches 