Yoga New Zealand Forum
Exploring Pedagogy & Yoga: Strategies and Principles for Teaching
with Neal Ghoshal
YogaNZ’s annual forum
June 24th 2023,
1:30-3pm online over Zoom
Register Here >>
(free for YogaNZ members, just $30 for non-members)
Free for YogaNZ members, just $30 for non-members, (become a member here).
In this presentation, we will be unpacking not what we are teaching, but how.
Exploring Pedagogy and Yoga: Strategies and Principles for Teaching
As Yoga teachers we create and hold a space in which students may learn and practice Yoga – how we do this will directly impact our students’ experience. In this free presentation, we will be unpacking not what we are teaching, but how.
Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching and learning. This includes the methods, strategies, and techniques used in teaching, as well as the underlying assumptions in this process, such as ‘who has authority in the classroom?’ and ‘where does knowledge come from?’
Drawing on the ground-breaking work of renowned teacher Donna Farhi, this presentation discusses a contemporary, pedagogic model for teaching Yoga which places the onus on the student as the director of their learning – and their Yoga practice – and the teacher to provide an environment conducive to this.
In this interactive presentation Neal Ghoshal will facilitate a discussion on strategies and principles for teaching Yoga, looking at:
- What a ‘safe teaching space’ means.
- What an ‘educational space’ and an ‘optimal learning environment’ means.
- Hierarchy and / vs equality within the teacher-student relationship.
- How might a model for teaching Yoga affect the language we use in teaching?
- How might a model for teaching Yoga be part of a wider discussion on ethics in teaching Yoga?
This Forum takes place via zoom, from 1:30-3pm on Saturday June 24th. Register by clicking the button below.
Neal Ghoshal
Neal has been practicing yoga for 23 years and teaching since 2003. He sees yoga as a guide to restoring our place and understanding of who we are and how we can live peacefully, happily and completely fulfilled.
Neal’s teaching focuses on exploring and refining natural movement and alignment principles – learning to embody these principles in a way that takes our spiritual practice into our everyday lives.
“My aim in teaching is to create a safe and inviting space in which to learn and discover Yoga as a balance between effort and effortlessness, structural alignment and organic fluidity, mindfulness and spontaneity.
I am interested in supporting and growing students’ skill in sensing and feeling their way in their movement, so that they learn to fully trust in and be confident of their own perception, and make independent choices in their practice and their lives.”
“Ultimately, the practice of Yoga leads us to a place where we may respond to life’s challenges with ease in our breath and body, with wise choices, and with kindness and a compassionate heart.”
He has taught on teacher training programmes in Australia and New Zealand, has been senior faculty on Donna Farhi’s Advanced Teacher Training Program, and been a keynote speaker at the IYTA Conference.
He is a founder member and part of the core faculty of the Contemporary Yoga Teacher Training programme, based in Auckland, New Zealand.