Yoga Teacher Confidential: Secrets of Becoming a Great Yoga Teacher

30. The Secret to Great Teaching: Finding Your Authentic Voice

• Sage Rountree • Episode 30

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What sets apart a truly magnetic yoga teacher—the kind students will rearrange their lives to practice with? It’s not the perfect playlist or poetic cueing. It’s authenticity.

In this episode of Yoga Teacher Confidential, I explain why being yourself isn’t just a cliché—it’s your greatest teaching asset. We’ll explore:

  • Why imitation holds you back
  • How to lean into your natural personality
  • The difference between performance and presence
  • How to develop signature cues and themes that reflect your life experience
  • The liberating truth about not pleasing everyone

Whether you’re new to teaching or refining your seasoned voice, this episode offers real-world strategies to grow your confidence and deepen your impact.

If you’re ready to step into your full teaching potential, join me in the Mastering the Art of Yoga Sequencing Mentorship Program. Let’s teach from the inside out.

Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there!

For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials:

And come explore my continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs. It's all at sagerountree.com.

Can I tell you something? You can't please everyone and you will please no one if you try. Have you ever taken a class with a teacher who just seems to have that special something, charisma, riz, the kind of teacher whose class you'll rearrange your schedule for even when there are a dozen other options at more convenient times? What is it about certain teachers that makes them so magnetic? It's not necessarily that they have the most creative sequences, it's not that they have the best music playlist or that they even use music at all. It's not even that they have the most knowledge about anatomy or yoga philosophy. What makes these teachers so compelling is that their teaching feels genuine, authentic, true. When they teach, there's a sense that they're fully aligned with what they're saying and doing. They're not trying to be someone else or putting on an act. They're simply being themselves. And that, my friend, is the secret ingredient that transforms a good yoga teacher into a great one. Authenticity. It's being who you are and not trying to please everyone. This is Yoga Teacher Confidential. I'm Sage Rountree. Today let's explore this concept with concrete action steps. I know it's easy for me to tell you, just be yourself. It's way harder to tell you how to be yourself, but that's what I aim to do in this episode. One of the most common traps that yoga teachers fall into, especially new teachers, but even those with years of experience, is trying to teach like someone else. Maybe it's your favorite teacher from your own practice, or perhaps it's the lead teacher from your yoga teacher training. It could even be a famous yoga teacher you follow on social media. This mimicry is natural and even valuable as a starting point. We all need models when we're learning something new. But staying in imitation mode limits your growth and your impact as a teacher. I see this all the time at our teacher trainings at Carolina Yoga Company. New teachers will try to use the exact same words, the exact same cadence, even the exact same jokes as their favorite teachers. Sometimes they don't even realize they're doing it. But their students can feel the disconnect between the words being spoken and the person speaking them. There's a fundamental difference between inspiration and imitation. Inspiration means you take what resonates from various sources and integrate it into your own unique expression. Imitation means you're essentially trying to be a clone of someone else. The other pressure I see teachers struggling with is the feeling that they need to perform in some way. To be entertaining, or profound, or spiritually elevated. They come into class with a complex theme they're not comfortable with, or they try to be funny when humor isn't natural to them. Or they adopt a weird yoga voice that they'd never use in normal conversation. Oh boy, y'all know that voice and it usually comes with those hyper sibilant, drawn out S's that always call to mind a snake. All of these approaches create a disconnect between you and your students. People can sense authenticity and they can just as readily sense when someone isn't being genuine. So how do you find your authentic teaching voice? How do you move from imitation to true expression? First lean into what makes you, you. What are your natural personality traits? Are you warm and nurturing? Direct and no nonsense? Playful and lighthearted? Calm and steady? Energetic and dynamic? Whatever your natural disposition is, that's your starting point. You don't need to change your fundamental personality to be a yoga teacher. In fact, you'll be a better teacher if you don't try. If you naturally use humor in everyday life, let that come through in your teaching. If you're more reserved and soft spoken, teach from that place rather than trying to be loud and animated. If you're naturally analytical, incorporate that into how you explain poses and transitions. I had a teacher in my 200 hour training who was a high school teacher by day. Her classes, her practice teachings were always really organized and methodical, with clear objectives and even occasional friendly pop quizzes about what we were learning. Was it traditional? No. Was it solid pedagogy? Yes. Was it authentic to who she was? Absolutely. And her students loved it because it felt genuine. Second, stick with what you know. The most powerful teaching comes from lived experience, not from theoretical knowledge or things you've heard others say. When you teach from what you've personally experienced and integrated, your teaching has a depth and a resonance that can't be faked. This doesn't mean you can only teach what comes naturally to you. In fact, quite the opposite. If that were the case, I couldn't teach yoga to the football team. As I've mentioned in previous episodes, your struggles in practice often become your teaching superpowers, but it does mean that you should be honest about where you are in your own practice and your own understanding. If you've never experienced a particular meditation technique, for example, it might not be the best one to guide your students through. If you've been working on a particular challenging pose for years, your journey with it, including all the frustrations and breakthroughs, becomes valuable teaching material. Third, develop signature cues or themes that feel natural to you. All great teachers have certain phrases, analogies, or themes that become their signature. These aren't contrived, they emerge naturally from the teacher's way of understanding and explaining yoga. I have a colleague who's both a yoga teacher and a physical therapist. She often uses analogies from rehab and physical therapy in her yoga classes. That makes sense. And it feels natural. Another teacher I know is an avid gardener and her classes are full of beautiful parallels between tending plants and tending to our practice. My own background as an endurance athlete influences how I talk about effort and ease in poses. What interests or experiences do you have outside of yoga that might inform your teaching? How could your professional background or your hobbies or your life experiences give you a unique lens through which to view and explain yoga concepts? Remember, your students won't remember every pose you taught or every Sanskrit term you used, but they will remember in great detail how you made them feel and the unique perspective you brought to their practice. An important part of teaching authentically is understanding your strengths. We all have different gifts as teachers. Some teachers are masterful at creating a sense of safety and inclusion. Others excel at precise alignment cues. Some are particularly skilled at asana practice. Others have a gift for helping students connect with their breath. What are your natural strengths as a teacher? What's the feedback you consistently get from students? What aspects of teaching feel most effortless to you? These questions can help you identify your teaching superpowers. And once you know what they are, you can lean into them, rather than trying to be equally good at everything, which is impossible anyway. I've been teaching for over 20 years and there are still aspects of teaching that don't come naturally to me. For example, I'm not the most verbally effusive teacher. You won't hear me gushing with praise or using lots of enthusiastic adjectives. That's just not my natural style. And if I tried to teach that way, it would feel forced and inauthentic. Instead, I focus on my strengths, clear sequencing, relatively precise cues and creating a container where students feel both challenged and supported. I've learned to be comfortable with my teaching style rather than trying to adopt someone else's. This doesn't mean you shouldn't work on improving areas where you're less strong. Growth is important, as we talked about in the previous episode on continuing education. But it does mean recognizing that you'll never be equally gifted in all areas of teaching, and that's perfectly okay. You can't be everything to everyone, and you will burn yourself out by trying. Now, finding your authentic teaching voice requires a certain level of confidence. It takes courage to trust that your natural way of teaching is valuable, especially when you see other teachers with different styles who seem to be doing well. One practice that can help build this confidence is to let go of what you should say or should do. Instead, ask yourself, what feels natural? What words and phrases come easily to me? What teaching style feels like pulling on my favorite comfortable clothes, rather than an outfit that's fashionable, but itchy and uncomfortable? When I work with teachers in my mentorship program, I always have them record themselves teaching and then listen back with a specific focus, identifying moments when they sound most natural versus moments when they sound like they're trying to be someone else. This exercise can be eye opening. I highly encourage you to do it. Another helpful practice is to own your strengths without apology. If you have a quiet, calming presence, embrace that fully rather than trying to be more energetic because you think that's what students want. If your gift is making complex concepts simple and accessible, lean into that rather than trying to sound more philosophical or esoteric. Remember that your students aren't looking for perfection. They're looking for presence. The best teachers aren't those who never make mistakes or who know everything. The best teachers are those who show up fully, teach from their authentic center, and create a space where students feel seen and supported. A story comes to mind. Years ago I had a student who was also a yoga teacher come to me after class. She said, I've been trying so hard to sound like my YTT instructor when I teach. Today I realize that I just need to sound like myself. She had this realization during a moment in class when I misspoke, acknowledged it with a laugh and moved on without making a big deal of it. That little authentic moment helped her see that she didn't need to be perfect or to emulate someone else. She just needed to be genuinely herself. A common question I hear is how can I be authentic when I'm teaching something new or way outside my comfort zone? It's a great question because as teachers, we're constantly learning and constantly integrating new material. The key is honesty. If you're teaching a new sequence or a new technique that you're still integrating yourself, it's perfectly fine to acknowledge that. You might say something like, I've been exploring this approach in my own practice recently. I've practiced it enough that I'm ready to share it with you today, but recognize that this is new and let's discover how it feels together. There's a big difference between humbly offering something you're still learning about versus pretending to be an expert on something you're not. Students appreciate your honesty and it actually builds rather than diminishes their trust in you. This approach also creates a beautiful sense of shared exploration. Instead of positioning yourself as the all knowing expert, you become a fellow traveler who's perhaps a few steps ahead on the path, but still very much on the journey yourself. That's exactly the kind of guide I want to lead me. Some of my most meaningful teaching moments have come from sharing my own struggles and discoveries with my students. When I talk about how a particular pose was challenging for me, or how a concept finally clicked after years of confusion, that creates a genuine connection that wouldn't exist if I presented myself as having mastered everything. Teaching authentically doesn't mean being completely unfiltered or making the class all about you. Definitely do not do that. There's an important balance to strike. Your teaching should absolutely reflect your genuine self, but it should also be appropriate to the context and centered on your students needs. Your authentic voice is the vessel through which you deliver what your students came for. It is not the main attraction itself. This is especially important to remember when it comes to self disclosure. Sharing some of your own experience can be really powerful and create an important connection with your students. But oversharing or making the class all about your personal journey can be inappropriate and unhelpful. Similarly, being authentic doesn't mean ignoring the basic structures and protocols of yoga teaching. Clear instructions, attention to safety, respect for the tradition are all essential regardless of your personal teaching style. Authenticity exists within these frameworks, not outside them. The sweet spot is when your teaching feels true to who you are while remaining focused on serving your students. When you find this balance, teaching becomes both more enjoyable for you and way more beneficial for those you teach. One of the biggest obstacles to teaching authentically is the desire to please everyone. Many teachers, myself included, are natural people pleasers. We want everyone to like our classes. We want everyone to feel satisfied with their experience, and we want everyone to come back again and again. But here's the hard truth I've already mentioned twice. You can't please everyone, and you will please no one if you try. Every teacher has a particular style, approach, and energy. That style will resonate deeply with some students, and not at all with other students. And that's not just okay, it's exactly as it should be. I've been teaching long enough to know that I'm not every student's cup of tea. My classes tend to be methodical and structured rather than flowing and poetic. I don't use music. Some students love this approach and others might find it too analytical or too quiet. Both responses are perfectly valid. Those who resonate with my teaching style become my regular students and those who don't find teachers whose approach better suits their needs. The most liberating moment in your teaching career is when you fully accept that not everyone will like your classes. And that's actually a good thing. When you teach authentically from your center, you attract the students who genuinely connect with your unique offering. These are the students you are meant to serve. The ones who will benefit most from what you have to share. Trying to appeal to everyone by teaching in ways that don't feel natural to you not only dilutes your teaching, but also prevents you from deeply connecting with the students who would most resonate with your authentic style. Your students come for the real you, not an imitation of someone else. The more comfortable you are in your own teaching skin, the more confident you'll feel and the more your students will trust you. Finding your authentic teaching voice is an ongoing process. It evolves as you grow, both as a teacher and as a person. But the foundation remains the same. Teaching from a place of genuine connection to the material and to yourself. When you teach authentically, classes become less about performance and more about presence. You'll stop worrying so much about saying the perfect thing or creating the perfect sequence and instead focus on creating a space where genuine connection, yoga, and learning can happen. This shift not only makes teaching more enjoyable and more sustainable for you, it also creates a more powerful experience for your students. They may not be able to articulate exactly why they feel drawn to your classes, but they'll feel the resonance of your authentic voice and keep coming back for more. As you continue on your teaching journey, I encourage you to regularly check in with yourself. Does my teaching feel like me? Am I trying to teach like someone else? What would it feel like to let go a little more and trust my natural voice and style? These questions aren't always comfortable, but they're essential for growth. And remember, authenticity isn't about being perfect, it's about being real. Your students don't need a perfect teacher, they need a genuine one. Here's an affirmation to help you remember. I trust my authentic voice as a teacher. My unique perspective is valuable. I trust my authentic voice as a teacher. My unique perspective is valuable. If you're interested in exploring this topic further and developing your own authentic teaching voice in a supportive community, I'd love to invite you to join my Mastering the Art of Yoga Sequencing Mentorship Program. In this six month program, we work together to refine not just what you teach, but how you teach in a way that feels true to who you are. You can find more information at sageroundtree. com slash mentorship. I'm Sage Rountree, and this is Yoga Teacher Confidential. I'll see you next time.

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