The Yoga Teacher's Handbook
For teaching, and practising, after 50. Philosophy, thirty poses, breath and the craft of teaching, from the manual I wrote for my own teacher training and have now rewritten for the people who actually come to class.
129 pages, with the bonus workbook Start Your Yoga Business After 50.
A download you can print or read on a tablet.
Most teacher training books were written for a room of twenty five year olds.
This one was written for the teacher who came to yoga later in life, and for the students who fill a Tuesday morning class at the community centre. You will probably see yourself in at least one of these.
- You trained after 50, or you are thinking about it, and every manual you picked up assumed a body half your age.
- Most of your students are over 50, and you want to teach them well without treating them as fragile.
- You trained years ago and want one reliable reference to keep beside your mat.
- Someone has asked you to teach at the library, the rec centre or a retirement residence, and you are not sure where to start or what to charge.
“Teach them as strong people, never as fragile ones.”
In 2013 I wrote a manual for the yoga teacher training I ran for ten years. Most of my trainees were young then. Most of the people who come to class now are not, and neither am I.
So I went back through every page. I kept what has stood the test of time, corrected what we have since learned was wrong, and moved the chapter on teaching students over 50 to the front of the teaching section, where it belongs. Then I added what my old manual could not have imagined: consent before every assist, and teaching through a camera.
Five parts, from the roots to the business.
The teacher and the tradition
What yoga is, where it came from, and the handful of texts every teacher should be able to talk about without bluffing.The subtle body
The three bodies, the five sheaths, the chakras and the bandhas, and how to teach them without claiming more than anyone knows.The practice
Thirty poses to teach from, pranayama, meditation, restorative and yin, and the Ashtanga primary series I trained in.The craft of teaching
It opens with teaching students over 50: a sixty minute class plan, how to get people down to the floor and back up, and what to plan for with bones, joints, balance and blood pressure. Then voice, sequencing, reading the room, assists and consent, and teaching online.Ethics and the work
Ethics on and off the mat, scope of practice, becoming a teacher after 50, the business of teaching, and keeping your Yoga Alliance registration current.Glossary and notebook pages
A plain word glossary, further reading, and ruled pages after each chapter for your own cues and sequences.Thirty poses, drawn on a body like yours.
Every pose has its Sanskrit name, how to come into it, the cues I use, and a Take care note: what to watch for with knees, hips, backs and blood pressure, and the chair or wall version to offer instead.
Start Your Yoga Business After 50
Thirteen steps with pages to write on, built from the business of yoga workshop I taught to my trainees and rewritten for a second career.
- The honest numbers. A studio class in Ontario pays close to minimum wage, so we work out what you need each month on top of your pension or other income.
- Choosing your people, your one sentence, your bio and your prices.
- Where the work is: rec centres, libraries, retirement residences, condo buildings, clinics and workplaces, with an outreach email you can send this week.
- The paperwork: registering a business name in Ontario, insurance, HST and keeping records.
- Teaching online, using AI as your assistant, and your first thirty days, day by day.
One line from it I have said to every trainee I ever had: you do not get paid what you think you are worth. You get paid what you ask for.
Fay Chapple
I am an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher and a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. I ran a yoga teacher training for ten years, and before that I founded and ran a health and wellness centre. I am over 50 myself, and I live and teach in Ontario.
Live masterclasses are coming next.
As a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider I can offer classes that count toward your continuing education hours, and live online classes count as contact hours. The first series is two hour live classes built on the chapters in this handbook, sold one at a time or as a five class series worth ten contact hours.
Everyone who buys the handbook hears about the first dates before anyone else.
Everything I would want a new teacher over 50 to have.
- The Yoga Teacher's Handbook, 129 pages
- Start Your Yoga Business After 50, a 21 page workbook
- Both as PDFs, yours to keep, print or read on a tablet
Before you buy.
I am not a teacher yet. Is this for me?
Yes. Part five has a chapter on becoming a teacher after 50, including how to choose a training. The pose pages and the chapters on breath and meditation also work as a reference for your own practice.
I trained years ago. Will it be too basic?
The roots are here because every teacher needs them, but the chapters on teaching students over 50, assists and consent, teaching online and keeping your registration are new, and the workbook is about building the work around you.
Does the handbook count toward my Yoga Alliance hours?
No. A book is not a training, so it cannot give you hours. The live masterclasses will.
Is it a printed book?
It is a download. You get two PDFs the moment you buy. Print them at home or at a print shop, or read them on a tablet. The notebook pages are there for you to write on.
Is this medical advice?
No. The Take care notes tell you what to watch for and when to send a student to their doctor or physiotherapist. They do not replace either.