“WE PROCLAIM HIM, ADMONISHING AND TEACHING WITH ALL WISDOM SO WE CAN PRESENT EVERYONE PERFECT IN CHRIST.” COLOSSIANS 1:28

MODULE 6 LESSON 2

Speaking Excellently: The PerfectFit Prose

The 200-hour teacher training you graduated from may or may not addressed the importance of the instructor’s speech and careful detail to cueing. 

However, in the PerfectFit program, we take time to address our speech because it has biblical relevance. What we say and how we say it matters. When we stand in front of our students and direct them via our speech, we want it to be excellent for Christ. 

Section 1: Biblical Application

The bible is full of examples of how greatly God values what comes out of our mouths. Let’s take a look at the following scriptures and apply them to teaching Christian yoga. 

Proverbs 16:24

Ephesians 4:29

Colossians 4:6

Proverbs 15:4

Proverbs 18:21

Psalm 19:14

Colossians 3:17

Call to Action: Write for Insight

If speaking in a way that is honoring to God has been difficult for you, then let’s take a more in-depth look. There are many more scriptures to study and reveal more. Acknowledge if God is calling you to clean up your speech personally or professionally. Explain. 

Which of the above scriptures would you like to adopt when communicating and leading your students in classes? 

Read through each scripture and journal any insights that speak to you regarding our speech. 

What does the Bible say about speaking?

Section 2

In the PerfectFit Christian Yoga Teacher Training, we learn to use our speech in a way that is clear, concise, and helpful to our students. 

In this way, we create a mental, physical, and spiritual experience that will enhance their Christian yoga experience. 

In this section, we break down what is known as PerfectFit Prose, a highly valuable and excellent tool. 

Let’s take a look at how we can reshape our teaching speech:

Community Oriented- We create a Christ-centered community in a variety of ways. Our speech is no different. We want our participants to feel involved. With this in mind, we use words such as “our,” “we,” or “let’s.” Utilize this is in place of a demand/command style of teaching that uses “I” or “you.” 

Take Note: There are certainly times when it is appropriate to use “I” or “you” in cueing and phrasing while teaching. But for the purpose of creating cohesiveness and a sense of community, it is not the preferred way to communicate. 

Putting into Practice: 

Demand style: I want you to sit back in chair. 

PerfectFit Prose: Let’s sit back in chair

We are sitting back in char.  

Our bodies sit back into char. 

Present Tense- “ING” statements that utilize present tense verbs create straightforward and concise language. This allows us to say fewer words when cueing. Adding ING to verbs makes the action present-centered and in the now. 

Putting it into Practice: 

Without “ING”: I want you to breathe...Take a breath...Breathe in and out. 

PerfectFit Prose: We are breathing. 

Taking deep breaths. 

Inhaling and Exhaling, breathe. 

Now we’re breathing. 

Without “ING”: Take your foot and step into warrior one. 

PerfectFit Prose: We’re stepping into warrior one. 

Stepping our foot into warrior one. 

Without “ING”: Move into down-dog. 

PerfectFit Prose: Moving into down-dog.

We’re moving into down-dog. 

Clear and Concise- We can get our message across quickly and with ease. Avoid the use of unnecessary “filler words such as “that,” “those,” or “this.”  

Putting It Into Practice: 

Filler Words: Take those hands and put them on that mat in cat-cow. 

PerfectFit Prose: Taking our hands and placing them on the mat in cat-cow. 

Filler Words: Stretch that back in camel pose.

PerfectFit Prose: Stretching our back in camel pose. 

Filler Words: Place this knee over that ankle in warrior two. 

PerfectFit Prose: Placing our knee over our ankle in warrior two. 

Call to Action: 

Take the following sentences and apply the PerfectFit Prose. 

Take Note: There could be more than one possible answer. 

I want you to reach your arms up in chair.Take your arms and reach them out in warrior 2. You need to reach those hands back and grab that strap for chest expansion. Take this foot to that leg for tree pose.I want you to breathe and relax.Get that hip open and feel that stretch. Move your eyes up in this pose and gaze to the sky. Now you feel strong in this pose. Get your hips to stack in balancing half moon. Sink those hips to your heels in balance chair.  

Final Thoughts: Into Action

Go back and listen to one of the video recordings from our PCYTT homework that we’ve posted to Facebook. Listen to your language, cueing, and verbalization. In essence, listen to how you communicate as an instructor. Take notice of areas of speech where the PerfectFit Prose can be applied, and your verbiage can transform. 

Take Note: This is an exercise in awareness. It’s not an exercise in judgment but in taking a step towards excellence in speech. 

The PerfectFit Prose will take time to practice and develop—our exercise in listening to how we communicate when teaching is the first step in taking positive action. Let’s practice the fruit of the spirit of gentleness and enjoy the process of creating new teaching tools.