Teachers - Are You Allowing Your Clients Room To Make Mistakes?
Hope you are staying warm and dry wherever your are.
We are having some crazy wild winter weather over here in WA - unusual for this part of the country!
It doesn't seem to be deterring Nala though - she seems perfectly content to hang out and play by herself under the patio out the back, even with the weather raging! Crazy dog.
Something that has become clearer to me as I reflect on my teaching is that while I am becoming more aware of the words I say to my clients, I am also noticing the times I DON'T say something.
I'm thinking of those moments where you see a client struggling, or figuring something out.
Maybe they have the set-up a little bit wrong, or are a bit out with the choreography of the moves.
The problem-solver/carer in me has an instinct to step in and give them the answer straight away.
But that robs them of the opportunity to learn for themselves.
Often when I hang back and don't say anything one of two things happen....
1. They feel that something isn't quite right, and ask for assistance
or 2. They try a couple of different versions and hit on the one that feels most aligned with the goal
Amazing!!
In both instances they still get the somatic experience of feeling both different versions of the exercise, and so have a sensation to compare the "correct" version to (I'm using that word loosely here).
In the second instance I didn't need to say anything at all and could direct my focus to someone else in the room! Plus the mover got to build some trust with their own instincts and confidence in their choices.
Winning!
Obviously if there is a safety concern that is another story and I'm jumping in quickly to make sure nobody gets injured....and then providing education around WHY an issue occurred, plus how to make safer decisions in the future.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Do you jump in straight away when someone isn't quite doing what you taught them?
Or are you giving them a little time to figure out something new?