A Note on Feedback

When I was a cleaner at the yoga studio, mopping floors in exchange for yoga, I would often overhear mysterious conversations about "feedback."

Two teachers would sit across from one another on the couch after class and ask each other for feedback. 

Teachers at the desk would ask for and receive feedback from students.
Students would ask for feedback from teachers about ways to improve and deepen their practice. 

I saw many such conversations. I wondered what they were talking to each other about, as I had never had such a conversation with someone. As an aspiring yogi or yoga instructor, one important thing to consider is your ability and willingness to thrive in a feedback based community. Especially at the studio in which I teach and practice, feedback is constantly encouraged and asked for. The culture of self and community improvement is certainly present, and its for the best. However, as a newer teacher every time I heard the words, "Do you have any feedback about my class?" slip out of my mouth I wanted to roll up and die before I heard their response. 

Feedback is a word that immediately triggers fear and ego. Even as you read that word here, you may have cringed. Honestly, sometimes I still do. For a lot of people, the word feedback is bound up with the word "criticism." It doesn't always have to be the case.

It's a scary thing to put yourself out there. If you are a writer or an artist or an analyst, you recognize the strife of having poured your heart and soul into a project, only to discover that when you shared it with the world you received disapproval. It happens to everyone at some time or another. As nice as it would be if everyone liked all of your output all the time, that's not how the world works or how we become better. 

Yoga is a lot about that sense of putting yourself out there. If you find yourself successful at either teaching a class or improving on a challenge posture, your ego swells and you congratulate yourself. If you feel that you have failed or you receive feedback with suggestions for improvement, your ego is hurt. You may become hard or unkind with yourself. Ego flares up because ego wants to distinguish itself (you) from everyone else in the world. When you have succeeded in doing something well, it becomes congratulatory. When it feels as though you have failed, it becomes harsh. Ego is an interesting partner to the human psyche. Fortunately for us, both practicing yoga and practicing feedback are ways to manage ego. 

How to Receive Feedback:

• Start by asking for it! "Hey, thanks for taking my class. What were your favorite parts? Anything that felt awkward?" Or even just, "Hey, thanks for coming. How do you feel?" When you let people know that you are open to receiving feedback, you are more likely to receive. This means that you get to engage with students on a deeper level, learn things about their body and their practice, and plan better for next time. Also, every time you openly ask for feedback, you slow down the panic response in your body that is triggered by the word feedback. Receiving enough helpful feedback will help you to separate "feedback" from "criticism."
• If you receive negative feedback, it is in good form to say, "Thank you, I appreciate hearing that. It's great to have something to work on" or something to that effect. But here, pause, and think about it! If this feedback is something that makes you better (such as: "I think you could have had a smoother transition between A and B with the addition of C), then incorporate that into your classes. Sometimes, people have really great ideas or a lot of experience. Getting feedback is sometimes a great shortcut to knowledge. Instead of having to teach for ten years to discover something, sometimes a great teacher who has been teaching for ten years will offer it up. BUT, if this feedback is something that doesn't necessarily make you better (such as, "I really hate the National, and I hate that you had them on your playlist. It totally ruined my whole experience), then take it with a grain of salt. You can't win over everyone. Not everyone will like your music or your voice or your flow all the time. If you receive feedback that makes you want to try again, listen to it. If you receive feedback that makes you want to stop doing something you love, discard that feedback. 
• If you start accumulating a lot of similar feedback, either good or bad, consider shaking it up. As always, stay true to your voice and your experiences when you formulate classes. But remember that people who care enough to stay after class and talk about ways to improve probably care enough about you or yoga to come back again. Feedback is an important part of staying dynamic as a teacher, a student and a yogi.

How to offer feedback:

• Be nice! The more you receive feedback the more you will know the importance of this point. I prefer to offer Sandwich Feedback. The first thing you say is positive, the second thing you say offers a point of improvement, and the third thing reinforces something they did well.
  Example: "Hey, thank you so much for class! I really appreciate the assist you offered me and how often you adjusted students in the class. Your pace during the flow was very fast, don't forget to breathe with your students! But really, I loved your energy. I can't wait to see you grow."
  See? That's not so bad. Interestingly, most people will only hear the negative section of that feedback. For whatever reason, it is much easier for people to hear negative feedback than positive feedback.
• Go out of your way to offer positive feedback to stand out teachers. If someone blew your mind with their class, their attentiveness or their energy, see if the studio has an online feedback section where you can call out an individual teacher for excellence. These usually find their way to managers and eventually down to the student. When someone goes out of their way to pay a compliment, it highlights and reinforces the positive.
• When you are paying attention to a teacher so that you can offer feedback, it makes you a better student. When you are a better student, your teachers will become better as well. If your feedback for a teacher is that you didn't understand their demonstration or verbal cueing of how to get into a particular posture, let them know. Chances are, you weren't the only student in the room confused. If feedback comes from a constructive place, it makes everyone involved better.

With feedback, the best attitude is to be open to anything and attached to nothing. 

If you receive feedback that makes you want to try again, listen to it. If you receive feedback that makes you want to stop doing something you love, discard that feedback.