This is why we’re all using filler words, and this is what to do about them

Do you catch yourself saying one specific word over and over again?

Words that actually have no purpose.

If you don’t know if you’re using them, then it’s time to record your classes and listen back to yourself teaching.

Filler words are words like ‘nice’, ‘perfect’, ‘good’, ‘now’, ‘just’.

Of course, ‘good’ and ‘nice’ come from a good place: it probably comes from us wanting to let our students to know they’re doing it well.

But is ‘good’ still authentic and effective when you say it 20 times in one class?

Let’s take a look at the REAL REASON we use filler words & how to PREVENT them:

1. Filler words happen when we’re a bit nervous or uncomfortable and start filling up the silence

And that’s totally ok and normal! Thankfully, yoga helps us with being comfortable being uncomfortable: next time you feel the silence is awkward, can you take a deep breath instead of filling the silence with a word?

Notice that you’re uncomfortable. Embrace it. Just like you’re telling your students to embrace all parts of themselves.

2. We might not be fully aware of how to cue effectively

Maybe we haven’t quite figured out how to cue without using a lot of words. This is what we teach in our 200 hr Teacher Training, it’s called direct action cueing:

breath + verb + body part + direction
for example: inhale lift your right leg to the sky

It’s short & effective. Try it!

And notice all the extra words you might be using, like ‘now’, ‘just’, ‘then’.

3. We might want our students to feel seen and start praising them over & over

As I said before, it’s no problem if you say ‘nice’ once, but over and over it can become a bit fake. And more importantly: they might become dependent on our praise or start to try to make their poses look good which is not the point of yoga.

How can we make our students feel seen without praising them all the time?

We might say ‘that’s it’ every now and then. Or ‘good breathing’ when someone has a good ujjayi intead of praising a doing a pose well.

Also be super present with them, that’s when they’ll feel seen.

Ps1: Remember: we all have filler words. Sometimes they go and then others come back ; )

Ps2: Have compassion for yourself as you’re working on your filler words: we are human and we evolve with patience and awareness.