Teaching Yoga with Intention: Presence, Purpose, and the Power of Arrival

So much of what we offer as Yoga Nidra teachers is unseen. It lives in how we arrive, how we listen, how we attune…to the space, to the moment, and to the people within it. Teaching with intention often begins here in the alignment between our inner why and those we’re here to support.

Intention is a subtle current.

Something felt.

A remembering of what matters most.

Sometimes it rises with a breath. Other times, in a quiet pause just before we begin. It might come as a word, a sensation, or an image…something simple, something true.

Before guiding, you might take a moment to reflect:

What am I here to hold today?

What quality do I want to embody?

What might my presence offer this space?

These invitations offer a way to listen beneath the surface of your teaching. Just as we invite students into deep listening, these questions can return us to our own.

✨ “The most important thing,” Suzuki Roshi said, “is remembering the most important thing.”

Intention isn’t a role we step into, it’s something we carry. Like the breath, it shifts. It responds. It meets what’s actually here in each moment.

You might find it shaped by your students - their stillness, their restlessness, their need for grounding. When we listen closely, intention often reveals itself in that noticing. Trusting what we sense, and letting that shape how we show up, becomes part of the practice.

Intention moves through how we speak, how we pause, how we hold space. Even when little is said, our inner state is felt in the room. The steadiness we carry becomes part of what we offer.

And when intention drifts, which it will, that, too, is part of the path. Doubt, distraction, misalignment can show up. But so does return. That’s an invitation, too.

You don’t need to imitate anyone else.

Your rhythm, your voice, your presence - those are already enough. See if you can let them lead.

Intentional teaching doesn’t mean guiding perfectly. It means remembering what brought you here.

Let that remembering shape how you arrive, and let it guide what you offer, with sincerity, clarity, and purpose. 💜

If this reflection resonated with you, you might find support in my books on Yin Yoga and Meditation, and Yoga Nidra Scripts. Each was written as a companion for teachers and practitioners—offering themes, supportive tools, and language to guide from a place of depth and sincerity.

Feel free to explore them when you're ready. They’re here to support your teaching path, one breath, one offering at a time.