How to Maintain Your Practice and Energy Over Decades of Teaching
Sustainable teaching has come up again and it made me think about two teachers I know.
Teacher A burnt out at 35.
She taught 30 classes a week, never missed a day, and prided herself on being “consistent.” Same warm-up for three years. Same cues. Same energy. Same everything.
Until her body said no.
Chronic back pain. No ability to demonstrate. A creeping sense that she was failing her students.
Teacher B is 65 and still going strong.
Some weeks she teaches 15 classes, some weeks 8. Sometimes she demonstrates everything, sometimes she barely moves. Her students adore her.
The difference?
Teacher B learned something Teacher A never did: Your teaching practice needs to breathe.
The Myth of Consistency
We’ve been sold this idea that good teachers are consistent:
same energy every class
same level of demonstration
same intensity
same effort
But after watching hundreds of teachers over the years, here’s what I’ve learned:
Consistency isn’t doing the same thing every day.
Consistency is showing up in whatever way serves you and your students best.
Your Practice at 25 vs. 45 vs. 65
At 25:
You might demonstrate everything. Your practice is physical, expressive, exploratory.
At 45:
Maybe you’re managing injury, young kids, career stress, or caregiving. Your practice becomes more internal. You demonstrate less but cue with far more precision.
At 65:
Your practice might be deeply contemplative. You barely demonstrate but your understanding is so profound that students hang on every word.
None of these stages is “better.”
They’re simply different chapters in the same teaching life.
Adapting Your Teaching Methods (Without Losing Your Essence)
When you’re in a high-energy phase:
Demonstrate more
Try new sequences
Play, experiment, challenge
Use your physical enthusiasm
When you’re in a preservation phase:
Focus on verbal cueing
Hone your eye for detail
Share more wisdom, move less
Let students explore while you guide
When you’re in a recovery phase:
Teach seated or with props (I do this all the time)
Emphasise breathwork and mindful pacing
Share your vulnerability — it’s deeply grounding for students
Remember: your knowledge doesn’t disappear because your body needs rest
The Energy Management Nobody Talks About
Here’s what they never mention in teacher training:
Your energy is finite.
How you spend it matters.
Some days you’ll walk into the studio ready to teach for hours.
Other days you’ll barely have enough for one class.
Both are normal.
High-energy days:
Shine. Demonstrate. Flow. Let your passion lead the room.
Low-energy days:
Become a facilitator.
Ask questions.
Create space.
Let your students find answers in their bodies.
They will learn from both versions of you.
The Decades-Long View
The teachers who last aren’t the ones who stay the same.
The teachers who last are the ones who stay curious about how their teaching can evolve.
Maybe in your:
30s: you’re the demo queen
40s: you become the master of modifications
50s: you develop an uncanny ability to see what each student needs
60s: your presence alone becomes transformative
Every phase builds on the last.
None of it is wasted.
Your Homework This Week
Ask yourself:
What phase am I in right now?
How can I honour where I am instead of resisting it?
What does my body need from my practice today?
How can I teach from this place authentically?
The goal isn’t to teach the same way for 40 years.
The goal is to keep teaching for 40 years.
There’s a difference.