Yoga and Physical Education Practical: Demonstration, Teaching and Assessment
Practical: Demonstration, Teaching and Assessment
This domain covers how asanas, pranayama and relaxation are demonstrated, taught and marked in the practical examination: lesson planning, teaching methods, safety and assessment criteria.
Planning a teaching session
- Sequence: prayer → warm-up (5–7 min) → demonstration → guided practice with corrections → counter-poses → pranayama → Savasana → summary.
- Choose 4–6 asanas that fit the group's age and ability, with one clear focus, such as standing poses for balance.
Demonstration and teaching methods
- Command (teacher-led, uniform), demonstration, explanation, part–whole, whole–part–whole, reciprocal (partners observe and correct), guided discovery.
- A good demonstration: stand where all can see, use a mirror or side angle, move slowly, breathe audibly with the pose, give 2–3 teaching points (alignment, breath, gaze), then observe and correct.
- Safety: mat and clear space, empty stomach, screen students with hypertension, cervical or knee problems, never force a stretch, modify rather than exclude.
Assessment
A typical 10-mark rubric for one asana:
- Final position and alignment - 3
- Breathing coordination and no breath holding - 2
- Steadiness and correct hold (20–30 s) - 2
- Controlled entry and release, counter-pose - 1
- Teaching points and contraindications spoken - 2
Worked example
A student holds Trikonasana for 30 seconds, but the front knee is hyperextended, the breath is held, and no contraindication is mentioned. Reasoning: score alignment 2/3, breathing 0/2, steadiness 2/2, entry/release 1/1, teaching points 1/2 → 6/10. Feedback names the knee micro-bend and the breath cue first, because alignment and breath carry the heaviest deductions.
Traps
- Talking through the whole demonstration, or demonstrating without breath cues.
- Forgetting counter-pose and Savasana in the lesson plan.
- Omitting contraindications in the viva.
- Marking only the final shape and ignoring breath, entry and release.