A Yoga Teachers Guide to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Suparna Malhotra

Written by Lauren Munday with Suparna Malhotra

Are you a qualified and highly skilled yoga teacher and practitioner …. yet filled with doubt about your abilities?

Do you internalise every piece of negative feedback you receive yet barely give airtime to the positive comments?

Do you feel like you could be holding yourself back from reaching your full potential as a yoga teacher?

If these statements sound familiar to you, you might be displaying symptoms of what’s often described as imposter syndrome.  The term was coined by Pauline Rose Clance & Suzanne Imes in their 1978 study that looked at the phenomenon in high-achieving women. They described women who experience it as maintaining “a strong belief that they are not intelligent” and “convinced that they have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise”.

Although this initial study looked at imposter syndrome in women; anywhere between 9 and 82% of the population are said to have experienced it at some point. Not surprisingly, the prevalence of imposter syndrome is higher amongst groups that experience systemic oppression, in particular black women, members of the LGBTQI community and those living with disabilities.

In my research, I came across an article from the BBC by Sheryl Nance-Nash, that quotes Brian Daniel Norton, a psychotherapist and executive coach in New York explaining why he thinks this is the case. 

“When you experience systemic oppression or are directly or indirectly told your whole life that you are less-than or undeserving of success and you begin to achieve things in a way that goes against a long-standing narrative in the mind, imposter syndrome will occur.”

The article also quoted Emily Hu explaining “We’re more likely to experience imposter syndrome if we don't see many examples of people who look like us or share our background who are clearly succeeding in our field”. 

 This makes complete sense and is probably one of the many reasons why historically yoga teachers in the UK have mostly come from a similar demographic.

Because imposter syndrome is so common, and perhaps a symptom of living in our society, it’s likely we’ve all experienced it at some point.

 For me, it’s manifested as attributing my achievements to good luck rather than hard work, not putting myself forward for opportunities because I believed someone else could do a better job, and completing multiple training courses but never feeling like I knew enough.  

 When I look back over the last ten years there’s a definite feeling that I held myself back. While it’s important to stay humble, especially as a yoga teacher, if I’d been able to make sense of the beliefs I’d been carrying, perhaps I could have saved myself some struggles.

With that in mind, because imposter syndrome is so prevalent, and both Ashley and myself have suffered from it, we decided to seek some expert advice to help overcome this phenomenon.

Suparna Malhotra is an executive coach, keynote speaker and trainer who specialises in supporting professional women to develop their unique identities, build confidence, and shine in all aspects of their careers. 

She’s a best-selling author, has spoken at the House of Lords, and works with women entrepreneurs and leaders at some of the worlds’ biggest companies. She’s also a yoga practitioner so understands the unique challenges facing new yoga teachers.

 Lauren: Suparna! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. I’m excited to hear what you have to say about overcoming imposter syndrome. To begin with, can you tell me a little bit about your company, The Suparna Way, and what exactly you do?

 Suparna: I work with female leaders to deliver on their goals and objectives through coaching sessions. I help them build confidence by identifying and eliminating "limiting beliefs" i.e the beliefs that hold them back from reaching their personal or organisational objectives. I also run workshops and sessions on imposter syndrome and the ways in which women are stopping themselves from moving forwards.

Lauren: That sounds fascinating. Can you tell me a bit about your journey with imposter syndrome?

 Suparna: The first time I heard about Imposter Syndrome I'd been asked by a women’s network to write an article on the subject. As was doing my research I began to recognise many of the elements and manifestations in myself. That got me thinking that maybe it’s something I struggle with too.

I’d presented a workshop at Google and was invited to speak at the House of Lords for the first International Women’s Day debate allowing outsiders into the chambers. Everything was going great, it was a big success and after these events, I was at the top of my career. However, after that week I was gripped with fear and a huge wall came down. I was unable to continue with my work in the same way. It took me a year or so to recover. I spent a lot of time looking into what I was good at, and what it would take for me to overcome these thought patterns and behaviours.

Lauren: That sounds scary but what an amazing opportunity to speak at the House of Lords.

Suparna: Yes it was amazing, but can you believe I almost missed out because when I received the invite I thought it was Spam. That's an example of imposter syndrome in action!

 Lauren: Totally! You didn’t believe you received an invite. Good job you figured it out! 

Lauren: Can you share the main symptoms of imposter syndrome you encounter in your work?

 Suparna: Some of the manifestations I hear most commonly are:

1) I’m not good enough 

This is often the case after a promotion or a new job offer. People feel like why me? As if they’re waiting for someone to say they’ve made a mistake offering them that opportunity. A bit like me with the invite to the House of Lords.

2) People will find out I don’t know what I’m doing

Lauren – I can relate to this one. It was one of my biggest fears when I first starting teaching. That people would realise I had no experience.

Suparna: Yes it's very common. 

3) Being a perfectionist.

Another very common manifestation of imposter syndrome is being a perfectionist. Nothing is good enough. It shows up as saying "not me" I can’t teach yoga because I don’t know enough.  

Lauren: Yes I can relate to this one too!

Suparna: These are just voices in our heads, they aren’t real. I always tell my clients to look at the evidence: 1) you are a teacher, 2) you do have the knowledge. You might be new to this, but no one stops learning and you will learn more.

Lauren: Very true it doesn’t mean you have nothing to offer. You have more experience than the people you’re working with.

 Suparna: Exactly!

 Lauren: Something that comes up for me is that I can remember every single piece of negative feedback about my teaching I've ever received, whereas I’ve kind of brushed off the positive feedback. I expect this is quite common; do you have any advice to overcome this unhelpful pattern?

 Suparna: It’s interesting how much more weight is placed on negative feedback compared to anything positive. It should be the other way round. Look at it this way when you received the negative feedback what did you do with it?

 Lauren: Apart from dwelling on it which I have to admit I did……I considered what I was doing, sought advice and made changes where necessary.

Suparna: That’s great. The important thing to remember is some of the biggest shifts and changes that we make in our ability and expertise are as a result of the criticism we receive. So reframe what the feedback means and look at it as a lesson. Think of it as a class you’re taking in your quest for expertise. 

 For most people that I work with, as well as in my own experience, the greatest learning comes from the negative experiences we’ve had. It’s these experiences that end up having the most significant impact, whether that be in teaching or business.

Lauren: That's very useful advice! 

This blog is all about guidance for new yoga teachers, so what’re your top 5 tips to overcoming imposter syndrome?

 Suparna: Ok so my top 5 tips are:

1) Practice Putting yourself out there

This is the most important piece of advice. When you’re learning to do anything new, especially teaching. The more you practice your teaching skills the better you will become. I know this from my experience of yoga. When I was practising 4 times a week during lockdown I felt amazing now I’m doing much less I feel the difference.  

 If you think you’re not ready to teach a class, be brave and just try it! It’s the only way you’ll get better and gain the confidence to do it again. Think about it like this, you won’t gain confidence by waiting around until you’re perfect. Get out there and give it a try!

2) Never stop learning

Use every opportunity as a chance to learn and improve your skills. That could be working with a new client, teaching a new class, or learning through your yoga practice and personal study.

3) Ask for feedback from someone you can trust

It’s really helpful to have people you can trust and rely on around you to ask for feedback. This allows you to take what they say as meaningful and it will help you move forward. Cultivate a relationship with a teacher you trust who has more experience than you, then go to them for advice.

Lauren: This reminds me of a time in Mysore when I was assisting in the Shala. Sharath asked me to assist my teacher Hamish to catch his ankles in a backbend. I was so nervous Hamish would think I was rubbish. I could’ve said no quite easily, but I forced myself to go for it.  Although I was nervous, it turned out to be fun and I received positive feedback too.

Suparna: That’s great, and even if you didn’t do a good job that experience and the feedback would’ve stayed with you, and you would’ve learnt from it. Negative feedback weighs heavy but you can make yourself even better from it. 

4) Reframe

Instead of allowing negative feedback to paralyse you, reframe it as a learning experience. Think about what you’ve learnt and what you would do differently next time.

Lauren: Yes! This is something I will be sure to do in the future.

5) Talk to other teachers about their experiences.  

When I run workshops it’s always inspiring for the leaders I work with to share their experiences. It lets them know they aren’t alone, and others are also having the same thoughts and experiences. It provides a supportive space to learn from each other.  

Lauren: I love that! I think it's so important that we support each other, rather than viewing other teachers as competition. We all have unique skill sets and experiences; we can learn so much from each other. 

Thank you so much Suparna! This has been super helpful and inspiring! Can you share details of the workshops you teach and the ways people can follow your work?

 Suparna: The best way to keep in touch is through my Instagram account. That’s where I’ll share the details of my public workshops.