By Alexandra D. Crosswell, PhD
Every student of yoga has felt it: you walk into a class where the energy feels calm and grounded, and your own body softens before you even roll out your mat. On the other hand, imagine if you were to step into a room where the teacher was running late and frazzled when they arrived. You’d feel tense or annoyed, right? In that scenario, it would take much more effort for you to feel calm and grounded. This is because of a scientific fact about how we biologically impact one another.
In stress science, we call it coregulation. It’s the process by which human nervous systems attune to one another. Our stress levels, our calm, and our emotional tone are not just about us. We impact one another unconsciously; they co-regulate based on the people around us. This means that as a yoga teacher, your students’ nervous systems are responding to yours, just as yours is responding to theirs.
What is Co-regulation (Coregulation)?
At its core, coregulation is a biological version of empathy. Our bodies are constantly taking in cues from others: facial expression, tone of voice, pace of movement, even breathing rhythm. These signals inform the autonomic nervous system, communicating to it how aroused or calm our bodies can be. The autonomic nervous system is the body’s automatic and fast-acting system that controls heart rate, breathing, digestion, and our stress response, without our conscious awareness.
The sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system mobilizes us into alertness or action (the classic fight-or-flight response). The parasympathetic branch helps us return to equilibrium. What scientists have found is that sympathetic activation, the heightened alert state, is highly contagious. When one person’s nervous system is activated, other people nearby will pick up on that unconsciously, and begin to sync to it.
In research studies, we can measure this quantitatively. When two people are in a room together and each connected to cardiovascular monitoring equipment, we see that their heart rate and breathing patterns begin to synchronize. Who exactly does it sync too? Are you syncing to me, or am I syncing to you? Interestingly, research shows that we tend to sync to the person who holds the most perceived social authority in a space. In a yoga class, that’s you, since you’re the one in charge as the teacher.
How Yoga Teachers Work with Coregulation
Your nervous system leads the room. If you arrive nervous or tense, your students will unconsciously mirror that activation. If you are grounded, breathing slowly, and present, their physiology will follow suit. Long before you offer your first cue, your body is already teaching.
This doesn’t mean you have to be perfectly calm all the time. It does mean that your own regulation is part of your teaching practice. The quality of your breath, the steadiness of your tone, the way you transition between poses are all invitations for your students’ nervous systems to settle. Your state unconsciously guides them to rest, soften, and reconnect with the sensations within their own bodies.
Coregulation also works in the other direction. A room full of dysregulated students can pull your energy off center if you’re not aware of it. Protecting your energy, in this context, is key to being able to guide the students in to ease. You can do this by being aware of others’ impact on you and working hard to return to steadiness again and again when you notice any unease in the room. You may even consider practicing grounding through meditation or breathwork before and after class.
The broader truth is that we are not isolated beings. We are deeply interconnected, biologically and emotionally. Every time you step into the yoga room, your presence has the power to regulate the group field. Your students will then carry that forward, out of the studio, and into their homes and the world at large. This is the power of teaching yoga. Your influence can extend far beyond the classroom.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What exactly is coregulation, in simple terms?
Coregulation is your nervous system syncing with the nervous systems around you, often without you noticing. Students unconsciously mirror a teacher’s breath rate, tone, pace, and overall arousal level (tense vs. settled), which is why the “feel” of a room really matters.
2) How do I positively influence the regulation state of my students?
Students read nonverbal cues first: your breathing pattern, speaking pace and tone, body posture, facial expression, and bodily movements (fast versus slow). If you arrive grounded and unhurried, you broadcast safety. If you arrive rushed, you broadcast urgency. Their physiology tends to follow whichever signal is strongest, usually the teacher’s. To create safety for your clients, move slowly, talk clearly and slowly, smile and invite them in to the space with ease and warmth.
3) I’m not perfectly calm all the time. What’s a realistic pre-class reset?
Try a 60–90 second “arrive” ritual: Feel both feet, relax jaw/shoulders. Exhale longer than you inhale (e.g., 4-in/6–8-out) for 6–10 breaths. Set one cue intention (e.g., “slow and steady”). Remember to smile and look your students in the eye when they arrive, connecting with them on a human level.
4) What are signs my room is dysregulated and how do I respond?
Common signs: feeling tension in the room, fast movements, shallow breathing, hurried transitions, lots of fidgeting or side-chatter. Response: slow your cadence, lengthen pauses, simplify sequencing, and co-breathe (invite 3 collective, unhurried breaths). Name pace cues like “move at half speed.”
5) Can students’ energy dysregulate me? What protects my center?
Yes, coregulation is bi-directional. Protect your steadiness by maintaining a consistent personal practice, developing body awareness to notice when you’re being pulled off center, studying your own nervous system patterns, and creating rituals before and after teaching.
6) Do music, lighting, and room setup matter for coregulation?
They act as nervous-system cues. Softer, indirect light; moderate, steady-tempo music; clutter-free sightlines; and spacious mat lanes reduce sensory load and help the group synchronize with a calmer baseline.
7) How do I teach when I’m stressed or running late?
Own it briefly and regulate out loud: “Let’s take three slow exhales together.” Then model slowness with longer transitions, simpler sequences, steadier voice. The authenticity plus intentional down-shifting reorients the room faster than pretending nothing’s off. It also teaches in the moment how to downshift.
8) Does coregulation work online or in large classes?
Yes. Voice tone, pacing, and breath cues also transmit through a screen or on mic.
9) Is there more actual science I can read?
Yes, the publicly available research article written by myself (Dr. Alexandra D. Crosswell) and her colleagues at University of California San Francisco and other leading institutions was published in 2024 in Psychological Review and available here: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-37963-001.pdf. This article proposes a model called Deep Rest, about the positive biological impacts of yoga and other contemplative practices, and includes a description of coregulation and environmental impacts on the nervous system.
Author Bio:
Alexandra D. Crosswell, PhD is redefining what it means to thrive under pressure. A former medical school professor turned executive coach and product advisor, she helps leaders and companies apply the science of stress to build a more resilient world.
Over 15 years of NIH-funded research at Duke, UCLA, and UCSF, she uncovered how stress shapes the body, and how practices like meditation, breathwork, and prayer can rewire our biology for resilience. Today, she translates that science into action, advising wellness brands, facilitating corporate workshops, and guiding high-achievers through seasons of growth and change.
She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three kids, and shares more insights on LinkedIn.
Alexandra is a faculty member in Soul of Yoga’s 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training where she teaches about EpiGenetics and Yoga. To learn more about our 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training click here.