156: Why and How to Find Virtual Private Yoga Clients
I started teaching one private yoga client virtually in 2019 when she left Washington, DC for California. But other than her, I had absolutely NO experience teaching online when everything changed on March 13th, 2020. I was slightly ahead of the curve in understanding that the pandemic would be a life alternating experience and that we wouldn't be teaching yoga in-person for many many months.
I made really quick work of getting all my in-person private students on board to pivot to virtual private lessons, and by Monday, March 16th, I had everyone set up for the virtual lessons in their normal standing scheduled spot. I did not miss a single day of work or single private lesson in that transition, and that is something I am really proud of.
Then, at the beginning of 2022, I moved to a new area and had a baby. I kept all my clients virtual through that transition, and 95% of my teaching is still virtual. And I LOVE it.
Today on the podcast, I’m making the case for virtual private lessons!
I’ll tell you:
why AND how to find virtual private clients
why they are great for your students
how they can help support your business
who they are a good fit for (both student and teacher)
how to get started in offering virtual private lessons
Resources mentioned in the episode:
This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you’ll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)! OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I’m proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.
If I were to ask you what the purpose of asana is, what would you say? Would you say it was to feel better in the body? To build strength and flexibility? To prepare the body for meditation practice? To help people connect more deeply to their breath and themselves?
These are all beautiful answers!!
But if you gave a very specific movement cue or alignment principle when teaching asana, and I asked you what the purpose of that was, what would you say?
I think many of us value clarity and specificity in our teaching, but because of the way we were trained to teach movement, we fall into highly dogmatic or aesthetic based cueing even when that doesn’t honor our values.
Today’s podcast episode is a deep inquiry into the purpose of asana, especially as it applies to teaching movement in a specific and precise way.