What is it really like in a yoga class?
Nov 22, 2018WHAT IS IT REALLY LIKE IN A YOGA CLASS?
The yoginis and yogis of John Godber Centre, Hucknall Nottingham strengthening their shoulders in downward facing dog
I take my role as a yoga teacher very seriously. I know just how many great yoga teachers are out there and how many free online tutorials are available so I am humbled and blessed that so many people choose to spend their time, energy and hard-earned pennies to come along to my classes, week after week. Seriously, I have had hundreds of people pass through my yoga classes over the years.
One of the aspects of my role that I love so dearly is to share the things that I truly believe will benefit people's lives that I don't always have time to discuss during my classes.
And let's be frank; you don't just come along to hear me speak - I know
YOU WANT TO ZONE OUT AND NOT THINK.
I totally get that!
So I write. And so many people read, share and comment on my offerings - for which I am super-grateful, because it means I am able to reach the message to a wider audience.
When I tell people I'm a yoga teacher, I can't tell you how many people respond by saying they'd love to do yoga but can't because they…
- don't have time for yoga
- aren’t flexible enough for yoga
- aren’t fit enough for yoga
- are too old for yoga
- are the wrong body shape for yoga
** delete as appropriate **
and it makes me sad because I know that none of these things are true.
What they actually mean is that they've never tried it and are perhaps a little bit fearful because
- they might not be very good at it
- they'll look silly
- they think it's not for them
I could tell them until I'm blue in the face, which quite honestly, would not go with any of the hair colours I've had over the last couple of years.
“YOGA IS THE JOURNEY OF THE SELF, THROUGH THE SELF, TO THE SELF”
You know how yoga can make you feel grounded yet lifted, open yet stable
As a respected member of my yoga community, I know that your words have far more weight than my own when it comes to telling people what they can expect to gain from practicing yoga with me. On or off the mat.
Of course you will never know how things are for another person but your words could make the difference for somebody who is thinking of coming along to try it out.
I’m opening the doors of my blog with all the love & good stuff I can muster and would like to invite you to say, in your own words,
what yoga has done for me
Blog posts for this series can be submitted via email in a Word document or in an email format and should be around 500 words long. Some things you might like to include are
-
how you heard of my yoga classes
-
how the style of my classes suits you or what you like about them
-
benefits that you experience from having a yoga practice - these can be mental, emotional, or physical
-
what the other people are like
-
if you’ve made any friends or connections
Feel free if you want to include a link to your own blog or website. I will share your account here in this very platform as well as on my social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Of course, please do tell me if you’d rather have your work published anonymously. Heck, it worked for Charlotte Bronte back in the day, so it can work for you as well.
NB The only thing I will say ‘thanks but no thanks’ to are comparisons or named references to another yoga teacher. Fair do’s if that is relevant to your experience, but I really don’t need to know who the other yoga teacher is because we are all unique and I have some really good friends in the yoga teacher community.
(In the interests of ahmisa / kindness and satya / honesty, if you do ever have any kind of grievance with a yoga teacher, I would suggest that you raise it with the yoga teacher in private and discrete manner. Email might be best; the start of one of their classes is not the time!)
