Teaching Yoga: Start at the beginning - With An Intro to Yoga Course.
One of the main mistakes I see new teachers make is not being genuinely accessible to beginners. Often we want to offer fun, flowy, dynamic practice BUT where do those strong practitioners come from? Someone has to teach them the basics and who better than a new teacher seeking students.
I know it can be scary to offer something that seems so niche- to limit who can come to class, when we start out, we often feel we want to keep it as broad as possible. But believe me offering an Intro to yoga course is one of the joys of teaching- welcoming those who are ready to listen and learn, those who need what you can offer them. Business wise- speaking to specific group, and voicing their needs and concerns, is the ideal way to get your business going. It is easier to find someone looking to start yoga, than to get them to switch to you.
We are often entreated to hold onto “beginners mind” as a truly wonderful way to enjoy our practice and lives, a way to remain humble and open to truth. So why not celebrate this and be inspired by actual beginners!
From 25 years of teaching and 15 of running a studio, I believe an Intro to yoga courses will become the foundation of your whole business. You will have students loyal to you forever potentially! You may even one day see them become trained teachers and you become peers who practise together.
Here’s how to do it and why!
Create a Crystal clear offering
Great marketing is excellent communication, and when you can communicate really clearly that this course is for total beginners who would like to be introduced to yoga, then you have a winning formula. Students know what to expect, and you know how to talk about it. Be sure to include images of yourself not being bendy & not being sexy (!) so that students know you understand their needs.
A great marketing tool is to speak to a “pain point” for students and then let them know how you can help them overcome it. Most beginners are drawn by the idea of being more flexible, so simply speaking to this point. Instead of using "yoga for beginners" or "Intro to yoga," you can state "Need to improve flexibility?" or "Ready to stress less and enjoy life more?" Then, add your solution "6 weeks to improve your mobility." Follow this with a clear call to action ie what to do next to hear more or sign up.Send this clear motivational call to your email list & any social media channels you use or an advert.
On a social media post, ask them to leave a message so you can contact them. Make it as easy as possible for the student to reach out to you and for you to contact them. Be prepared to follow up with them as soon as possible.
Another approach to be really specific is to say: what it’s for, how many people, what sort of people, where, when & then the call to action ie Seeking x6 Bristol women looking to improve flexibility. Are you a woman aged 30+ who wants to improve your flexibility. I can help you. Contact….
2. Improves our understanding of asana
Beyond a great way to hone our business skills, complete beginners will improve your teaching and communication skills. Instead of thinking of complete poses, think in terms of “actions” so that each posture is broke down into a series of movements. These movements can add together, so that we layer up from a foundational movement, when this is accessible. This way we do not need to be afraid if someone can’t get into a pose, since we build it up together step by step. It is a team work scenario- where you offer a movement and then explore with the student to see if it works for them.
In turn this gives us so much ability to support all our students whenever they have an injury or aches and pains. Plus it support immense creativity. With total beginners and the small class we can offer in the course, we have the time to offer this for each student. One fantastic approach that often makes a movement or posture more do-able is to flip it- eg instead of sitting try it lying down, or try a similar movement in standing. This works well say with cross legs pose- try it lying on the back and it can be more manageable.
3. Revise philosophy
When we teach in this way without an “end goal” for asana it also gives space to explore the philosophy and to see yoga in its multi dimensional nature. An intro to yoga course gives us a chance to introduce the concepts and philosophies of yoga, alongside movement, meditation and breathwork. While “beginners” sounds as if it refers to those beginning a movement practice, “Introduction” gives us a much broader basis for our teaching. We learn to communicate the fundamental ideas of yoga in a really straightforward and kind way. We can introduce concepts that can be transformational for mental health and a sense of self-worth outside of the competitive framework of our own culture. It’s such a joy to be able to describe yoga- the whole practice, the philosophy underlying the practice in clear, accessible terms. We can share a theme each week to complement the practices as an integral part of the practice.
I share all this in the “Teaching Intro to Yoga” course, a guide for teachers if you would like to be guided through teaching an intro course, details in the resources below.
….”we don’t need to “fill up” the time as teachers”.
4. Rule- light!
Keep things really down to earth and perhaps lighten up on some of the “yoga-rules” we probably learnt that are not so helpful for beginners.
For example don’t drink during class, since this will not actually harm anyone and offering a down to earth approach can help us to see what we really do or do not need to say.
Or even if someone has a hard time taking off shoes/ socks, I might simply suggest they bring some light soled “pumps” if they have them (or daps as we say in Bristol). It won’t hurt them and there is so much to be gained from yoga aside from having bare feet for an hour.
This would tie in with a trauma aware approach to yoga, where we share the practice in a way that feels safe and inclusive. This is not a way to try to “heal” trauma, but simply takes account of how trauma can affect us/ our students. We do not need to advertise the course as trauma aware, since that can get more complicated, but simply try to create an environment where we validate our students needs and responses. There are courses that offer a trauma aware or trauma sensitive approach, I’ll add some resources below. One aspect is to simply communicate in a clear and honest way, without any of the need to be super “spiritual” or esoteric.
5. Create a handy guide for all beginners
With beginners we don’t have any expectations of what they know. We can reflect on all our own early misconceptions and how much we STILL have to learn. We may decide to send out the info in an email or leaflet, things like:
-We practise yoga without shoes on, is possible without socks.
-Try not to eat immediately before class
If we have not already offered this info out or included it in our FAQ on the website this is a good time to get it done.
6. Take your time
There’s no rush to “entertain” the more “able” or experienced students with the next pose or variation or breath practice or meditation. Perhaps the reason some of us take up yoga is for the sense of space, of taking things more slowly. So we don’t need to “fill up” the time as teachers.
In terms of the poses since the postures can initially feel quite tiring, and we often come to yoga feeling exhausted by life! So you give students time to rest, you can also find time to demonstrate the next pose as a way for students to take a break.
7. Loyalty
From the intro. course it can become clear what the student needs next & if we have the right offering for them then they often become really loyal students.
8. Networking
Or it might be that we think the student would be better off with a different teacher and we recommend someone. Often students have quite specific times they can make class- so its a great chance to support your peers.
9. Rewarding
I could go on. Teaching beginners remains a total passion. But let’s just say that altogether it is so rewarding to support students. We can also set up systems that work for us financially so that we charge well for the small Intro course where everyone feel safe. And then have loyal students willing to pay for class going forwards.
10. Love
I don’t know about you, but one thing teaching does for me is grow my heart into a big, compassionate loving being! Never more so than with beginners- those who come to yoga knowing it might help them feel more at ease in body and mind. Often they are anxious or a bit sad or achey, all the things it’s easy to relate to and support. Teaching the Intro to yoga course reminds me time and again of just how similar we all our- how much we have in common regardless of how we look or think.
We are all subject to the same hopes, fears and disappointments and the course is such a fantastic place to realise this collectively and celebration our share, compassionate nature.
A Brief Outline of Practicalities
Advertise your intro to yoga course at least 3 months in advance, I’d suggest a 6 week course of 75mins each week.
Pricing. When you price a course, add value - what else can you offer - Q&A or home practice sheet. Or a chat and chai after class once a month or at the end of the course. This way you can build community which is such an important aspect of yoga.
I suggest £90 (£15/ week) for your course with a set number of places so it feels safe e.g. 10- 12 places. Friends talk. If they love it, their friends will come next time.
Have a bursary offer for anyone off work/ who needs a discount. Personally I have the student tell me what they can afford & then I simply charge that much. Or something like - £90 full price £60 discount (students etc.). I also have one bursary place for £12 for the course. Get in touch if finances are an issue. I would like to support all students regardless of income.
Provide info- Perhaps prepare a leaflet to give to students, &/ or an FAQ page on the website. Often people are drawn to yoga because they are anxious and anxious people sometimes need to know exactly what to expect to feel safe.
Dates- Run the first course of the year in Mid Jan- March, then repeat a few times during the year e.g. March- April, April- May, and again in the autumn. Take a good break over the warmer months if you prefer.
Moving on- You need a class to feed the students into, although some students prefer to repeat the Intro course a few times.
Times- one way that has worked well for timing is e.g. Sunday (or any day) 5.30-6.45pm Explore Yoga Class or course (a follow on course or class) Sunday 6.45-8pm Intro to yoga Course. This way the later class can be dropped when not needed but you have an earlier Sunday class that can be ongoing as a drop in or a class booked in advance (e.g. every 4-6 weeks)
I suggest if you have an Open- class that the pre-book option is a bit cheaper e.g. Class can hold x15 people, students can pre-book at £15/ class for 6 weeks. Or drop in for £20/ class. You can add value by recording yourself teaching class on zoom or your phone and providing a recording so students can practice at home during the week. Or providing a short 10 minute recording as a home practice, rather than lowering the price of the classs. Give true quality and charge accordingly with a bursary option, rather than struggle yourself to make ends meet.
Would you like more support in teaching an Intro to Yoga course? I offer a course complete with an outline for how to easily sequence any course, marketing advice, classes, class plans, pdf of classes. I love to support you to support your students.
Links to relevant courses
Teach an Intro to Yoga Course A guide to teaching a 6 week course. Includes teaching tips. Classes. Class plans written out & more.
Inclusive Yoga Course How to teach “real people” that actually want to come to yoga, a guide to including those with anxiety, neurodiversity (ASD/ ADHD etc.) larger bodies, considerations for those with race/ gender based trauma etc.
Trauma Sensitive Teaching Intensive Learn to offer yoga in a trauma informed way to help students feel safe and included.