Yoga Instructors - we see you, providing your clients with a mind-body connection in the middle of a pandemic. We’ve got three quick tips to get you thinking a little deeper about how you share your practice!

Vary Your Class Lengths and Types

Are you feeling stuck with your programming? Maybe it’s time to take a virtual inventory of your offerings. If you’re feeling a little drained from teaching your hour-long classes, consider adding some midday 30 minute express classes. 

Think about folding a restorative or meditation-based class on evenings or weekends. Your classes should benefit you as well as your clients. 

A good rule of thumb is: if you’re thinking it, you’re not the only one. If you think you’re stuck in a teaching rut, then it is time to shake up your classes a little. Trust your gut and make a change.

Hit Your Angles

A pro tip that we cannot stress enough: start your class from a computer and also log in from a secondary device and get different angles of your mat. You might want to test run this set-up before class time and you’ll have to mute your secondary device to prevent feedback or the dreaded Zoom echo. 

If you’re using Zoom, you can actually spotlight up to nine videos (yes, in both the meeting and webinar functions). If you want to spotlight both of your camera angles, you’ll just need a minimum of one participant with their camera on as well. Spotlight the first camera by clicking the three dots in the upper right hand corner of a video square and selecting “spotlight for everyone.” Then, click on your secondary camera and select “add spotlight.” Voila! Your clients can now view you from multiple angles without having to switch to gallery view. 

Let Go of the Idea of “Perfect”

You’ll have to let go of the idea that your class needs to be “perfect” for it to be worth taking. There will be days when technology is not on your side, days when sharing your computer sound means your clients can’t hear you speak, even if you’ve never had that particular technical glitch beforehand. 

Classes aren’t perfect in-person either. We’ve all been in yoga classes where someone tiptoes in late (admit it: you’ve been the latecomer once or twice) or classes where the traffic on the street is louder than the instructor. If you think it would help set the tone, you can acknowledge the virtual space at the top of class. 

Consider building your playlists so that they can be shared; in a pinch you can have the client play the music from their devices so that you do not have to stream music. 

All you can do is be as prepared as possible, breathe, and think on your feet.