Yoga instructors have the best job and a challenging job at the same time. Instructors have to sequence their classes, have on point queuing, ensure the safety of their class and create a pleasing environment for their students. The over all feeling and experience you get as a client is what will determine if you come back or not. Because so many different types of people take yoga it imperative to know how to gage your classes towards your audience.
The ‘only hippies do yoga’ stereotype has now long been faded and almost everyone and their dog practice yoga. This widens the types of people that come into the classes. As an instructor, it is actually a pretty amazing thing to sit at the front of the room, look around at your class and see how divers the cliental is. People of all shapes, sizes and abilities. My personal favorite was teaching a Deep Stretch Relaxation class which hosted punk rockers, a mom and daughter, mixed races, business men, young men, and fit chicks. It was the most beautiful thing to see. The best part was majority of the clients are all coming for the same reason, to improve their over all well-being.
As we have been talking about in previous blogs, even professional athletes are finding value in yoga to help them in their area of expertise. Because there is a huge diversity in the cliental, there has been a shift in how we approach yoga. New spins have been added to yoga to make them more appeling to non traditional lovers. No matter how you practice we still benefit in the same ways.
An instructor has one goal in the position… to make everyone feel accepted. The cliental should feel comfortable. Yoga can be a vulnerable thing for new people. They are exploring new ways to move around, using muscles they have never used before, and could be self conscious. I’m sure we have experienced walking into a room and feel like the whole place is staring at you, or the opposite, everyone ignores you. The studio should be a safe zone where you are not judged or forgotten. It is important to give everyone an equally enjoyable experience.
At Oxygen we take a more modern approach to yoga setting us apart from many other studios. This being said we also teach a variety of styles of yoga within our studios, some traditional and some with a more modern take. There is something here for everyone. The instructors are passionate about diversity. Many of them even beginning as clients, so they understand how and why people walk through our doors. They want to give the same experience they received.