Yin Vs. Restorative: What’s the Difference?

Woman in supta baddha konasana

Yin and Restorative yoga look a lot alike. After all, students lay on the floor, hold poses a long time, use props, and often look like they’re losing consciousness (in a good way). So what’s the difference between yin and restorative yoga?

Though the postures may look similar, it may surprise you to know that these styles are very different! Let’s start with the purpose of these two styles of practice:

  • The purpose of a restorative yoga class is to calm the nervous system and provide deep rest and relaxation.
  • The purpose of yin class is to put healthy tension across the yin (connective) tissues of the body.

Let’s look at each style individually.

Restorative

Principles of Restorative Yoga:

  • Facilitate the pacification of the nervous system
  • Release postural muscles
  • Use props to support the body in a beneficial relationship to gravity

In order to calm the nervous system and provide deep rest and relaxation for the body, a restorative class supports the body in gravity in a state of repose. Sure, some restorative poses may have a little stretch to them (like a supported forward fold or supported twist), but the intention of the pose is to engender relaxation – not to stretch or add tension to the tissues. We might say that in restorative, the body is held in a state where the tissues may be stretched 0-50%. The stretch should “fade” into the background of the pose for the practitioner, rather than be a primary area of focus. Restorative poses are held for a long time (5-10 minutes) in order to allow the nervous system to relax rather than to “deepen” a stretch.

To facilitate deep relaxation, the purpose of props is therefore to provide ease for the body. In restorative, no parts of the body should “hang out” in gravity unsupported; all parts of the body should feel grounded. For example, let’s say you put someone’s knees on a bolster (yay), but their heels are dangling off the floor. In a restorative practice, we would add blocks or blankets under the feet so the heels aren’t hanging out in space.

Most of the joints of the body should be in a soft state of flexion (for example: fingers curling in, elbows and knees slightly bent, chin slightly tucked) to facilitate a sense of repose. Even a restorative backbend should facilitate quiet and calm rather than activation. Even the ever-vigilant postural muscles get to take a break. Because we want the body to be peaceful, the body in restorative yoga should be kept warm. “Safe, dark, and warm,” as restorative leader Judith Hanson Lasaster has said. Blankets, socks, even wooly hats are welcome (or have the room slightly heated). We’re not going for a lot of heat here, but we want the feeling of a restorative class to be cozy. Our intention? Providing absolute comfort.

Yin

Principles of Yin:

  • Add a wholesome tension to the “yin” tissues of the body (tendons, ligaments, connective tissue, joint capsules)
  • Relax all muscular effort
  • Cultivate mindfulness in the midst of the “edge” of sensation

Unlike restorative, yin yoga does stress the tissues of the body, in particular, the connective tissue. Rather than stretch muscles (yang tissue), yin yoga is designed to place a steady, reasonable tension to connective tissue in order to facilitate health and hydration. While both yin and restorative eshew muscular effort, yin invites sensation (even healthy discomfort) in order to address connective tissue. We might say that a yin poses invites a “stretch” of 50-80%.

In the yin practice, we use props, certainly. However, props are meant to support us in a safe relationship to gravity rather than mitigate gravity altogether. In yin, we are seeking a targeted sensation (yin sensations include tension, achiness, stretching…never any sharp, tingling, or acute sensation). Because all bodies are different, props may be used to facilitate each person finding their personal, tolerable, and beneficial edge. In yin, the body does “hang out” in space a bit rather than being completely supported by props.

Because the yin practice invites a reasonable edge of discomfort, meditation and relaxation in yin occurs through the potential intensity of sensation rather than in its absence. Providing tension to connective tissue can actually be very relaxing for the body and nervous system (there may be drool and snores), but we’re getting to that place via a different route than we are in restorative.

Final Thoughts

Restorative and yin are both beautiful practices. However, their gifts can get muddied when we merge the styles and teach restorative with stretching or yin with too much support. By clarifying and holding true to the intention of each style, we can more fully share their unique gifts.

PS: Are you looking to offer a yin teacher training at your studio? I can help! Check out my yin resources here.

Resources:

How to Create a 300 Hour YTT

Yoga Blankets

So you’ve created a 200 hour and have been running it for a couple of years. Now your students are looking for more and are asking you to create a 300 hour advanced teacher training. Where do you start?

First of all, don’t panic.

Creating a 300 hour yoga teacher training may be easier than you think!

First: Why It’s Easier Than You Think

When students graduate from a 200 hour yoga teacher training, they often have a sense of how they should teach in theory, but precious little skill in practice. Part of the goal of a 300 hour is to help your students integrate, embody, and innovate upon these fundamental skills. This goal means that you will be spending a good chunk of time having your students working on the practical aspects of their craft, which will take a good chunk of time:

  • Practice teaching work with detailed, specific feedback from trainers ~ 50 hours
    • For example: 2.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday for 10 weekends, round robin of teaching or structured practice teaching
  • Assisting faculty in public classes ~ 30 hours
    • Students can observe classes or assist faculty in classes with select practice teaching moments when they’re ready; perhaps they teach a by donation class for the studio under supervision

Holy heck! You’ve just planned 80 hours of your 300 hour training!

Not too shabby.

Now, these hours can not be haphazard, abstract, muddy, inconsistent, or unplanned. You will need to create clear benchmarks for skill development as well as measurable and specific criteria for success. But reinforcing your cuing basics (direct language, cuing from the ground up, cuing misalignments, stabilizing transitions, etc.) will take time and practice. So ensure that you are creating time and space in your 300 Hour to yoga teacher training to work on these foundational skills until they are organic and second nature.

Content for Your 300 Hour

So now that you’ve planned 80 hours of your program, what else should you include?

Consider:

  • Class Styles. The class styles of your studio or community: which styles do students need to learn? How do you want your teachers to teach? What are current gaps in knowledge that you would address if you could?
  • Sequencing. Oh sequencing! There are so many possibilities here! Creating sequences, creating sequences in different styles, teaching these sequences, adapting sequences, evaluating each other’s sequences, working on pacing, creating well-rounded classes, creating a progressive series…the possibilities are endless.
  • Anatomy. Ahhh anatomy! You know how much I love yoga anatomy! If you’re looking for support here, I have a 50-hour online anatomy program for 300 hour programs led by Gil Hedley. Take a peek here and ask me for a backstage tour.
  • Specialty Yoga. Candidly, I’m not a fan of putting together a bunch of speciality styles and modularizing them into a 300 hour yoga training. Though it may sound tempting from a business perspective (hey, I’ll just have a bunch of a la carte offerings and turn them into a YTT!), it undermines your ability to create a powerful and compounding journey withe one group of students. That said, if you have a particularly strong specialty style at your studio, such as hot or Yin, then you may consider incorporating a style into your 300, such as a 50-hour Yin Training.
  • Philosophy. Which texts are important for your students to know? And if you’re looking for support with lesson plans, check out my Buy A Lessons and save some time! The History of Yoga, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Ayurveda, Chakras, Koshas, Tantra, Hatha?
  • Pranayama and meditation techniques. What do you want them to know? Build first on the basics. Reinforce the techniques from your 200 hour yoga teacher training program (meditation and pranayama) and then add plenty of time to both practice and group teach more advanced techniques that you want your teachers to know.
  • Ethics and values. How does a professional yoga teacher comport themselves? How do they contextualize conflict or manage challenging situations? What thorny issues may emerge for a yoga professional and what tools do they need to navigate these challenges?
  • Yoga Business Modules. Teaching online is here to stay. By including practical business modules on branding, marketing, teaching online, how to plan a retreat, and creating a workshop can help position your trainees for success as a professional. (Want help? Check out my extensive business electives here.)
  • Other cool stuff. Hands on assists, theming, mudra, mantra, chanting, kirtan, the subtle body, adaptive yoga, teaching beginners, yoga outreach, trauma informed yoga, speciality populations.

Your task: consider your ideal graduate. What skills, attitudes, and knowledge must they have to be a representative of your business? Brainstorm! Create a wild and crazy list!

Sample Hourly Breakdown

Okay folks, so let’s say that I’m helping you out with come of your content. Let’s break that 300 hours down into manageable chunks. Here’s how you might start to plan:

  • 50 hours of practice teaching and feedback by trainees
  • 30 hours of actual practice (guided practice by faculty)
  • 10 hours of practicum (formal assessment)
  • 30 hours of assisting and observing classes
  • 50 hour: Yin teaching specialty
  • 50 hours: Gil Hedley’s Integral Anatomy for Yogis course
  • 10 hours of pranayama and meditation practices
  • 10 hours of mantra, chanting
  • 30 hours of philosophical study and ethics
  • 10 hours of hands on assisting
  • 10 hours of business

Uh…wait, we’re already at 290 hours, which is 20 past what we need for contact hours (Yoga Alliance only requires 270).

Feel more manageable?

Yoga Alliance

Yoga Alliance is currently (as of Feb 2024) more easeful and flexible with their 300 hour standards than they are with their 200 hour standards. There is a lot of latitude for studios to create trainings that are reflective of their mission and vision and as a result, they don’t dictate the “categories” of content as strictly.

Here are a few key points (see more here):

  • Faculty needs to be registered as E-RYT 500 hour teachers
  • 50 hours (at least) must be allocated to Techniques, Training and Practice
  • 5 hours (at least) must be allocated to Teaching Methodology
  • 30 hours (at least) must be allocated to Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle and Ethics for Yoga Teachers
  • 30 hours (at least) must be allocated to practicum (practice teaching, observation, assisting)
  • And YES you can teach online.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this has helped de-mystify the 300 hour YTT and put it a little closer into reach!

The 300 hour yoga teacher training is a powerful and exciting offering for your community that can support your teachers to gain confidence in their skills and authenticity in their teaching voice. Launching your 300 hour YTT may be closer than you think!

I’m here to help! Reach out anytime for an informational chat or brainstorm and let’s make it a reality.

Book a chat with me HERE.

How Do I Create My Own Yoga Teacher Training? How Long Will It Take?

create a yoga teacher training

Creating a yoga teacher training is an exciting opportunity to connect with your community, share your passion for yoga, deepen your own leadership skills – all while generating revenue for your business. So how you get started in creating your own yoga teacher training? And practically speaking, how long will it take?

The Student Manual

When you creating curriculum, it’s tempting to think that your yoga teacher training is all about your yoga teacher training student manual. After all, this seems to be the most tangible product that you will give to your students.

However, let me be clear: it is not.

While the yoga teacher training student manual is an excellent reference and supporting tool for your yoga teacher training, the real value and learning from your training comes in how the students spend those 200 hours with you. In short: the quality of their educational experience depends upon the quality of your lesson plans. A lesson plan describes what students will learn from you in a given length of time – and more importantly, a lesson plan is a roadmap for how they will learn it. Consider:

  • What lectures or presentations will you give?
  • What activities will the students do?(Asana labs, practices, sequencing exercises, worksheets?)
  • What quizzes or practicums will assess the students’ knowledge?

How To Start

To begin thinking about creating your own 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What will my students be able to DO as a result of this training (the full 200 hours) with me? How will I know that they are graduating as a good teacher? What will they need to demonstrate? (Check out my article on “the great mistake” if you haven’t yet :))
  • What individual topics (lessons) do I need to cover to move students from A to B? What content is needed? (I recommend doing a big brainstorm!)
  • How will I frame (schedule) these topics? See this resource for help!
  • What will the students be able to do a a result of each individual lesson?
  • And finally: what support materials will I use to support each lesson? (This is where you create your student manual :)) Need help? Check out this course.
  • Marketing. (Need help? Check out this course.)

Timing

So how long will create your own yoga teacher training? Well, as a rough guide, you expect to spend 2-3 hours creating each hour of curriculum. So parts will be faster, and some parts will be slower. So for a 200 hour YTT, you can estimate that you will spend 400-600 hours creating your program. Now, there are ways that you can mitigate this time expenditure.

Option 1: Buy A Training

  • Purchase a pre-made, high quality Buy A Training that you trust can serve as the foundation for your own yoga teacher training – as long as you can edit it and make it yours!
  • Naturally, I’m a fan of the one that I created 😉 and you can see it here: Rachel’s Buy A Training. But I strongly recommend that you investigate the options that are out there and see if there is a premade curriculum that is right for you. Things to consider if you are thinking of this route:
    • Can I adapt, edit and brand the curriculum?
    • Are the lesson plans clearly mapped out, effective, and detailed enough to support my training with activities?
    • Has the training been run and tested?
    • Who created the training? Do they have any instructional design or educational experience?
    • Do I get support with registering for an organization like Yoga Alliance?
    • Do I like the curriculum? Does it align with my own methodology for sequencing, teaching, and cueing?
    • Are there good visual support materials for topics like anatomy?
    • Cost: are there cost options? Are there annual fees? How soon would I be able to pay it off?

Option 2: Get Support and Buy Lesson Plans

  • Purchase some elements (like anatomy or sequencing lesson plans) to get some support on particular topics that may be challenging and time consuming to write yourself. Then flesh out the program with your own material.
  • You can see all my Buy A Lessons here – they may give you good ideas on where to start.

Option: Do It Yourself – With Guidance

  • Creating a yoga teacher training is exciting – but it’s a massive project. Knowing how to do what tasks and in which order will save you a lot of time and help your training be more effective, professional, and engaging.
  • If you want to do it yourself, consider reaching out for coaching, or I’ve also created a “Create Your Training” course that helps you do things right. It’s all you – but you’ll undertake the project in way that helps you creating everything you need, structure your program smartly and clearly, prepare to register for your oversight organization, and do tasks in the right order to make the most of your precious time. See the course here: Create Your Training.

Final Thoughts

Whichever option you choose, remember: you don’t have to go it alone!

Creating a yoga teacher training can initially seem overwhelming, but there are lot of people – including me 😉 – who love education and can be an ally and thought partner to make your dream a reality. As entrepreneurs, we often are ferocious do it yourselfers ~ but getting support for your YTT creation can help you to juggle all those balls more easily and make you’re yoga teacher training a reality sooner rather than later. Work smart – not just hard.

I’m always available for a free virtual coffee chat! Reach out to connect and get your yoga teacher training ball rolling 🙂

How Much Should I Pay My Yoga Teacher Trainers?

If you’re considering running a yoga teacher training, you need to consider how much you will pay your yoga teacher trainers – or associate faculty. Unless you’re teaching the whole training yourself, your faculty fees will probably be the largest expense that you have. And of course, faculty can make or break the quality and experience of your yoga teacher training and the student experience. So let’s take a look!

Yoga Teacher Trainer Roles

Once you have selected your faculty (based on their skill, emotional IQ, and professional responsibility), you will want to consider the role that they are playing your yoga teacher training.

  • Is your yoga teacher training bringing and teaching their own material, or are they teaching yours?
  • How much of the program (what percentage) are they teaching?
  • Are they part of your Yoga Alliance faculty or credentialing organization (i n other words, do you depend on them teaching to maintain your credentials with your registration body)?
  • Will the faculty help with marketing (getting students into the program through announcements, social media posts, and being a player in marketing efforts)?

My personal preference is that yoga teacher trainers – unless they are teaching a very specific subject – teach your curriculum rather than their own. I am a fan of studios and teachers owning all the material in their own yoga teacher training so that they are not reliant on an outside individual for the quality of their training. Trainers will of course add their own flair and voice to any subject that they are teaching, but you want to have the rights to your own manual and materials so that if your faculty leaves the studio, you don’t lose your training.

Payrates for Yoga Teacher Trainers

You can pay a yoga teacher trainer in two essential ways:

  • by the hour,
  • with a percentage of the training revenue. For example, if you have two faculty members that are teaching the program, you may think it’s a good idea to pay each of them 25% of the revenue, and the studio keeps 50%.

I usually suggest that you pay a trainer by the hour, as then you can estimate your own training expenses and revenue more accurately. I have also found that the burden for marketing your YTT (and of course other expenses) will generally fall onto the shoulders of the hosting studio. While you can implement referral ideas (hey, for every student you personally bring in, you get $100!), this can be challenging because students usually attend a YTT for a variety of reasons rather than simply for one faculty member.

Pay by Hour

Payrates per hour for trainers can range.

If you are providing the lesson plans and all the materials, then you may pay your trainers $50-$70 per hour. If someone teaches all 200 hours, the minimum they should walk away with would be 10K ($50/hour). Generally, YTT time should pay more than that teacher’s class rate, as it requires a higher degree of skill and knowledge. However, if you have experienced teachers who are using their own material, then you may pay them up to $125-$150/ hour.

You may also consider having YTT assistants who are learning the ropes whom you pay at lower rates. For example, you may pay an aspiring teacher trainer $15-$25/hour to assist the training ~ or even require that they take the training once for free as a student in order to learn the content ~ with the expectation that when they can pull their own weight, they will earn a higher wage.

Consider the following sample budget:

  • 200 classroom hours, paying your fairly experienced lead trainer $75/hour = $15,000
  • Your revenue for 10 students @$3000/student = $30,000
  • In this scenario, you’d be paying your faculty 50% of the revenue

After you pay for your space rental, manual printings, Yoga Alliance fees, processing fees, etc, you’d probably net 8-10K. However, for every student that you bring in, you’d have another 3K of revenue.

You could elect to do bonuses to incentivize trainers to promote the YTT while covering your own investment. For example, the trainer could earn one fee for 8-12 students, a higher rate for 13-18 students, and an even higher rate for 19-25 students.

Pay by percentage

The benefit of a percentage split is that everyone is taking a risk, and everyone is invested. However, as I mentioned above, my experience has been that the studio usually bears the marketing burden.

If you are interested in doing a percentage split, consider the following

  • Make sure that you are doing a split of the net, not the gross. In other words, carefully look at your expenditures and make sure that you are accounting for them (rental if needed, processing fees, marketing costs, manual printing) and for the trainer, perhaps their transport costs of (if they’re out of town), their lodging.
  • A percentage split makes more sense if the trainer is bringing all the intellectual property and training materials with them. In other words, if you’re partnering with a trainer and they are providing everything and you’re just providing the space, community, and registration support, then you’d likely do a percentage split of 70/30, 65/35 or 60/30 (in their favor). After all, they’re bringing all the goodies. Just make sure that you’re not taking too much of a hit on revenue in the form of cancelling classes, etc.

Contracts

Whichever way you go, have a contract. Have a clear minimum number of students that you agree must be signed up by a certain time for the training to run. For example, you may have an agreement that you must have 10 students signed up 14 days before the start date. If faculty is coming in from out of town, make sure you have cancellation clauses for their expenses (transportation, accommodation) or ensure that they’ve purchased trip insurance. Now, you could choose to adjust these last minute, but it’s important to have your benchmarks set and agreed upon in advance so you are not caught be surprise.

Number of Trainers

If you are paying your trainers a decent rate (say, $75/hour), then you’ll probably only want one teaching a time ~ unless you have over 20 students. In our example above, if you were paying two teachers to be there the whole 200 hours at $75/hour, it would cost you 30K. Schedule your trainers judiciously. You may have a lead trainer and assistant there the whole time, or you may have two trainers there at critical times (for example, the welcome at the start of the training as well as the final assessment and graduation).

Be savvy about how you schedule your trainers and when so that you are very clear on what you will be paying every hour of the training.

Final Thoughts

Your trainers will make or break the training. Choose them carefully (see my blog here about selecting faculty. And treat them well. Create clear contracts and make sure they feel good about their relationship with you. Pay them as well as you can, and be fair and transparent in how you are arriving at payrates (it can even be useful to share your budget with them so that they understand your expenses). Teaching a YTT is a great opportunity for them, as it creates an opportunity to enjoy a more substantial payrate. And having wonderful faculty represent your YTT is great for you, as they will be a personalized expression of your brand and your business. When this relationship is entered thoughtfully and respectfully, it creates a marvellous win win for everyone: you, the trainer, and your students.

How To Think Like An Educator, Rather Than An Expert

Lessons for yoga teacher trainers

When a yoga teacher decides to take the leap and develop a teacher training, there is a fundamental shift that needs to take place: we have to start thinking like an educator, rather than an expert.

And expert is someone who is passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about their chosen subject. An educator is someone who can inspire others to a different level of performance. Let’s look at how these are different.

If we approach our teacher training like an expert, we may make what I call, “The Great Mistake.” The great mistake is thinking that education is about what I tell my students. If we think this way, then we are tempted to give students the contents of our heads. We think that if we just give them enough information, they will be educated. Although this is very well-intentioned, it often leads to a “fire hose” approach where we saturate students with information.

Instead, to think like an educator, we have to change our point of view. Rather than thinking that education is about what I tell my students, I change the focus. I reframe the experience and define education as what my students can DO.

By making education about what our students can do as a result of the learning experience, I change the focus of the experience from me (what I say or show) to the student (how the student can perform differently). From this point of view, I am now focused on the student’s measurable performance. I can set a clear benchmark for what I want the student to be able to demonstrate or articulate at the end the lesson.

This change may seem simple, but it will transform the learning experience in profound ways:

  • As an educator, I now need to set clear goals for student performance,
  • I take the focus off of me and put it on the student,
  • I get clear about what “inputs” the student needs to achieve the desired performance, which defuses the danger of “firehosing” them with unnecessary information,
  • I have a clear idea of how I will assess the student’s success.

Before you create your next lesson plan, workshop, or teacher training, pause to think:

What do I want the student to be able to DO as a result of this learning experience?

This simple inquiry will help you take the leap from expert to educator, and support your students to have a successful learning experience.

Going Online With Your Yoga Teacher Training: Four Things You Need To Know

We’ve all been going online with our yoga teacher trainings through COVID. But now that restrictions are easing up, what do we do now? Do we go back to completely in-person, stay with the hybrid, or stay completely online…and if so, what are best practices?

1. Know Your Audience

Step One in figuring out if and how to leverage online content is to know your students. While doing part of your yoga teacher training online may seem like a good idea, it’s best to step back first and consider who your students are. Here are some questions to ask:

  • Are my students comfortable with online technology (zoom and the like)?
  • Do my students have the materials they need at home (props, etc.) to do part of their work online?
  • Are my students local (making it easy to come into the studio) or far away (making doing work work online more attractive)?
  • What appeals more to your students learning style? Do they need in-person touch points, or can they work independently?

2. Know Your Content

If you elect to teach your entire course online, your students will not be evaluated in-person, nor can they easily develop in-person teaching skills. After all, it’s quite a different experience to teach on Zoom than to teach in a studio with real students. It’s important to consider the skillset you need your students to demonstrate in order to graduate successfully. If teaching live and in-person is an important aspect of your curriculum, then teaching live and in-person needs to be part of the experience.

Also, certain content cannot effectively be taught online. Hands on assists, for example. You simply need in-person feedback to teach this kind of skill.

On the other hand, there is some content that is excellent to teach online ~ and in fact, may even be better online than in person. More cognitive tasks such as sequencing exercises, worksheets, philosophical discussions, ethics discussions can all be taught online effectively.

Understanding what needs to be taught in person – and what could be taught well virtually – will give you a better idea of how much of your content would be appropriate for online delivery.

3. Know Your Assessments

It’s far easier to assess students live (whether on Zoom or in-person) than to assess their teaching through recordings. For one, other students can also observe the assessment, which gives them valuable insight into evaluating and honing their own skills. Also, it’s a lot better to give your trainees immediate, “just in time” feedback to students so that they can integrate adjustments in the moment. It’s not as easy for them to integrate feedback that comes much later in time. Also, it can take a lot of YOUR time to review videos for each student and to meet with them; usually it’s faster and more effective to evaluate them in person. For this reason, it can be helpful to have your assessments delivered in person.

4. Consider Faculty and Peer Interaction

One of the best parts of a teacher training is connecting with peers and the faculty. Many students take a yoga teacher training in part because they get to connect with faculty more closely. If you are teaching part of your training online, then take time to consider how you can also create community and connection virtually. Tactics such as creating study groups, having online mentorship meetings, hosting online discussion forums, and having shared projects can all increase student interaction, which can both increase learning as well as motivation.

Also, you need to know your faculty. Can your faculty handle the technical requirements of online delivery?

The Bottom Line

Generally speaking, a hybrid yoga teacher training program (partially online and partially in-person) can give you the best of both worlds. You can put certain lessons online (either pre-recorded or synchronous via Zoom) that would benefit from online delivery. Putting some content online can be helpful because:

  • Students and trainers will have more flexibility with timing,
  • Reduces commute time,
  • When content is pre-recorded, you have given students access to a library of resources that they can access anytime,
  • Reduces your studio rental fees (see more on budgeting here),
  • Some content is even better taught online than in person.

At the same time, you can leverage your in-person time for the content that is best served by being taught in real life, such as:

  • Practice teaching,
  • Assessments,
  • Applied anatomy,
  • Teacher presence and body language,
  • Demonstrations,
  • Hands on assists.

It’s a brave new world! By being savvy about how you leverage our new online capabilities, you can create a yoga teacher training that is effective, engaging, and transformational.

Need help creating a great online course? Learn from the best!

How Do I Choose My Yoga Teacher Training Faculty?

Inviting other teachers to participate in your training can be a great way to share expertise, entice a new population of students, and off-load some of your own work. However, there are some drawbacks to consider and you need to choose your partners wisely.

Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s.

Pro’s of Collaboration

  • Have an expert share their personal passion
  • Off-load work of content creation
  • Off-load work of facilitation/ teaching
  • Offer different points of view in your training
  • Different faculty may appeal to different students
  • Different faculty offers may widen your marketing funnel to new students

Con’s of Collaboration

  • They may have a difficult schedule / not be available when you need
  • You may not own the material they present (unless they use your material)
  • You may not own the rights to the handouts they provide
  • They may cancel and leave you in a bind
  • They may contradict your teaching ideology in the classroom/ confuse the students/ use different language or vocabulary then you do
  • You are paying another person (expense)
  • If you’re running a retreat, it’s more expensive to bring them with you

Avenues of Collaboration

When you’re running a yoga teacher training, there are several ways that you may choose to collaborate with another trainer. Let’s look at the options.

  • Training Partner: you’re in it together! The training is your shared love child. You both create and own the whole thing.
  • Trainer: you are hiring them to teach YOUR material. You create it, they teach it. 
  • Outside Faculty: experts in a subject. They come prepared to teach with their own material, and they own all the content. 

Let’s look more deeply at each of these and the implications.


Level of InvolvementImplications
Training PartnerA training partner is a full partner in creating the course with you understands and shares your course vision. They probably teach the course with you (or teach a significant portion) and they probably belongs to Yoga Alliance or your credentialing organization as an E-RYT (if you choose to register). You’re on the same page in terms of your teaching principles (values, how to cue, use of language, how to sequence, etc.) and you are okay spending a lot of time with them.A training partner will own the copyright for the course with you (unless you pay them for their work and have a legal contract otherwise).
You’re probably splitting the training profits with them rather than paying them an hourly fee.
You both “run” the training. You’ll have to figure out how to manage administration and registration duties (the behind the scene work that goes into creating a YTT)
They likely need to be involved from beginning so that the content is cohesive and makes sense.
You’re stuck with them long term as business partners.
You must be on same page and crystal clear in terms of how you teach and the ideology of your training so that your students aren’t confused and the training is consistent.
This is a good option if you have a business partner / very like minded yogi, you want to collaborate, and you’re in it for the long-haul.
TrainerA trainer is a skilled “gun for hire:” you pay them come in and teach your course content and use your material. They may belong to Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT (if you choose to register ~ or whatever your credentialing organization is), and you’re on the same page in terms of your teaching principles (values, how to cue, how to sequence).
They do NOT own your content. You Do. They are teaching your material for you.
You’re probably paying them an hourly fee rather than splitting profits.
Unless you took your teacher training with them, you may have to train them to make sure they understand your course material, values, and your course concepts.
This is a good option if you already have a training and you want others to be able to teach it (for example, a studio with ambassadors), or, if you’re willing to do the legwork to create your training yourself.
Special FacultySpecialists in a subject area are a “gun for hire,” and you pay them to teach THEIR material they bring handouts, etc for students. They may not belong to Yoga Alliance.They own their own content likely paid by the hour great for diversifying your faculty roster and teaching their own material.
They are great for “niche” subjects such as philosophy, pranayama, ayurveda that don’t impact fundamental teaching methodology subjects like cuing and sequencing. 

Too Many Cooks

There’s a seductive gray area where you may think, “But Amanda is so good at sequencing…I’ll just have her come in and teach a section.”

You can have too many cooks in the kitchen. 

Remember, this training is about extending YOUR BRAND and YOUR VISION. And anyone who is teaching in your training must be totally on board with your teaching methodology. To deliver a consistent and effective training experience to your students, your teacher trainers must speak the same language, teach consistent ideas, and demonstrate the same teaching techniques.

Otherwise, you’re going to start to hear, “But Amanda said that we could teach handstand right before Savasana!” Or other such things that may conflict with your ideas of teaching.  It’s like parents contracting each other: it will confuse your students and undermine the training experience.

Best Practice: if you want to include additional “special faculty” in your training, outsource specialized topics that don’t impact your core teachings and training vision. Or be prepared to train your faculty to ensure that everyone is on board with the core ideas of your training methodology.

US Yoga Alliance and Faculty

If you want to register your course with YA (or another organization), then you – or a couple of your trainers – need the appropriate credentials. Before you choose faculty, it’s useful to ensure that they can meet these requirements.

Check with your organization’s requirements in advance to ensure that your trainers will meet their requirements.

Teacher Trainers: It’s More Than Just Teaching

Just because someone is a great yoga teacher, that does not necessarily mean that they are a great teacher trainer.

Let’s look at the qualities you will want in a teacher trainer:

  • Team Player: ability to be flexible, take direction, and work well with others ~ like your or their fellow faculty.
  • Emotional intelligence and positivity: ability to hold space as a leader for a group of students who may be emotional and vulnerable. They validate students’ experiences and support their learning rather than criticizing or diminishing. Ability to manage group dynamics.
  • Responsible and organized, good time management: ability to show up early, manage a space, deal with handouts and some administrative duties like attendance, and organize assessments. Ability to manage their time and stay on task.
  • Committed to continuing education: someone who is interested and passionate about learning and sharing.
  • Ability to put the students’ experience first (rather than needing to position themselves as experts).
  • Clear communication: ability to relay complex ideas clearly and simply so that students can learn.
  • Marketing: will this faculty help you promote your training?

Your primary faculty will need to act like den mama’s and papa’s; in addition to having a clear understanding of the content, they must be able to help to manage the emotional rollercoaster ride of a yoga teacher training. For many teacher trainee’s, teaching is scary! Your faculty should be positive and supportive forces for the trainees growth.

Final Thoughts

When you are creating your yoga teacher training, it can sometimes be easy to partner with someone early…and regret it later. Before you agree to collaborate, think practically about the future of your business. Who owns the training? What does it look like if this other person goes away? What does it look like if there is a divergence or a falling out?

There are many ways to partner with others, but you want to be savvy and bullet proof your business. Creating a teacher training is a big investment and time and money. Some patient forethought about your faculty can help ensure that you create a training that is not only an amazing experience for your students, but a lucrative long-term offering for your business.

How To Create A Budget for Your Yoga Teacher Training

The Financial Realities of Running a Yoga Teacher Training

 

One of the scariest parts of launching a teacher training is the paralyzing thought: “Will I make enough money?” Creating (or purchasing) a 200 hour teacher training is a big investment, and it’s wise to do a little legwork in advance to have a sense in advance of your return on investment. This process can give you a sense of how you might approach planning a ytt, and it will also give you sense of the minimum number of students that you need to run the training successfully. 

Your Revenue

First let’s take a look at your expected revenue.

Most 200 hour yoga teacher training have a price tag of about $3,000 – $3,300 per student. (For those of you thinking, “Should I charge less for an online or hybrid program?” my firm answer is NO. When it’s well-created, an online program provides just as much quality as an in-person training.)

You will likely run some early bird sales (offer discounts for early sign ups), and you will also be charged about 3% in credit card processing fees on your transactions, so let’s take the “worst case scenario” and say that ultimately you earn $2600 per student.

I would suggest that you run a yoga teacher training with a minimum of 6 students. So let’s see how the revenue would play out:

  • 6 students x $2,600 =  $15,600
  • 7 students x $2,600 =  $18,200
  • 8 students x $2,600 =  $20,800
  • 9 students x $2,600 =  $23,400
  • 10 students x $2,600 =  $26,000
  • 11 students x $2600 = $28,600
  • 12 students x $2,600 = $31,200
Obviously that could be a good chunk of change for your studio or business. But to really understand how much you would make, we have to look at your expenses.

 

Your Expenses

Expenses for your yoga teacher include the following:

  • Paying faculty
  • Space rental
  • Printing yoga teacher training student manuals
  • Marketing

Faculty

Of these, the cost of paying your faculty is the most expensive. If you are planning to bring in other teachers to instruct with you, then you want to be strategic about who you bring on board for faculty. For a variety of reasons, I would suggest paying your faculty by the hour rather than profit sharing, though you may wish to give them a bonus for students sign ups to incentive them to help market the training. 
 

Teacher training rates vary wildly depending on a few factors:

  • If the trainer is providing their own material (handouts etc) or they are teaching yours
  • Their experience
  • Your geographic location and current price point for teaching pay rates
As a very rough ballpark, let’s say that a new teacher trainer may earn $40/hour while a very experienced teacher trainer may earn $100/ hour. That is quite a range, but you could generally think about paying the teacher 50% more than their class teaching rate. 
 
For the sake of our sample budget, we’ll split the difference and assume you are paying your teacher trainer $70/hour. We will also assume that you are paying out all of these training hours. (If YOU teach the training, we’ll assume you are paying yourself $70/hour).
 
  • Faculty expenses = $14,000

Space Rental

If you own your own studio, you will not have to worry about these fees as you can schedule the yoga teacher training around your current classes. But if you are a solo teacher, you will likely need to rent a space to offer your training. Space rentals of course vary, but let’s say that – worst case scenario – you rent a space for $20/hour. As a worst case scenario, we’ll assume you are renting a studio for all 200 hours (rather than doing any of the program online). 
 
  • $20 * 200 =  $4,000

Printing Student Manuals

These days, you may just give your students a PDF and ask them to print out the manuals themselves. But just in case you decide to print out a 500-page black and white manual, you can estimate it will cost roughly $50/student.
 
  • 6 students x $50 =  $300
  • 7 students x $50  =  $350
  • 8 students x $50  =  $400
  • 9 students x $50 =  $450
  • 10 students x $50  =  $500
  • 11 students x $50 = $550
  • 12 students x $50 = $600

Marketing

For a yoga teacher training, the best marketing is often organic and unpaid (newsletters, website, social media posts, etc). If you do invest in paid marketing (Facebook promotions, boosting posts, etc.) I usually would suggest a more modest budget to start. 
 
For the sake of our sample budget, let’s say you spend $500 on marketing. 

 

Other Expenses

Other expenses that you may wish to include:
 
  • Processing fees (we calculated these and discounted them from the revenue, above)
  • Travel
  • Utilities at your studio
  • Admin time (registering and communicating with students)
  • Insurance (which you’ve probably likely paid as teacher/studio already)

The Bottom Line

So let’s take a look at where we’ve landed.
 

The “Worst Case Scenario”

This sample budget is looking at the “worst case” expenses. I’m assuming that you are paying a trainer (rather than teaching the training yourself), renting a space, doing the entire training in person (rather than leveraging the ability to teach some of it online), and printing out a substantial manual. 
 
  • Faculty: $14,000
  • Space Rental: $4,000
  • Student Manuals (assume 6 students): $300
  • Marketing: $500
  • Total Expenses: $18,800
  • You pretty much break even at 7 students. For every additional student, your business will earn an additional $2550 in profit.
If you look at your revenue, you’ll see that this means that you need to have 8 students in order for the business to break even on your training.  But the benefits of running the training (even at break even) are substantial: you’ve given your faculty a substantial earning opportunity, increased your brand, and connected with – and supported – your community. 
 

The “Best Case Scenario”

Let’s look at another scenario, in which you are teaching the training yourself, do not need to rent out a studio space, and give the students a PDF of the manual rather than printing them yourself.
 
  • Faculty: $0 (rather than paying yourself an hourly, you will pay yourself whatever the profit is for the program)
  • Space Rental: $0
  • Student Manuals: $0
  • Marketing: $500
  • Total Expenses: $500
  • Profit starts with 1 student. In this case, if you have six students, you will earn $15,100 and increase profit $2,600 for every additional student.

Final Thoughts

Every studio is different, and it’s important to assess your own budgetary needs so that you can weigh the pro’s and con’s of offering a teacher training. Questions you may wish to ask:
 
  • Are there any unique expenses for my situation that I need to consider (for example, taking time off of work)?
  • Is there an appetite for teacher training in my community? (Will students sign up? Have students expressed an interest?)
  • Do I have the bandwidth to create (or resources to purchase) a 200 hour yoga teacher training? 
  • Am I ready to teach a yoga teacher training? 
Taking the leap to offering a yoga teacher training can at first feel daunting, but by creating a budget, you are better able to ascertain whether offering a training is a wise investment for your particular situation. 
 
And – this probably goes without saying – I am a huge fan of yoga teacher trainings, for reasons far beyond their potential to be profitable. Offering a YTT can become a pathway to elevating yourself as a leader in the community and enriching your own understanding of the practice. They are often a calling to “step up” and take our own teaching and leadership skills to the next level. In addition, teacher trainings provide an opportunity to connect deeply with your community and students, and to create an inspirational environment for growth and change. 
 
If you’re interested in offering a yoga teacher training, but aren’t sure where to start, feel free to connect with me for a virtual coffee 🙂

Should I Buy A Yoga Teacher Training?

Yoga teacher trainings can be a profitable offering for teachers and studios…but it is worth it (and is it cheating) to buy one that is pre-made? Here’s what you need to consider if you are thinking of buying a pre-made yoga teacher training.

Financial Realities

The reality is that yoga teacher trainings are the highest priced product that a studio or teacher can offer. While you could sell a lot of classes for $10 a pop, a 200 hour yoga teacher training has a ticket price of about $3,000. The revenue opportunities of a yoga teacher training can help with the bottom line of a business that often struggles to make ends meet. Additional benefits of offering a yoga teacher training include building your community, elevating your teaching staff (or yourself), creating new financial opportunities, and creating a network of new teachers who are aligned with your teaching methodology.

Time Realities

However, creating a good yoga teacher training takes a lot of time. Like, a LOT.

From an instructional design perspective, you should expect to spend about 4 hours of time planning and creating for every hour that you are teaching. If you are planning to teach online, this number goes up to 8 hours at the very minimum. Some of the training hours (like asana practices) will be quicker and easier to plan, while other hours (the anatomy portions for example) will take longer. But let’s say that you are very fast in creating your curriculum and it only takes you two hours of planning for every instructional hour. Well, you’re still looking at 400 hours of work, which translates into ten full-time weeks (!). If you are running a studio (and a family, or other jobs), then it may be hard to create that kind of time to get your program off the ground.

Here’s where purchasing a pre-made program could help you save some time and effort so that you don’t have to “recreate the wheel” on your YTT.

Am I “Cheating?”

Especially when you’re a do-it-yourself entrepreneur, it’s natural to take a pause and think, “Wait a minute, is it cheating to buy a yoga teacher training? After all, I want this be MY school!” The short answer is, well, it depends on how you do it!

  • Are you committed to running the training with integrity?
  • Are you able to adapt the program so that you can ensure it matches your studio’s values, teaching methodology, and brand?
  • Are you committed to doing the required preparatory work to make the training an excellent and elevating experience for your students?

If so, then purchasing a YTT can be a valuable way to work smart, rather than just hard. Purchasing the right training can be a very wise way to put your work in the right place. Rather than “recreating the wheel” for your 200 hour training, you can instead spend your time more efficiently by adapting the program, preparing your own training skills, and getting the training marketed to your community.

What You Need To Consider

Not all programs are created equal, and there are some important questions that you need to ask in order to make sure that you investing your resources wisely. Here are a few essentials to get you started.

What is the training’s teaching methodology, and does it match my own training’s vision?

This question is essential ~ and can easily get overlooked. Yoga teacher trainings vary wildly in their focus and methodologies, and you need to ensure that the training you are selecting aligns with your own teaching style and vision. Some questions to consider:

  • How does this yoga training teach students to cue?
  • How does this yoga training teach students to sequence?
  • What does this yoga training teach students about alignment?
  • Can the seller describe their teaching methodology?
  • Can the seller articulate the yoga training’s lineage and influences?
  • What topics does this yoga training prioritize (what kind of pranayama, philosophy, and anatomy does it teach)?
  • Does it include all the necessary topics and competencies that would allow you to register with your organization of choice (for example, Yoga Alliance)?

Can I edit and adapt the training?

Being able to edit your training is essential. While you want the training to give you a robust foundation for your work, you also want the ability to edit the training as needed so that it reflects your studio’s unique vision, brand, and values. You are not a cookie cutter studio or yoga teacher, and you will want the freedom to let the program grow with you.

What is included in my purchase?

A teacher training is much more than a student manual. From an instructional design perspective, the student manual is really the last (and easiest) component to create. Knowing the full extent of what your training includes is essential:

  • Does it include the training’s lesson plans (detailed and clear notes on how to teach each hour of the training)? (Here’s an example of a free lesson plan that you can download and use.)
  • Does it include presentations or visual materials (very useful for anatomy and philosophy topics)?
  • Does it include a robust and well-organized student manual? Is the student manual created with appropriate graphics (paid for or royalty free so that you are using them legally)?
  • Does it include quizzes and practicum rubrics?
  • Does it include coaching and support?

Reputation and Expertise

Get to know your seller.

  • What is their yoga background and experience? What is their lineage?
  • What is their instructional design/ education background and experience?

Great yogis aren’t always great instructional designers. Your training needs to have high quality content that is all well-organized and structured for an educational experience.

Registration Bodies

If you are planning to register with an oversight organization (like Yoga Alliance), find out if the training has a track record for successful registrations or offers support for navigating the registration process.

Financial Planning

Purchasing a pre-made yoga teacher training is an investment, no question. And you want to make sure that you will get a return on your investment. Here are some important questions to answer:

  • Does the training require you to pay each year, or is it a one and done?
  • Does your provider offer payment plans?
  • Is there any limitation on how many times you can run the teacher training per year?
  • How long would it take you to recoup the investment of the training?

Final Thoughts

Teaching a YTT can be inspirational, exciting, and deeply rewarding. And purchasing a pre-made yoga teacher training program can be an excellent way to use your time and resources wisely. But you want to make the right choice and be savvy in your decision. Asking the right questions can help you to ensure that you will choose a training program that will not only elevate your business, but also help support you in your own growth and expansion as a leader in your community.

To get a sneak peek of Rachel’s 200 Hour Buy-A-Training, click here.

Types of Meditation

Hi all! I liked this sweet little infographic from Health Perch; it’s a nice quick reference for meditation styles and tips:

“If someone says “meditation” to you, what do you think of? You might think of Buddhist monks, chanting together. Or you might recall a bunch of yoga devotees sitting together in silence and thinking deep thoughts. But meditation can benefit everyone, even if you’re not an expert and even if you just tackle some sort of meditation for a few minutes a day. And you might be more encouraged to tackle meditation if you know that there are various kinds of it and that you can probably find the type that best fits your personality and your goals.

For example, Kundalini meditation is inspired by the yoga practice of the same name. And in fact, it integrates a physical approach with breath work, with thoughtful approach to moving up the spine and connecting mind and body. Want to learn more about why meditation may be a good thing for you and what types you want to try? This graphic has some ideas.”

Link to original article.

How To Teach An Awesome Livestream Online Yoga Class

How can you teach yoga classes online skillfully and effectively? In this article, we’ll look at the three components you need to consider to deliver an authentic, valuable online experience for your student. (Looking for technological tips? Check out this article on teaching online, or teaching pre-recorded yoga classes.)

Own Your Classroom

Just like teaching a studio class, you need to own your classroom. Owning your classroom means that you actively and mindfully manage the class environment so that you can create the best possible experience for your students.

Consider: when your students enter your “studio” (your online classroom), what do you want them to feel? Choose your background, lighting, and accent pieces (plants, sculptures, paintings) to create the mood that you want for your online studio. Think of adjectives that may describe your ideal environment, and create your space accordingly. For example, creating a studio that is “restful, calm, and soothing” is different than a studio that is “uplifting, vibrant, and funky.” Have fun designing your space in a way that supports your class intention.

Treat your online studio like a real studio experience and create guidelines that will manage the experience accordingly. For example:

  • Do you request that students keep their videos on?
  • If so, do you help students to position their mat and cameras so that you can see them (this is akin to helping students place their mats at the beginning of class)?
  • Do you allow latecomers into class?
  • Do you address students who leave early? (Or provide expectations around those who need to leave?)
  • Do you provide a link to a curated playlist for music?
  • Do you educate your students in advance about props or items they may need for class?
YYoga At Home

Demo’ing vs. Watching

The most impactful component of your online teaching is your decision to demo the class or watch the class. When you demo the class, you do the practice on your mat with the students. When you watch the class, you turn on gallery view and instead watch the students’ practices. There are pro’s and con’s to each.

Demoing: Pro’s and Con’s

  • Allows students to see the teacher practice (good for new students or visual learners)
  • May be easier for you to cue the class if you are doing the practice
  • You may be able to offer more complicated transitions since students have a visual reference
  • Students may not feel “on the spot” as they may be when the teacher is watching them
  • You cannot see the students or interact with them while you demo

Watching the Class: Pro’s and Con’s

  • Opportunity to give students personal feedback and use their names; helps create connection and community
  • Could make students self-conscious of being watched
  • Requires very clear verbal cueing if students don’t have a visual guide for practice
  • May be more challenging for students to follow the class who aren’t native to your language
  • May be harder for beginners to follow

Your choice to demo or to watch will be determined by the level of your students and your class intention. You can elect to partially demo and partially watch if you wish, or you could choose to spotlight (pin the video) of a willing student who can demo the class so that you can watch your students.

Tip: if students’ names appear on their video profile (as they do in Zoom), you can ask your students to rename their profile as “No Assists” if they prefer to not be given verbal assists.

Creating Community

Teaching online can provide a nourishing opportunity for students to connect with you and with their peers. Here are some suggestions for creating community online:

  • Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the class to connect with students
  • Stay 10-15 minutes after class to connect and answer questions
  • Have students turn off their mics before and after class to connect
  • At least before and after class, ask students to turn on the video to say hello
  • Use students’ names; if you are offering verbal assists during class, point out what students are doing well and acknowledge them
  • Ask students to input their names (so in their profile, their names are visible (rather than listed as “IPhone 768” or the like)

Final Thoughts

Even though online teaching is a different than teaching in person, you can still take care to create a specific and intentional experience for your students. By embracing the particular opportunities of teaching online, we can still help support a powerful, connecting, and engaging experience for your students.

How To Offer An Online Yoga Teacher Training

Photo of woman with laptop

Given the challenges of meeting in person during COVID, most yoga teacher trainings have had to move their trainings online in order to accommodate social distancing. Yoga Alliance – notoriously sticky about allowing for online course hours – is allowing schools to teach online through the end of 2020 as a way of supporting studios to keep teaching during this strange time.

However, part of the magic of a yoga teacher training is that it is in person. So how do you take a course that has been designed to be face-to face and move it into the online space?

Take a deep breath, studios and teachers! Here are five tips to help you out.

1. Livestreaming Tips

There are actually some nice benefits to livestreaming your yoga teacher training rather than teaching it in person:

  • You can require students to keep the video on (make this mandatory), which keeps them from hiding in the “back of class.”
  • You can record the session so students can have access to the material again. Yay!
  • You can share your screen to easily present online resources, such as presentations, images, videos and other fun links.
  • If you’re using Zoom, you can use the “breakout room” feature to have students do activities together as a smaller group – which can mimic in-class activities.

When you’re livestreaming, I highly suggest that (like your classroom experience) you vary your activities. Lecture a bit, then have students use break out rooms to do activities or reflect in a smaller group, lead practices, get them on their feet, have them take a poll, have them do an online quiz on the material you just covered, show them online presentations or other relevant and curated material.

As a best practice, restrict your “lectures” to small chunks. I recommend that you talk for no more than six minutes before having students engage or work with your material. Also, whenever possible, engage them students actively. Put the onus on them to do activities, come up with solutions, or even present on a topic that they have researched.

2. Practice Video Tips

The greatest challenge to taking a yoga teacher training online is that students aren’t teaching other humans in person. If you want someone to learn to teach an in person yoga class, then they need to practice teaching an in person yoga class. Teaching on Zoom is not the same, because you don’t have to “work” the room the same way, see students, use your physical body language, deliver as many verbal assists, do hands on assists or hold space.

Your greatest challenge in delivering an online yoga teacher training is addressing these limitations. Here are some ideas:

  • If possible, meet in person for practice teaching while social distancing. You can put a mat 6′ from someone else. You can meet in smaller groups. Though the student can’t walk around the room in the same way, the trainer can assess the student’s body language and vocal projection.
  • Have students practice teach in environments that mimic a real classroom. Have them teach family members, or put down mats or objects to represent students in a classroom. The more “real life” their practice teaching can be, the better equipped they will be to teach when they leave your training.
  • Use video. Have students record and submit assessments to the trainer, as well as practice teach live to your online group. When they record themselves, they will invariably wind up practicing a few times before they submit their recording – bonus!
  • Provide clear rubrics that detail what skills students need to demonstrate in order to achieve success. Not only can you use these rubrics to assess their practice teaching, they can use them to record themselves and self-assess, or assess their peers.

Need help with your livestreaming? Check this out.

3. Use Pre-Made Resources

Let’s be honest: livestreaming an entire 200-hour yoga teacher training can be tiring. Are there already built resources that you can use to support the student experience outside of livestream hours? YouTube videos, recorded classes from your studio, articles from reputable magazines, assigned reading in your manual?

Now, there is a HUGE caveat to this: all resources must directly support the learning objectives of your teacher training. If you choose to let students use outside resources – or you use them during class time – you must be very clear that they serve your learning intention, the training’s vision, and are very clear. Putting together a bunch of disparate resources because they’re interesting won’t work; carefully curating resources that directly support your training objectives does.

4. Plan For Interaction

This may seem obvious – and it’s actually less relevant to livestreamed yoga teacher trainings than to asynchronous trainings – but it’s important to deliberately create opportunities for student-student interaction and faculty-student interaction.

For student-student interaction, consider putting students in buddies, small study groups, assigning group projects/ activities, having peer-peer practice teaching assessments, or integrating discussion forums.

For faculty-student interaction, consider personal check ins, small group mentorship, email availability for questions or “office hours,” or Q&A forums (for example, create a Google Site). Also, be very clear upfront how students can get in touch with faculty for questions and what the response time should be.

5. Assess

Assess, assess, assess. Remember, the training isn’t about what you tell your students, it’s about what they can do. Regularly provide opportunities to assess their skills and give them personalized feedback. Covering less material and incorporating practice/ feedback is far better than covering a ton of different material. By assessing your students regularly – and giving them real tasks – you will set them up for success, online and off.

Bonus: here are some tips from the Yoga Alliance site on offering online yoga teacher trainings. Also, check out the “student-side” article that I’ve written. It includes a list of questions that all online teacher training programs will want to be able to answer.

How To Be A Great Yoga Teacher Trainer: Assign Real Tasks

A sign saying Next Steps

I know it’s tempting. You want to assign your yoga trainees to do something fun, like write an essay on how the chakra system developed in India or describe their personal relationship to their dosha. But as diligent yoga teacher trainers we have to ask: do these assignments get them closer to their training goal?

Prioritizing What To Teach

When we first start creating a teacher training, 200 hours sounds like a long time. But once we start factoring in asana labs, practices, practice teaching, cueing techniques and sequencing exercises…suddenly 200 hours is really very little time. 

When you design – or refine – your yoga teacher training, consider: What am I asking students to do at the end of the training to demonstrate that they have learned the necessary skills to teach? What is the primary task that they must perform for me to say, “Ah-ha! by Jove they’ve got it!”

For many yoga teacher trainings, the primary task is teaching part of an asana class. We rarely ask students to lecture on Ayurveda or describe key events from yoga history. So our focus as yoga teacher trainers must first prioritize the learnings, tasks, and activities that will help students to teach asana effectively.

Incorporating the Fun Stuff

This doesn’t mean that we can’t include more theoretical subjects. After all, students come to teacher training to deepen their relationship with themselves and investigate the yoga tradition, not simply learn how to cue asana. Most of us would probably agree that having a healthy respect for the yoga tradition and its many facets fosters essential knowledge, respect and humility in our teachers in their relationship to the practice.

However, if you want your students to have a working and applicable knowledge of these aspects of the tradition, then you can support their learning by making this information immediately relevant to their teaching. We can do this by assigning real tasks.

Real Tasks

A real task is one that practically supports the student’s work as a teacher.  By ensuring that we are assigning real tasks in our training, we help our students transfer theoretical knowledge into real-world skills. For example: 

  • Rather than assigning students to write an essay on the chakras, task them to create a class themed around manipura chakra.
  • Rather than ask a student to describe their relationship to their own dosha, task them to create a sequence for someone who has an excess of vata.
  • Rather than test students on their yoga history knowledge, ask students to teach a meditation practice described by Patanjali, an asana practice rooted in the concept of the Bhagavad Gita’s definition of yoga, “yoga is skill in action,” and a pranayama practice as described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. \

And if you feel that the more theoretical aspects of the yoga practice are essential the style of yoga that you wish your students to teach, then include these elements in their primary task and final assessment. By tweaking your tasks to be “real,” you will help students refine their skills more quickly. Also, students will recognize the practical value of the assignment, which will motivate them to do it well. 🙂 

Livestreaming? Get tips on how to do this in the online format.

Students: What You Need To Know About Online Yoga Teacher Trainings

Girl sitting at computre

COVID-19 has struck. Yoga Alliance has given the thumb’s up for online yoga teacher trainings through the end of 2020. And now there is an onslaught of online yoga TT’s cropping up worldwide.

Online yoga teacher trainings seem great: convenient, often well priced, and timely. But are they good? Here’s what you need to know.

About Online Education

When planned properly, here’s what online education does really well:

  • Allows students to study material at their own pace (some students may like to move slowly, some will move quickly; having material online allows the rewatching of videos).
  • Allows students to study material when it fits into their lives (at different times of day and on different days).
  • Can be very useful for learning brain stuff. In yoga, this translates to taking courses on yoga theory, sequencing, philosophy, some anatomy, and history.

Here’s what an online yoga teacher training has challenges with:

  • Teaching material where you need to touch a physical body on hand (like learning hands on assists).
  • Teaching asana labs, or looking at variety of bodies in 3-d in real time.
  • Mimicking the environment of teaching an in-person class (if you’re going to teach an in-person class, you need to practice teaching real people in real-time).
  • More challenging to create community and sense of connection between the students.

100% Online Yoga Teacher Trainings

Some schools are moving all their training hours onto Zoom and livestreaming their programs. This is a great stop gap measure and I personally can vouch the quality of two schools – YYoga and YogaWorks – that are using the method to support their teacher trainees. After all, it’s very tough out there for yoga schools right now; livestreaming a TT can be welcome solution to keep your program going and to connect with your students. Meeting in real-time in a virtual space is the next best thing to meeting in person. This is called synchronous learning, where everyone shows up in a virtual space at the same time.

However, there are some limitations with livestreaming an entire yoga teacher training that you should be aware of (which is why Yoga Alliance is permitting online learning as a stop gap rather than fully embracing it for all course hours). If you want your trainees to teach a group class in-person, then it’s better that they practice teach in-person students. Teaching on a zoom call is not the same thing. Schools that need to deliver a 100% livestream course would do well to consider some innovative solutions to address this particular missing link, such as:

  • In-person teaching at a safe social distance, perhaps with limited numbers.
  • Having students recruit other members of their household to teach so that their online teachers can watch them teach a “class with students” via livestream (get your family to sign a waiver :).
  • When students practice teach, have them mimic being in a real space. Lay out mats to represent students so that your online trainer can watch how you navigate a real room.
  • Utilize the online format to practice skills such as verbal alignment corrections in real-time.

Although the 100% livestream option is a good stop gap, it can also miss out on some advantages of online training: namely, the ability for students to work at their own pace at their own time. This is called asynchronous learning, where students work by themselves, rather than having to meet a group online at a specific time.

However, for asynchronous learning to be effective, it must be well-planned and well-crafted. They cannot be easily thrown together, but must be structured with love, skill, and care. To give you an idea, it takes at least 8 hours of work for every asynchronous course hour. That means that creating a 200-hour teacher training would take 40 weeks of working 40 hours of week, or almost a year. Yikes! That’s a long time. So if the training that you are considering is not 100% livestreaming, but is using asynchronous learning, then it’s a good idea to ask a few questions about how they created their asynchronous content.

What You Should Ask

Taking an online yoga teacher training now may be an excellent opportunity for you to deepen your love of yoga, fuel your passion, and advance your practice. And as I mentioned, there are many reputable schools (like Yoga Works and YYoga) that have moved their courses online to accommodate the times. Hybrid schools such as DoYogaWithMe blend online learning with in-person components to take advantage of both modalities. However, there are probably also some schools out there that may be jumping on the online train that aren’t fully prepared. It’s important that you can ask some questions so that you can tell the difference.

To protect your investment and the quality of your experience, here are some good questions to ask your school before you jump in:

  • How is the training delivered (how many hours of the training are online versus in-person)?
  • Of the online hours, how many are synchronous (requiring me to show up at a specific time in a livestream) versus asynchronous (where I study, watch videos, read, or move through course material on my own)?
  • What kinds of activities happen in those online hours?
  • What kinds of activities happen in asynchronous hours?
  • How are you encouraging peer to peer interaction? (This is huge for having a good experience.)
  • How are you managing/ enabling faculty to student interaction? How much contact will I personally have with faculty members? (Also huge.)
  • How will you assess me – both at the end of the training, as well as during the training – to make sure I’m learning how to teach effectively and safely?
  • How will you assess the advancement of my own personal practice?
  • If we’re 100% online, what kinds of activities will you provide to ensure that I can teach a group public class?
  • If you have online content (not livestream), where did the content come from and how was it organized (ie: recordings of previous trainings, YouTube videos, etc.)?

Any yoga teacher training worth its salt will be happy to sit down with you and discuss these details. For a more generalized look at how to think about yoga teacher training, check out my article with Yoga International, “How To Choose A Teacher Training.”

Reimagining the Yamas and Niyamas

sutra - threads

In The Yoga Sutra (sutra = “thread”), the yamas and niyamas are often translated as “external” and “internal observances,” or guidelines for conducting ourselves with others and ourselves. My first teacher suggested that the yamas and niyamas were, “yoga’s version of the Ten Commandments.”

The yamas (external observances) are:

  • non-violence
  • truthfulness
  • non-stealing
  • celibacy
  • non-grasping

The niyamas (internal observances) are:

  • willingness to endure intensity (tapas)
  • self-study/ study of spiritual books
  • surrender to the highest
  • cleanliness
  • contentment

However, a more powerful perspective is that the yamas and niyamas aren’t rules at all; they are practical and invaluable signposts that help us investigate our spiritual and emotional progress.

The Purpose of Yoga

Patanjali (compiler of the sturas) was not interested in yoga practitioners being “good.” His primary objective was to help practitioners deepen their connection to the true Self. The objective of the sutras is explicitly outlined in sutra 1.2-1.4:

  • Yoga is the restraint of the fluctuations of the mindsutff.
  • The the Seer (Witness/ Self/ Purusha/ Consciousness) resides in its own nature.
  • Otherwise it assumes all the modifications of the mindstuff.

In other words, yoga occurs when we calm our minds enough to experience our own Presence. This is the true Self. Otherwise, we are attached to the thoughts, feelings, and identifications that we have learned from our conditioning. It’s a little like our mind is a lake. When disturbed by wind (thoughts and feelings), the surface of the lack is choppy and unclear. But when the lake is calm, then the lake can reflect the sky (Pure Consciousness).

Reimagining the Yamas and Niyamas

Rather than viewing the yamas and niyamas as rules, they can be seen as valuable signposts that indicate when we have strayed from our connection to the true Self. In other words, the surface of our lake is choppy. When we don’t feel aligned with the yamas/niyamas, it’s usually because we are not seated in our Presence, but have gotten caught in our minds again.

I recently had an experience where I felt very misunderstood. I felt accused unfairly, yet I had no recourse to share my point of view or defend myself. My reaction? I was incredibly pissed off.

When I recognized my response, I realized that I was of out alignment with the first yama of non-violence. Rather than berate myself for my feelings, I got curious about what was hanging me up. I started to see that I was very attached to my reputation (how others perceived me). My reliance on something outside of myself to feel okay was exposed. The experience was a reminder to practice (practice, practice!) trusting my own worthiness.

Spiritual growth isn’t about turning the other cheek or suppressing our feelings. Instead, we can use our reactions as vital clues into our unresolved attachments and conditioning. Here are some ways that it works for me:

  • Ahimsa: When I want to lash out, I am usually invested in protecting my ego from insult or harm.
  • Satya: When I want to lie, I am often protecting my conditioned personality from dislike, disappointment, or conflict.
  • Sauca: When I want to be “unclean” and eat a lot of sugar or drink a lot of wine, I’m often avoiding uncomfortable feelings.
  • Aparigraha: When I am grasping onto something (a person, material stuff, ideas), I’m usually connecting to a feeling that I’m not enough.

Seeing the yamas and niyamas as useful signposts – rather than rules – gives us accountability for our own spiritual growth. Rather than dutifully following a behavioural prescription, we are instead invited to watch our natural reactions with curiosity. Rather than feel shame or judgement about “non-yogic reactions,” we can instead greet each reaction with fresh curiosity. In this way, our relationship with our emotions and reactions can become a vital, organic opportunity for self-acceptance, accountability, and growth.

How To Record, Edit, & Upload An Online Yoga Class

Rachel Scott recording online yoga class

As everyone looks for ways to connect with their communities, I wanted to share some tips I’ve learned along the way about recording and uploading an online yoga class. Make sure to check out Five Ways To To Livesteam An Online Yoga Class and Five Best Practices: How To Teach An Online Yoga Class, where I cover the technical aspects of space, sounds, lighting, teacher presence, etc. Those elements remain the same, whether you’re recording or livestreaming, and that’s a good resource to check out.

In this blog, I’m going to look at how you shoot, edit, record, and upload classes, which is a slightly different animal than livestreaming. I am also going to assume that you are a DIY’er, and may not have the budget to have a video team on your payroll.

Before we jump in, let’s look at of livestreaming versus recording.

Livestreaming

  • Less time commitment (the work is over once your stop streaming)
  • More “in the moment feel” (you have to welcome a little messiness and screw ups)
  • Can connect directly with a live audience
  • Can record and post later

Benefits of Recording / Posting

  • Can control final product more
  • Can use two cameras
  • Requires post-production skills (editing, uploading)
  • Generally requires a more polished look
  • Available for posterity forever!

How To Record A Class

The easiest way to shoot your class these days is on your phone. The internal videocam on your computer just won’t have enough power, unless you buy an external webcam. Nowadays you can shoot as high as 4K on your phone. However, I don’t think 4K is necessary for your average class video just because it’ll eat up a lot of storage space on your phone and computer. Personally, I record in 1080p HD at 30 fps (frames per second). If you’re an Apple gal like me, go to Settings, Camera, then “Record Video” to see what you’re setting is at. When we record, we’re always balancing video quality, with “How much damn space will this file take up??” Apple has an excellent compressor, so you can get high quality video at not too high a storage space price.

Now, if you have a video recorder, you can shoot on that as well, you’ll just have to off-load your video footage to your computer afterwards.

You must have good audio. Your students aren’t going to watch your video so much as they are going to listen to it. Bad audio will kill the experience. And if you are recording and uploading, students will expect the audio to be nearly flawless. (For my audio tips, see, Five Best Practices: How To Teach An Online Yoga Class.) Unless you have a wireless body mic, your sound won’t be great because you’re likely demonstrating the class as you go.

However, as a low-cost solution, you could record the visuals of the class for practice (without talking), then record a voice over to replace the audio. It adds some work, but in a pinch, that’ll do. Recording the v/o (voice over) later helps because you can 1. sit next to your mic, and 2. not move.

One Camera Shoot

If you are recording a class, you can edit the footage after you shoot it. Therefore, you get to choose: one camera or two?

If you’re just starting out and don’t want to do a lot of editing, then have one camera. Accept that you will make mistakes or need to do cross-fade cuts if you mess up.

Pro Tip: if you screw up during the class flow, pause. Stay still. Take a breath, then go back a few beats in your “script” and do it again. Later, you can splice those takes together and remove your mistake. And if you’ve stayed really still, when you cut them together, students probably won’t even notice.

Two Camera Shoot

The benefit of shooting on two cameras is that you can go back and easily edit out mistakes. The bummer? More editing.

If you shoot with two cameras, then place one directly in front of you one diagonally to the side. Make sure to check both angles in advance to make sure they capture you (and remember, you’re going to be moving all over the place and lifting your arms over your head, so account for that. We don’t want your hands to get cut off :)).

Pro Tip: when you’re shooting with two cameras and you’ve got them rolling, clap your hands loudly. The clap will show up as a sharp spike in the audio and allow you sync the footage easily if you need to.

I recommend that you shoot your class straight through. Don’t restart the camera unless you really need to. You can note down where you’ve made mistakes if you need, or just assume you’ll be watching all the footage again and will catch the mistakes if you’re editing.

If you prefer to shoot in small bite-sized pieces, you’ll have a lot of video files. In this case, I recommend that you “slate” your videos by holding up a little whiteboard that keeps count of the shots. If you have a lot of videos, editing can get confusing if they’re not well-labelled.

Pro Tip: when you’re recording, speak slowly and leave pauses. Those pauses are gold when you’re editing, as it will allow you to make cuts.

Editing

Candidly, I’m an Apple gal through and through. For easy editing apps, I’d use IMovie. It’s intuitive and plays nicely with your phone videos. You don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to edit a yoga class. If you’re new to editing, then stick with IMovie rather than spending money on Final Cut or Adobe Premiere (good lord, those programs will overwhelm you with options!). If you’re using different software, you may need to export your videos from your IPhoto library in order to edit them. It’s not hard to do, but it may be an extra step.

Pro Tip: There is a phone app for IMovie, but I prefer to edit on my computer as it’s far easier to see what you’re doing.

Tips For Editing

How to edit is beyond the scope of one blog, but let me give you my top tips:

  • Add a title screen (if you need help adding an intro to your YouTube video, check these guys out at Design Wizard)
  • Edit out glaring mistakes (by cross fading if you’re on one camera, or by cutting between camera shots if you’re on two)
  • Record a short (30 second), friendly intro to the video where you tell people generally what you’re going to do, how hard the class is, and let them know if they need any props
  • If they do need props, give them “home friendly options” in case they don’t have yoga gear. Ie: you can use a scarf instead of a strap. Remember, they’re practicing at home.
  • Do NOT use music. You probably don’t have the rights to use it. If for some reason you do (musician friend gives it to you), then input it as a second track in editing – obviously don’t record it while you’re recording your video. Or – my preference – create a Spotify playlist and link to it. Students can play it if they want to on their own.
  • End screen, add ways to stay in touch, why not!

How To Post

If you’re trying to get your work into the world and use it as a “get to know me” tool, then post your content to YouTube. This is where people look for everything. Make sure to use add tags so that your content is searchable.

I recommend creating a graphic thumbnail for your video personally rather than using one that YouTube auto-creates. You can use a free editing software Canva. You want your thumbnail to reflect the content of the video, and also include in nice text what the title is. Check out Yoga With Adrienne on YouTube to see what I mean.

If you want to have a membership site, then obviously you won’t be posting these on YouTube. Vimeo is a great solution for video (unlike YouTube, they don’t stick advertisements in the middle of your content or promote other channels). However you pay for it (Vimeo makes their money off you rather than advertising).

You could turn Vimeo into a membership site by having people pay to get the password, or you could use a platform that manages content and access for you. I’m mostly familiar with leveraging education sites such as Thinkific, Teachable, Kajabi for this purpose, but there are other video management systems, too, like Namastream. If you want to host your videos to your own website, you may need to get around file size upload restrictions.

Pro Tip: If you need to make your videos a smaller file size, a handy tool for is an app called Handbrake.

A wonderful low tech way to share your stuff it to send your subscribers an email with the video link, for example, to a Dropbox file, where they can stream it for themselves.

With so much free content out there, I recommend a combination approach. Post some of your content out there for free so that people can get to know you. However, then you can point students in the direction of your paid content. For example, post 15-minute mini classes on YouTube, then have students who want the 30 or 45 minute class to check out your paid stuff on Vimeo.

Final Thoughts

Whenever you’re filming, choose authenticity over perfection. Your students will want to connect to you because of who you are; not because you can speak perfectly for an hour of class time. Resist the urge to fix everything. Students want to feel the real you. Remember that beyond the camera are real people who are looking to connect, breathe, and feel better!

Questions, comments, resources to share? Put them below!

Five Best Practices: How To Teach An Online Yoga Class

how to teach an online yoga class

As we make the transitions to teaching yoga classes online, it’s important to do it well. It’s easy to make a rookie mistake and lose your audience. Whether you are streaming or recording, here are five practical and simple tips for teaching online yoga classes that will make a huge difference in the quality of your offering. Although these tips are designed for live streaming (as we’re not discussing editing yet), they are also useful for those of your who are recording. (For specific tips on livestreaming, check out, “How To Livestream Classes.”)

1.Background

Teach with a clean, spacious, uncluttered background. If you check out our DoYogaWithMe Videos, you’ll see that we take a lot of care to make sure that the background is clear and free of clutter. This is easy to do; pick a wall in your house that has a good amount of space (ideally you want a clear horizontal stripe of at at least 10 feet), then move everything away. You usually won’t teach with a window in the frame because of lighting issues (see point #2), but it really depends on the orientation of your window. I prefer light or white walls when possible to create a clean, airy look. Usually you’ll place your mat horizontally along the wall. A small altar space or nice wall hanging/painting can work, depending on your space. If you have a tripod, outside can work, too.

Key Points:

  • Clean background
  • Remove clutter and distracting objects
  • Place select “yoga” objects in frame if desired

  • DoYogaWithMe Set Up

2. Lighting

When you shoot, make sure that you don’t have light behind you because it will flood the camera’s sensors and may make you look dark. For this reason, you usually won’t teach with a window in the frame behind you, unless you are sure the light won’t blow out the camera (exceptions: on YouTube, YogawithAdrienne teaches against a window and it looks great). For this reason, you often won’t put a bright lamp in the frame with you, as it may cause you to look darker. You want to be well lit from the front and sides. Natural light can be amazing (if you are opposite a window), as long as you’re teaching in time when the light won’t change dramatically. Although I’m frankly a fan of warm lighting, “daylight” LED lights mimic the sun most closely, so you pop a few of those lights into your house lamps and see how it looks. Newer mobile phones (like the IPhone 11) have amazing cameras and light sensors that can accommodate a wide variety of environments. In yoga, we turn a lot. So before you shoot, do a test shoot in the space where you practice a few differently facing poses to make sure that you don’t go dark when you turn a certain way.

Key Points:

  • Avoid bright light in the shot with you
  • Add light from the front and to the sides to make sure you are fully lit and avoid shadows
  • Daylight can work well if you’re opposite a window

3. Audio, audio, audio

Audio is where most videos fall apart, and this is where you may need to make an investment if you want to do this long term. When students practice with you, their key connection is not visual; it’s audio. Bad audio will be very distracting and cause them to tune out.

There are two key problems: live rooms and teacher movement.

Problem 1: Live Rooms

If you are in a room that is very “live” – ie you have a lot of hard surfaces – the sound will echo and sound poor. It’s very hard to fix after the fact. (Check out my early YouTube videos for a demonstration of this problem). To fix a live room cheaply, take all of the pillows in your house and pile them on hard surfaces to buffer the sound. Hang blankets on walls out of sight of the camera. You want to room to be as “dead” as possible. You know how sound studios have foam stuck to the walls and ceilings? You can also go get some foam padding from Home Depot and put it all over the place. Do a test with your camera to assess your sound before your record or livecast.

Problem 2: Body Movements

Teaching yoga is different from most livecasting in that you need to move and face a bunch of different directions. For this reason, your audio will change (because you’re not always facing the camera). In an ideal world, you use a microphone on your actual body (bonus: this usually eliminates Problem #1 – the “live room” issue- yay!).

Cheap solution: To solve this sound cheaply, use your wireless headphones, like your Apple Air Pods. The bonus is that these will connect directly to your IPhone, usually eliminating challenges with connecting your audio to your phone. Sure, you’ll have them stuck in your ears, but people will be able to hear you clearly.

Investment solution: I use a Sennheiser Wireless Lavalier.

Sennheiser Lavalier
Sennheiser Lavalier (what I use)

At around $500 USD, it’s an investment, but worth it in the long run. You can hear that there is a huge difference in sound in my newer videos where I’m moving.

Me teaching with a lavalier

While there are mics out there that will connect directly into your IPhone port (via a lightning port), by getting a simple adapter you can vastly expand your option. The adapter (note the three rings around the plug rather than two) is called a TRS adapter) and it will connect your mic into the headphone jack of your IPhone (or more accurately, it plugs into the headphone jack IPhone adapter that you’re probably familiar with).

Adapter for connecting mic to phone

Using this adapter is not hard, but if you get the wrong one it won’t work. I’m also going to point you in the direction of an amazing resource over on YouTube: Primal Video. They are tech gods with lots of goodies. Here’s a video specifically on mics for mobile phones and adapters if you want to dive into this issue further.

Note on music: to keep audio simple, I’d recommend having your students play their own music (or – fun solution – create a Spotify playlist that is directly catered to your class and prompt your students to start it from home during the class) rather than trying to feed music into your live recording. To start, keep it simple.

And pro tip: if you’re using a mic, the sound is being picked up very close to you (like on your body), so don’t shout to reach the phone 🙂

Key Points:

  • If possible, use a body mic so that your audio is consistent when you’re moving
  • If you’re using an external mic, make sure to get the right adapter so that you can plug your mic into your Android or IPhone and it works
  • Make sure that the room is not too “live” and echo-y, as that is very hard to fix after the fact if you want to record the session for posterity

4. Camera position

Obviously, where you put the camera is important as this will act as your audience’s eyes. You want to shoot in landscape (horizontally). Unless you have a lot of space in front of your mat, you’ll probably want to lay your mat horizontally so that you can see your whole body. You need to test the camera shot to make sure that is it capturing you fully (in other words, your hands don’t get cut off when you reach them overhead).

I’ve done plenty of shoots where I have simply propped my phone up on a bookshelf in order to record. However, I recommend you use a tripod for a few reasons:

  • It’s soooo much less frustrating to get the position accurately and easily with a tripod
  • You can angle the phone to get the right shot (if you’re leaning the phone against books, it will tend to shoot up rather than down at you)
  • You don’t have to worry about the phone down falling mid shot.

My recommendations: get a decent tripod. It’s worth it. You want one that can lift up high enough to capture you straight on (so don’t get a tiny one that’s only for IPhones; get a real one for cameras). Here’s a suggestion (Manfrotto’s compact aluminum tripod), but you have tons of options on Amazon that you can search out. You’ll also purchase an adapter for your tripod so that it can hold your phone. I personally use this Kobra adapter. Again, while you could buy a “tripod for IPhones”, I recommend getting a legit tripod, then just getting the adapter so your phone can attach to it. You’ll get a better product.

Kobra adapter (attaches phone to tripod)

Key Points:

  • Shoot landscape
  • Use a tripod if you can
  • Test to make sure that the camera can capture you in all your poses

5. Teaching presence

Ironically, you can’t rely on your video. I want you to imagine that you are actually teaching through an audio podcast. Here’s why:

  • Students may not have a big enough computer (or phone) screen to see you clearly
  • They won’t be able to see you most of the time (for example in forward fold or downward facing dog)
  • They won’t be able to see if you’re lifting your right or left leg easily (like in class), so you have to be incredibly specific in your cues
  • You don’t want them to have to move their computer around during their practice to keep watching you

For all these reasons, you must lead your students verbally through the practice impeccably. Be very specific about rights/lefts, cueing directions, and transitions. Do not rely on the visual. It’s a great opportunity to refine your verbal cues.

Also, if you screw up – no apologies! Carry on as you would in a normal class. Cop to any mistakes if you need to, but sally forth without hesitation. Just because it’s video doesn’t mean it has to be perfect, and students love you to be human.

Key Points:

  • Use impeccable, clear language (don’t rely on video)
  • Embrace imperfections! Be human and carry on.

Final Notes

It’s going to feel weird if you’re not used to teaching with a camera. Pretend that there is a fun student right behind the lens that is loving everything that you are doing – because there is! Treat the camera as that friendly student, and look at them frequently and directly to check in (particularly at the beginning of class when your virtual audience is probably looking at you). If it helps, tack up a photo of a real student directly behind your camera so that you feel like you’re talking to someone real.

Keep in mind: though it’s mediated by the camera, you’re teaching to real students beyond the lens. Remember them, and enjoy the opportunity to share your teaching.

Welcoming Uncertainty: A Spiritual Path For Challenging Times

Hands holding flower

When the floor falls out from under me, I tend to lose my poise: I become anxious, contracted, and my mind starts to “hamster wheel” about worst case scenarios. I experienced this when my marriage disintegrated from alcoholism, when I agonized over trying to get pregnant (on my ow at 42), and again with the rolling escalation of the Covid-19 crisis.

Even without a global pandemic, we experience these moments of panic and uncertainty in our lives: we feel it when we fall in love, have our hearts broken, fail exams, have a sick pet, move change jobs, lose a loved one, have a baby, get divorced (to name a few). It’s no wonder that these strange times have led us into a tailspin – especially when so many of us are contract workers wondering how we will make ends meet.

Friend, in times like these, I take courage (heart) from my favorite author, Pema Chodron, who counsels, “Chaos should be regarded as very good news.” When everything falls apart, Pema nods with encouragement and tells us to lean in: “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation, can that which is indestructible in us be found.”

We don’t like to be uncomfortable. We resist uncertainty. And when the world shifts, our attachment to stability and consistency is exposed.

This is the perfect time to cultivate our inner resilience. To recognize the wholeness of the space within us.

Without ignoring practicalities, we can ask ourselves,

  • “Is my mind making this worse?”
  • “What is real, in this moment?”
  • “How can I be of service?”

In these times – when we can so clearly see our mind’s ability to spin out and create stories – we have the perfect opportunity to recognize our inner resources. One breath at a time, we can lean into this moment – where we feel so incredibly vulnerable – and breathe rather than react. Give, rather than hoard. Soften, rather than harden. Connect, rather than collapse.

And while we can’t control the world, we can control how we watch and believe our minds. This is our living yoga practice: staying present so that we can open our hearts to be loving, aware, and available to this very moment. And to each other.

This is the path of a spiritual warrior.

And I’m honored to meet you here.

Five Ways To Livestream An Online Yoga Class

Live Streaming Video

Can’t meet face to face?

If you’ve never used tech to go online before, it can seem intimidating. Here are some tips and my favorite tools to get you started easily. In this post, we’re looking at “live” aka “streaming” options, which put you online in the moment. Also, for more info on how to shoot well, check out my tools and tips for “How To Teach Online Yoga Classes.”

1. Facebook Live

Facebook live is great for a quick check in, or live streaming a class or conversation in real time. Because the time limit is so generous (8 hours), FB is a great option for longer streams.

You can save the video to your profile to people can see asynchronously, and you can also save it to your camera roll to preserve for posterity. One note: Facebook is not an archive; people see your posts basically the day you post it and that’s it. So if it’s a good video, you will want to save it and post it elsewhere for posterity (I tell you how, below).

Now, you can post publicly, or you can post privately to a group. So if you want to use FB to livestream, but manages who sees it (for example, you’re streaming to a group of students who have paid to have access to your online classes), you can easily manage those permissions.

The Summary

  • Time Limit: 4 seconds – 8 hours
  • Orientation: Landscape (horizontal – recommended) or portrait
  • Good for: Short or longer one-way videos that you want to livecast and save
  • Access: From computer or phone

How To:

  • Go to facebook.
  • Start a new
  • Click, “Live”
  • Turn your phone into the orientation you want (I recommend landscape – horizontal, rather than portrait – vertical). It looks better in your post if it’s landscape.
  • Click “Start Live Video.”
  • In bottom right corner, click “Finish” when you’re done. Try not to be awkward.
  • Publish:
    • To save to your own camera roll, click the download button.
    • Make sure that “Post video to your timeline” is checked.
    • Then click “Share”

Ta da!

Easy. It will take while to process. Facebook will let you know when it’s done. You can click the three little buttons in the upper right hand corner of the post to edit.

2. Instagram Live – Stories

With Instagram, you can post live via your Stories. However, because IG Stories shoot in 15 second chunks, this platform is better for shorter conversations (I like a minute or two). Theoretically, you could have a really long video in there, but I don’t think it’s the right platform for that kind of duration.

Like Facebook, Instagram story lives are not an archive; people see your posts basically the day you post it and that’s it unless they scroll. So if it’s a good video, you will want to save it and post it elsewhere for posterity (I tell you how, below).

The Summary:

  • Time Limit: 1-15 second blocks, but you can have as many blocks as you like
  • Shooting Orientation: Portrait (vertical)
  • Good for shorter one-way videos, under a couple of minutes
  • Access: from phone

How To:

  • Open Instagram Profile page
  • Click on your profile picture to open “Stories”
  • At bottom of page, slide left to “Live”
  • Before you do anything, click the settings button in upper left corner to make sure “Save To Camera Roll” is checked (I recommend also “Saving to Archive” so you add them to highlights later if you wish)
  • Click the big circle button at the bottom of your screen to start recording.
  • Click “End” in upper right hand corner to stop.
  • Click “Share to Story” at bottom (or delete)

A note on the recording time: Instagram Stories are broken into 15 second clips. When someone watches your story, they will run together sequentially as if there is no break. So you can talk for as long as you like, but if you want to do any editing of your clips (color correcting or adding hashtags), you will have to edit each segment separately. It’s easy to do, but may be tedious if you decided to chat for 3 minutes (you’d have 12 clips to edit).

3. Zoom

My fave “third party” for streaming is Zoom. Tried and true, and used by organizations everywhere. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, you would use Zoom to stream to a specific group of invited individuals. However, you could still post the video later onto your social media streams if you wished.

With the free version of Zoom, you can 100 participants for up to 40 minutes. For longer (or more people), you’d have to pay if you want access for more than 40 continuous minutes. Prices are reasonable.

Some Zoom perks:

  • You can record the sessions and post them later.
  • You can record the whole group if you’re doing a discussion (the video will record whoever is talking) or you can “pin” your video to just you (which I would recommend if you’re streaming a class or don’t want to record participants).
  • You can also screen share with Zoom. While this feature is not so important if you’re streaming a class, it is perhaps important for webinars, etc..

Another perk of Zoom: unlike Facebook, Instagram, or Skype, you don’t have join Zoom to attend a Zoom meeting.

The Summary:

  • Time Limit: 40 minutes with free (for $15/month, you can have 24 hour duration)
  • Shooting Orientation: Landscape
  • Good for longer videos that you want to save, or live streaming to a select group
  • Access: from computer or phone (I recommend computer, feels a little easier to manage)

Go to zoom, and download for your desktop. You can create and schedule meetings, invite others to your meeting, and record your live cast for posterity. A rough guide “how to” is below.

How To:

  • Go to zoom.com, then download and install to your computer.
  • Open Zoom.
  • Ensure your audio and video are working from your computer through your preferences and settings.
  • Create a meeting and invite folks to attend.
  • At the time of your meeting, you can either livestream with everyone visible and audible; if you are running a session that is one-way (ie: you’re teaching a class) where you want your audience invisible or muted, then you may choose to “pin” your own video so it’s the only one visible, turn off everyone else’s video, and mute other participants. They will still be able to participate in the chat.
  • You can pause the recording as you go.
  • Click “Stop” to stop recording.
  • Click “End meeting” to stop the meeting.
  • Zoom will process and save the meeting recording to your computer.

4 & 5. Skype and Google Hangouts

These apps are free, and relatively easy to use. I’m grouping Skype and Google Hangouts together as – at least to me – they seem similarly limited in scope. They’re free, and both of them are good for conference calling and screensharing. However, participants need to be a member of these respective host sites to join a meeting on them.

With Skype, you have up to 50 people on a call, you can record the call and you can mute participants. However, I did not find an intuitive way to edit how the video was recorded so that you capture only the host. While this is okay for an educational broadcast, it’s awkward if you want to record and replay a live class stream.

On Google Hangouts, you can have up to 25 people on a video call. However, you can only record your calls if you have the Enterprise edition of a Google Suite. Also, when you record, it will record visible active participants (“pinning” a participant won’t impact how it’s recorded).

While Skype and Google Hangouts are useful for small group or 1-1 meetings, they fall short if you want to record your meeting for posterity.

A caveat: while you can screen record anything that you play on your computer with a third party app, this isn’t a great idea for two reasons: 1. it’s illegal in many places to record people without their knowledge, and 2. screen capturing can deliver bad audio. If you want to record a session, I think it’s generally better to use a service like Zoom that is more geared to conferencing and recording.

Final Word

Options out there for screencasting, livecasting, and recording are always developing. These are several common tools that are familiar to many people and your participants. If you have any faves that you want to share, please list them below.