Online yoga: reflections a few months in

When I launched Yoga For Every Body in late 2019, I didn’t intend to generate much online content. I teach yoga because I want to BE with people and their bodies, and wanted to build relationships directly. Although I enjoyed the online offerings from some other teachers, I didn’t feel that it was the right space for me. I bought a website domain because it seemed prudent, but fully intended just to use Facebook for online communication.

Obviously all of that changed in March! The start of lockdown saw a huge increase in online yoga activities, including Facebook and Instagram lives where students can message teachers during their livestream, new YouTube classes that remain available for repeated use in your own time, and live virtual classes on platforms such as Zoom where teachers can see and talk to students during a class. Each of these media have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it will be interesting to see which ‘stick’ as lockdown continues to ease. Personally, I used Facebook to share daily posts for the first few weeks of lockdown, then began developing this website (which I suspect will be the most long-lasting of my online projects) whilst offering paid Zoom classes in a similar style to the previous, in-person class timetable. I also joined Instagram as a way to connect with yoga teachers globally and get more involved with supporting other local businesses. All of these choices have paid off in different ways. I’ve become aware of and joined several organizations that align with my values for Yoga For Every Body, met new clients online, and developed my teaching style to suit live virtual class settings.

As fitness spaces re-open, there’s lots of discussion about removing to in-person classes. Many yoga teachers automatically think of a yoga studio as the ‘best’ place to teach and learn yoga, because it’s what we have experienced the most and because it clearly worked for us - we became yoga teachers! But lots of people don’t feel welcomed in yoga studios, or don’t have the resources to access them. And, just as there are many types of in-person yoga classes, there are many types of online yoga classes. I’ve been thinking through the pros and cons of online yoga, reflecting on what we’ve done at Yoga For Every Body to tackle the challenges, and exploring resources to address them.

Lets start with the pros! Firstly, yoga in our own homes is cheaper (no studio rental, travel costs or need for teachers to buy equipment in bulk). This has huge potential for making yoga more accessible. It also saves time: a one-hour class takes ONE HOUR, with no driving/parking/changing time required. There’s no need to find a babysitter, arrange a car share, dig around for the right change… all those little bits of time saved add up over a month of attending online classes! As the teacher, this makes a big difference to my working hours and is reflected in my now lax (non-existent?) cancellation policy. Yes, if you cancel at the last minute, I lose the income from your class attendance: but I haven’t also driven for half an hour and paid for studio space, so all those other potential losses are no longer an issue.

Similarly, geography doesn’t dictate class attendance. A joy over lockdown has been connecting with people around the world, and this applies to Zoom yoga. It’s now easy to create classes based on specific yoga interests when we aren’t limited by distance. They are also more accessible to all bodies. Unlike studio spaces, which are often not accessible to people with disabilities (let alone the transport options to reach them), now you just need WIFI and a compatible device. I think that all of this fosters a valued sense of community, even when we may not be in a physical room with people who are our neighbours.

Those first two pros are fairly easy to ‘see’ when thinking about online classes, but I was more surprised by just how comfortable people seem in online yoga classes. Obviously the cost/time elements contribute to a more relaxed start to class, but so many of you seem so happy throughout classes too (as do your pets and children when they wander into view!). I experienced this in the online classes and trainings I’ve recently taken as a student. Unlike in a studio class, where I’m aware both of not trying to distract other participants and wanting to be seen to ‘keep up’ with them, at home I do whatever feels best for ME - and hopefully you do what feels best for you, too. I leave my mat to fetch better props, to go to the loo, have a drink, find thicker socks. If I want to move in a different way, or be still, I do so without any worry about disturbing others. As we joked this week in a very sweaty class, I also know that nobody else can smell me, or I them! All of these factors suggest that online yoga classes can be less comparative and more intuitive. Similarly, I know lots of you are appreciating the option to stay lying down or seated after a relaxing class, with no need to drive home.

So what about the cons? The most obvious is physical connection between teacher and student. Even with your camera carefully set up, I can’t see you from every angle and offer fine-detail feedback that would be possible were we in a room together. It’s also more difficult for you to see me demonstrating new skills, although adding a second camera to our classes seems to have helped with that. (For those who are curious, I use my laptop camera for a ‘distance’ shot and set up my phone so that people can also see a more detailed view of my feet). Having said all of that, keeping our class numbers small means that I can still see all of you clearly on my Zoom screen and give personalized feedback throughout the class. Keeping you unmuted helps too, since unlike in many larger Zoom classes we have an ongoing dialogue about how you are feeling. Similarly, it’s not possible to give manual adjustments via Zoom - but social distancing means it’s also not possible in studios at the moment, and probably won’t be for some time. As a fairly new yoga teacher who doesn’t have a background in healthcare, I’ve not built up a big practice of offering adjustments, so this is a fairly small change to me. I am, however, trying to incorporate self-massage and use of props to create some of the same benefits that adjustments can bring during a held yoga pose.

Props are themselves a potential con. Whereas in-person classes at our Acle studio allowed you to use multiple bolsters, blocks of different sizes and mats that might be beyond your own price range, online yoga doesn’t easily allow borrowing of equipment. But compared to going to a rented studio space, where we’re limited to what you bring with you and what I can fit in my car (normally just washable mats and foam blocks), online yoga enables generous use of props from your own homes. My next blog post will be specifically about props, including options for using household objects to make your yoga practice more enjoyable and also how to choose props should you want to buy anything more specialized. Returning to my earlier point about saving money on travel to classes, you may wish to use this ‘money saved’ to buy props that really suit your body and yoga yoga practice. Additionally, if you live nearby and would like to try out different props, do shout so that we can arrange a socially-distant borrow.

The final big con is technology, although it is of course the whole reason that we are even able to have a debate about the merits of online yoga! For a considerable population, access to the relevant equipment and confidence using it remains a barrier to online yoga classes. Whilst I have put out feelers to help people who are nervous about using Zoom, I’m aware that communicating this through email and Facebook is unlikely to reach the people who may want to hear it! I also know that many people cannot afford the devices and internet access required to attend even a free online class. A truly equitable and accessible yoga model therefore needs to include both in-person and online yoga options. We’ve had relatively few technology fails though (and I think these have generally been due to poor WIFI rather than software or devices), so I am happy to keep using Zoom and support those of you want to practise linking it to your different devices. I’m also exploring options for improving sound quality. Me wearing AirPods seems like a good option, so if any yoga teachers have done that, please let me know your experience. I’m also going to try a few extra layers of ‘sound-proofing’ in my teaching room.

What are your thoughts? Perhaps you’re a Yoga For Every Body member who’s joined us online, or someone who’s waiting for in-person classes. Maybe you like the on-demand nature of YouTube yoga or a more specialized app. Are you a yoga teacher also exploring this topic? Whatever your perspective, I’d love to hear your ideas.