Purebalance Yoga, Plimmerton, Saturday, 9am-10:15am =ON=
Open Circle Yoga, Ngaio Town Hall, Sunday 1:30pm-2:25pm =ON=
During the weekend I actually got of my metaphorical ass and constructed some basic flyers to advertise my Open Circle Yoga classes. Stuck one on the Ngaio Hall Notice Board and gave the rest to Carolyn Patchel to stick up and hand out via her already established network.
This really is the first time I've made a legitimate effort to market my classes and for that reason alone it is worth taking a moment to recognise this as a significant event in my life as a Yoga Teacher. I have no idea if this will offer any assistance to attracting members, but I reckon if it brings even a single person to the classes it was worth it.
In the end, I feel that via word of mouth a slow and evolutionary growth of the class is the path that I hope; expect and believe will occur, and I'm genuinely willing (and able) to give it the time an expectation like that needs to prove itself.
In a way, the growth of a new class feels very similar to the development of ones own practice. It evolves organically, and is best if built on strong foundations.
Namaste all!
b
Is "open circle yoga" yoga practiced in a circle? I'm going to teach some of that on Sunday and then attune people to Kundalini Reiki! Exciting stuff. Building classes and promoting yourself is half the battle! The other half is keeping your yogic composure through tough times (that's super hard for me personally!) I can already tell you are most likely an awesome teacher, however so I bet you've got some dedicated students now for sure already :) Personally, I derive a great deal of support from my own students and for that I am very thankful. Namaste!
ReplyDeletethankyou for your lovely comment. I use the term Open Circle as a metaphor, it's not literal. (1) the class is open to "anyone" who has an interest (2) the class content and philosophy is always evolving and open to whatever resonates.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I will ever be an overtly commercial teacher. I think I lack the desire and ambition to translate what I do into material/quantifiable results. This is probably compounded by the fact that following a specific tradition/methodology/lineage does not work well for me, I'm too free spirited, to curious to try other things. I have a hard enough time just labelling my classes as Yoga, for the simple reason of the stereo-type expectations the word brings with it.
Of course, if I'm going to offer my time and effort to teach classes, I naturally want people to actually be there to experience and benefit from it. People have to know you are there before they will come, so some effort to create visibility of what you do is an unavoidable requirement, but it's just not something I find fulfilling. What I do find fulfilling is seeing shiny; relaxed; invigorated and enthusiastic people resonating with the classes I provide, so some effort is surely warranted!
Like you, the love and support of the students is the real payback, and the ultimate reason for putting myself out there.
btw, I may (or may not) be an awesome teacher, but I cannot (yet) put my foot behind my head like you lol
Namaste