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| Hi everyone. I'm writing because I moved to Sweden a couple years ago and about 2 months ago started teaching a hatha yoga class at a small local gym.
My problem / concern is that I seem to be losing students and I'm not sure why. I'm down to 2 dedicated students now, had 3 but there was a schedule change and she can't come anymore. Sometimes a few more will show up but sometimes not.
I have over 18 years experience doing yoga (started when I was 12) and recieved my 200 hour yoga alliance teaching certification for hatha from a well-known school in Colorado in 2005. I taught in the Boulder area which has a huge yoga scene and have always recieved positive feedback about my teaching.
I live in a small town now of about 15,000 and I'm the only certified teacher here. When I first moved here almost every woman I spoke with asked when I would start teaching and wanted to know all about it.
I just don't know what's going on and it's getting me down.  There are some reasons that it may not be working so well but it's hard not to question myself / my teaching.
Here's the possible reasons I've come up with.
1) Sweden, from what I've heard and have seen, is just now starting to get into yoga. It's been semi-popular in Stockholm the 2 other large towns here for a few years but not in the more rural areas. Alot of people here ask what kind of yoga I teach and when I say hatha they either don't know what it is or seem let down. Most of them ask about power yoga and bikram or hot yoga so I get the feeling that they are more interested in "trendy yoga." I explain that hatha is the basis for those but get the feeling that they want to do what they see and hear about on tv. Most of tv in Sweden is american programs so they see things like desperate housewives and there's a show called swedish hollywood housewives.
2) The most popular fitness classes at the gym where I work are the very intense ones, ie. boot camp fitness, power challange and spinning, the instructors literally yell at the students to go faster, harder etc. accompanied by really loud techno music. Those have been the most popular classes for years so maybe most of the clientele just aren't into it.
3) Yoga wasn't what they were expecting. The first few classes I had about 15 people, that's as many as the room will hold. I know alot of people were just trying it out at first but it's dissapointng that the numbers are so low. Even the guys that work the desk said that people really liked it so it doesn't make sense.
One of my friends takes the class when she can and we've talked about the lack of people. She also thinks that many were expecting / wanting either something eaiser or harder (like the other classes at the gym) or were embarresed that they weren't very flexible or just want something more in fashion.
4) The gym has absoutely no advertising. Most people in town know there's a gym there but have no idea what classes are offered or that they have yoga now. I've spoked to the owner about putting something in the paper and he always says he's going to but hasn't yet. I'm wondering if I should do it myself, put up flyers or something but I'm not sure it would be ok.
Anyways...
Does anyone have any advice or been in a similar situation?
Thanks |
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| Hi Jen,
Welcome. What type of class do you teach? Is it intense or relaxing? High energy or low energy? What age, gender and fitness level are the people who have come? Do you interact with the people in the class or do you just stand up front and talk/demonstrate? Do you like the people? Are you enthusiastic about what you are teaching? Is your class challenging? Is your class fun? Is your class hard work followed by deep relaxation? Do you teach a class or do you teach a room full of individuals? Do you give each and every student some individual attention?
It is really hard to comment on a class that I cannot see or experience, but I think that a primary thing is that you connect with the students, on a physical, mental, social etc level. Each of us connect with people in different ways and we do not all connect with the same people.
Are you telling your students why different poses or relaxation is good for them? Do you talk about the benefits of stress reduction, remedying tight hamstrings, stronger abs, posture, back health, stimulating the para-sympathetic nervous system etc etc? Are you mentioning how to take what you learn off the mat and into your everyday life?
I would suggest trying some different things, including a possible name change (for your class, not you) and see what works. Just remember that you need to stay true to yourself, regardless how you package it.
My classes tend to be somewhat seasonal. I teach three classes a week and have 30 in my class (the room max) Jan-Mar, mostly 12-20 year-round, and in the summer it can be as few as 6-12. (Town population 9,000) It took several years to build up to full classes. I taught in another town for a while and only got 3 to 8 people (same class, different town). I have a core group of about 20 people who come on a regular basis (at least once most weeks) and another 30 who come now and then (at least once a month). New people are at most classes and I would say 1 out of every 4 or 5 return and about half of those become regulars. I've had people come several times a week for years, people who come to every class for a month or two and then disappear and people who show up once every couple months. I teach to whoever shows up and they often have a variety of age, fitness, and skill levels (from dancers, other yoga or pilates teachers, gymnasts, and athletes to people in their eighties and overweight middle aged people who are really out of shape.) I never know ahead of time so it is always fun.
I hope that this helps in some way,
Namaste
Jim |
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| We've all been in that situation Jen and it's no fun--all of the reasons you nicely described here are certainly valid and there are probably many more. I don't think it's a bad thing to question yourself and/or your teaching--that's the best way to improve no matter what. How to alleviate the situation for your benefit and peace of mind is another story.
You Id the most popular classes there are more intense--look at the Bikram success--may certainly be valid. You don't describe your approach but maybe it is too relaxed or possibly to "woowoo" for many. But in any case, just like you did with your comrade, talk to folks--former attendees and future ones. Go ahead and put up flyers or use Craig's List or whatever you have access to in Sweden. Talk to related businesses and possibly trade flyers...benefit you both that way. Enlist the owners of the gym so you don't have to go it alone.
Anyway, we're with you kiddo and wish you the best! |
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| Man, just to show you where my mind is, I'd love to be the only yoga teacher in a town in Sweden--all the girls are tall, beautiful and blond right  |
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| Thanks for the nice responses you two! It was really nice to hear some encouragement and to know that others have went through this kind of thing.
The people who attend class range in age from 18 to 60+ and there's also a large range of fitness / flexibilty. I haven't found that to be a problem though because I try to be really good at showing different options and variations for poses, along with stressing the idea that it's okay if you're not so flexible "now" or can't hold a pose for a long time "now" because those things can, and usually do, improve with time. The classes are at a relaxing pace but can also be intense. When praticing for myself I love to hold poses for a long time and really surrender to them through breathing, but I'm not that "evil" in class. ;) I try to find a nice balance and give enough options (ex. hop instead of stepping in vinyasa) so that it's enjoyable to everyone and so that students can decide how intense they want it to be.
I also make a point of saying hi to everyone, adjusting and / or complementing everyone at least a couple times during each class, explaining what each pose is good for and letting everyone know how they can bring different aspects of yoga into their everyday lives. I try to keep it in between "woowoo" and more down to earth so that everyone gets something good from it.
/giggles at Bruce on that second comment! I wouldn't say "all" but there are definately enough tall blondes here to make my dark-haired, short self a bit of an oddity.
Thank you again,
Jen |
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| Jen, thanks for the amplification. Sounds like you have a very pragmatic and enjoyable teaching style and make folks feel welcome. I just thought of something and will throw it out there. one of my favorite yoga studios has several teachers I love as people and respect for their knowledge. However, as teacher's in every subject often do, they default to the least skilled in their class and when that happens too much for too long, others often feel annoyed. Also, and I was guilty of this myself when I started teaching--never shutting up....talk, talk, talk all the time. My teacher training lead pulled me aside and told me that silence is often required and it's not necessary to fill that silence with babble. Oh, love your icon! |
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| Hello Jen,
It is always fruitful for our growth as teachers to examine our teaching, its method, impact, process, strengths and weaknesses as long as the self-reflection process does not move out of balance and into dwelling or preoccupation. Examining ourselves is, in fact, one of the very foundational principles of Yoga itself.
I personally believe that when we are clear (not muddled) with our teaching AND we are in an appropriate place, students will come. When I refer to clarity I mean two things: We are teaching only what we are living so there is integrity in the teaching, AND we are conveying the teachings in ways that cannot possibly confuse the practitioner (our words and our structure of them are necessary, effective and empowering, rather than verbose and polite).
There is one other element that I believe is relevant and this is the nature of our self-talk. Many times our thought patterns manifest our fears and can be subtle blockades (or not so subtle) to attracting the abundance in life we all so richly deserve. When this is the case I believe meditation is the most effective tool we, as students, possess.
I mention these things not so much to answer your question but to do what all good yoga teachers do - stir the pot.
Finally, I wonder, is a 200-hour teacher training "enough" for a teacher five years out? And this can be both a personal question and a rhetorical one. I don't know a thing about your 200-hour or any additional teacher training you've had (not student workshopping but sessions particularly for teacher continuing education). To me, 200 hours is a bare minimum though there are many very good teachers with just those credentials - and others not so much so with more.
gordon |
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| i think you have received a lot of great advice, but i'm going to go all crass and pragmatic.
the biggest issue that i see here is marketing and promotions.
first, starting backwards, is that the gym and it's classes aren't marketed. stop waiting around for someone else to do it--make up a flyer and put it up around town. email all the people whom you know and tell them about it. ask them to tell their friends about it.
second, understand your market. i can't tell who your audience is--do you want fitness folk? then make the class harder because that's what they like there at the gym. are you looking to attract new people? then make it more moderate. Another option is to split the difference, offer a restorative class and a 'hard' class, and see what sticks. experiment a bit.
third, there is a lot of resistance to 'trendy' yoga or people's hollywood misconceptions of yoga in your post. i think you need to not worry about whether or not you or something else is trendy. you and i both know that it's new names for old things anyway. discover what language in the "trends" and what language in what you do is the same. Likewise, using the hollywood words will help attract people--you can reeducate them once you have them, but if you never have them, you can't!
so, as an example, perhaps make a flyer for Yoga for Desperate Housewives and then use the reflective language (what they are telling you they want via their questions) that is also what you teach to describe the class, and *viola* most popular classes again.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hi Jen,
If your town is anything like my town, we have the same situation and there is no rhyme or reason to it, no matter how much you market yourself. It's really all about schedules and people's willingness to COMMIT to the practice. People will tell you all day long how much they loved it, but when actually putting it into a daily or weekly routine, they don't seem to have the discipline and/or are ready to commit.
My advice is to take those 2-3 students that are committed and give it all you got. I would rather have 2-3 really good committed students than a room full of the other. Think about it, if you can make a difference with the smaller group, then you have done your job - that is what yoga is about. Don't worry about the count, eventually the word will get around, but then again, it may not and that is the nature of the yoga business.
Best wishes and good luck! |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Uppsala, Sweden | Hi Jen, I think it is great that you are in Sweden teaching yoga, just sorry to hear you seem to have a hard time getting through to people.
I am not experienced enough to give you any advice at all on how to teach, so this answer will probably not help you all that much.
As a teacher I'm sure you know by now that most people who try yoga will not stick to it for various reasons that most of the time will have nothing to do with you personally, but I do hope that you will find those souls in that small town who will come to see the light... and as already suggested it is most likely a matter of marketing. These days, if you don't have a website I reckon you pretty much don't exist.
soultraveler3 - 2010-06-03 4:15 PM
Hi everyone. I'm writing because I moved to Sweden a couple years ago and about 2 months ago started teaching a hatha yoga class at a small local gym.
My problem / concern is that I seem to be losing students and I'm not sure why. I'm down to 2 dedicated students now, had 3 but there was a schedule change and she can't come anymore. Sometimes a few more will show up but sometimes not.
I have over 18 years experience doing yoga (started when I was 12) and recieved my 200 hour yoga alliance teaching certification for hatha from a well-known school in Colorado in 2005. I taught in the Boulder area which has a huge yoga scene and have always recieved positive feedback about my teaching.
I live in a small town now of about 15,000 and I'm the only certified teacher here. When I first moved here almost every woman I spoke with asked when I would start teaching and wanted to know all about it.
I just don't know what's going on and it's getting me down. :cry: There are some reasons that it may not be working so well but it's hard not to question myself / my teaching.
Here's the possible reasons I've come up with.
1) Sweden, from what I've heard and have seen, is just now starting to get into yoga. It's been semi-popular in Stockholm the 2 other large towns here for a few years but not in the more rural areas. Alot of people here ask what kind of yoga I teach and when I say hatha they either don't know what it is or seem let down. Most of them ask about power yoga and bikram or hot yoga so I get the feeling that they are more interested in "trendy yoga." I explain that hatha is the basis for those but get the feeling that they want to do what they see and hear about on tv. Most of tv in Sweden is american programs so they see things like desperate housewives and there's a show called swedish hollywood housewives.
Yes, yoga has become very popular in the last few years, but in the larger cities it has actually been around at least since the 70's or 80's (mostly Satyananda Yoga). Today, in any of the 20 largest cities/towns, with a population of more than 50.000, there are usually several alternatives if you want to practice yoga. Of course Stockholm (with more than a million people) has an exceptionally larger and more varied yoga scene than all other places in Sweden, but if I want to practice e.g. Ashtanga, I know it is possible with good quality teachers in e.g. both Lund (south) and Luleå (north), probably even in Kalix (approx. 7000 inhabitants, even further north). And you are in all likelihood very right that American tv shows have something to do with the recent development. People in Sweden are for the most part rather open-minded to what is "trendy", modern and the newest thing in health business and fitness training, but I would assume that this is more so in urban areas, and a little less so in the rural areas. As I recall aerobics was a big thing in the 80's, and going to spa was the new thing in the 90's (i.e. amongst women).
2) The most popular fitness classes at the gym where I work are the very intense ones, ie. boot camp fitness, power challange and spinning, the instructors literally yell at the students to go faster, harder etc. accompanied by really loud techno music. Those have been the most popular classes for years so maybe most of the clientele just aren't into it.
3) Yoga wasn't what they were expecting. The first few classes I had about 15 people, that's as many as the room will hold. I know alot of people were just trying it out at first but it's dissapointng that the numbers are so low. Even the guys that work the desk said that people really liked it so it doesn't make sense.
One of my friends takes the class when she can and we've talked about the lack of people. She also thinks that many were expecting / wanting either something eaiser or harder (like the other classes at the gym) or were embarresed that they weren't very flexible or just want something more in fashion.
4) The gym has absoutely no advertising. Most people in town know there's a gym there but have no idea what classes are offered or that they have yoga now. I've spoked to the owner about putting something in the paper and he always says he's going to but hasn't yet. I'm wondering if I should do it myself, put up flyers or something but I'm not sure it would be ok.
Anyways...
Does anyone have any advice or been in a similar situation?
Thanks
Another thing that might be a problem for you, though I certainly hope it is not, is that you are not Swedish, but I don't of course know anything about your language skills or if this is a problem at all. In my experience Swedes tend to be more reserved, some even standoffish, towards foreigners — and probably more so in a small town, but that could of course just be preconception on my part. For instance, I believe that most of the beautiful and tall girls have moved to larger cities to study at universities and so on.
While most Swedes do understand English reasonably well, it is still not our first language; only very well educated people or those who have been to an English-speaking country for an extended period of time can be expected to speak English fluently, so if your Swedish is not rather good I think you will have more of a hard time than if there are no communication obstacles.
I think, if you hang in there and get some advertising working your way, people will soon enough loosen up and realise how great it is that they have an experience yoga teacher in their small town.
Best wishes! /Iraputra |
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Need some advice please
