How to Create Blah Classes [yuk]
Dear Yoga Teacher,
Most yoga teachers have never worked at the front
desk of a yoga studio…
… so they don’t know the most common question
asked by walk-ins and callers.
Wanna know what it is? “What kind of yoga do
you teach?”
This is THE question because students want to know
what they’re getting into. And rightly so. 60 or 90
minutes is a big time commitment, and if someone is
going to spend money and give you a huge chunk of
their day, it’s only reasonable that they know what’s
going to happen.
This is why having a set schedule is ALWAYS smart.
This is why having set class styles is ALWAYS smart.
So if you teach a class called “Flow 1″ on Mondays at
6 p.m. and you decide the day of to switch it to a
Yin class. Guess what? Even if it’s an awesome class,
students are going to be leery before they come
again.
It’s your class. You get to call the shots and make up
the rules, but there are limits that you must respect.
A 90 minute class shouldn’t be a 120 minutes. And
it shouldn’t be 70 minutes either.
And a class called “Power 2″ on the schedule should
not be a pranayama session.
Switching your class styles constantly and surprising
students is a sure-fire way to have blah classes that
get smaller each week.
Never underestimate how much students value consistency.
I have personally surveyed and interviewed over 200
students on this very topic, and it’s one of the top 3
concerns.
Consistency.
Students want their 7 p.m. Bikram class to start on time
and kick their butt every time. They want their 6 a.m.
Mysore class to be dead silent and expect to get 3-4
adjustments during their practice.
This might sound dull or “cookie cutter,” but ultimately,
the class is about the student experience, not yours.
And there’s enough chaos in the world already, so
students want structure and reliability from their yoga,
their teacher, their studio.
Live outside the box,
Lucas
Yoga Marketing Consultant
p.s. When I first opened my studio, I spent days looking
at hundreds of studios’ schedules, studying the class
descriptions and timetables.
A great class schedule is extremely simple, usually just
12-35 classes per week, but there is NOTHING random
about it all. Every day of the week is different, every
time slot is different, and it’s crucial to your success.
Is there any rhyme or reason to YOUR schedule?