Coronavirus, the Yoga Teacher and Virtual Teaching

Coronavirus has shocked the world with unprecedented results. With lockdowns in parts of Europe, North America and Asia, the situation has and continues to make the world weary of the days to come. Where does this put us as yoga teachers? In my case, all the studios I work for are temporarily closed and Madrid is on lockdown mode. I’m stuck at home while my income is at stake. My studio will be put through the financial ringer. Which begs the question where do we go from here? 

We are facing some tough times ahead but if we pool together our resources and lend a helping hand, the world will already be a better place. 

Let’s address our problem as individual teachers. Where do we turn to if we cannot impart live classes? This puts virtual classes in  play. Nowadays online classes have a variety of mediums. Audio, video, pre-shot, or online live-streaming. Which one is right for us? What equipment do we use? Better yet, What software do we use? A myriad of questions all of us are clamoring for.

We are going to use the resources we have at hand and make the most out of them so that we can still provide a service, offer something to our clients or anyone out there needing a little bit of yoga.

In this article I will try to answer the most common questions we are facing as yoga teachers soon-to-be online content creators. I will provide video resources and guides that link you to other helpful articles and sites out there. We are going to use the resources we have at hand and make the most out of them so that we can still provide a service, offer something to our clients or anyone out there needing a little bit of yoga.

Let’s get to it then!

What type of content is right for you? 

Content creation takes a lot of time to set-up. A pre-shot video bundle may be ideal to really showcase our individuality as teachers but what we need is a way to create content as we distribute it to paying clients ASAP. Another way is through video streaming but that is a whole other article. In this article, we’re going to talk about the different ways we can impart our classes from our homes.

Audio - Audio-only classes are cheaper to set up and there is a platform available to start charging for your classes right away. Look into Audible Yoga and see what they can offer. The good thing about this is that your students can upload it to their phones allowing them to work out anywhere. 

PDF - Yes this is a thing! On Upwork there are many yoga practitioners that want to do the poses and transitions at their own pace. They don’t want our voice constantly cuing and would rather play their music while practicing. Providing sequences might just be the thing for these yogis. I used to give these classes to private clients who travelled around for work. For this, I used Tummee the sequence builder that lets you save your work via pdf and send it off. 

Video - Video classes undoubtedly has the most engagement for you to round up your clients. You can give your classes via Zoom, Whereby or Facebook live Video, a video conferencing platform without having to create something new from scratch. Plus, platforms like momoyoga, stripe and paypal are readily adaptable for however you want to manage your sessions.

Courses and Single Classes

As I said earlier, pre-shot videos in bundles or series, even single classes with one-time payments is a fine alternative some to live-streaming. Here are some ways to go about it:

Making an online course - In an article by Namastream, it said that an online course is ideal if you want to make a set of classes designed to solve a particular problem. It is also suited for teachers who haven’t made a solid client base and are looking to expand or teachers who are specialized in a certain yoga style or have developed their own method. While it is tedious to create the content, the best part is that once you upload it–you’ll have passive income forever. You can go with a platform or use your own website. 

Single Classes - Instead of planning an entire course you can give a class that solves an immediate need. For example, making a 1-hour full body power vinyasa class can be useful for people feeling cooped up in their homes. 

Online private classes - This could be the perfect moment to attend to your clients with some special needs. I give vinyasa classes to seniors so I try to cater my sequences to their conditions. One way to do this is to offer private classes online and make a video especially for them.

Accepting Payments or Donations

Most importantly, what are the different ways to accept payments? The traditional way is through the platform of your choice leaving it to them to do the work. Then again, what if you feel that you want to put on a more generous face especially during these times? What if you already have a youtube channel? Is there a kindly way to ask for remuneration? Yes there is!! Here are some of your many options:

Momoyoga users can use the platform for payments as is - Momoyoga is adaptable to receive payments for online access. Add information on how to attend online (share the video link from i.e. Zoom or Whereby) to the class description. Change the class title to ‘Hatha Yoga (online)’ or something alike. It is particularly useful if you don’t feel like making an entire new site or virtual school. Simply by putting up your schedule, then giving online access upon payment. Both to your existing clients, as to new students registering with your (online) studio. It’s that easy. 

Crowdfunding - Crowdfunding is basically looking for monetary support from people who are interested in seeing your project or ongoing business through. Linking a crowdfunding page to your website allows you to showcase your hard work. You present your passion and this may exponentially grow your business. Some samples are Patreon, Gofundme, Donorbox, Liberpay and Memberful. I still don’t have a full report for these sites but stay with me and I’ll come up with something real soon!  

Buttons - Adding a tips/donation  button to your youtube page or website is also a way to go. Although Youtube has some requirements for you before you qualify for fan-funding but there’s no harm in trying. Here’s the how-to page for fan-funding.

I hope this article shines a light on everyone out there. We are facing some tough times ahead but if we pool together our resources and lend a helping hand–whether it’s by simply sharing information, or even just some kind words, The world will already be a better place.