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How To Grow Your Yoga Practice

Whether You Aspire To Open A Studio Or Teach Yoga Online These Insights From Biz

How to GROW and build on your Yoga practice at home

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Wanting to be successful is as American as pie, but we tend to forget that success comes in many flavors. In order to have a successful yoga career, you first need to determine what that means to youwhether its owning your own studio or positively impacting the lives of your students. Whatever your goals, the reality is teaching yoga is a challenging career path. Thats why weve asked some of the business-savviest yogis we know for their best tips for new teachers.

Adopt Email And Sms Marketing

Email and SMS marketing is the ultimate low-budget yet effective marketing tool that can help you create a sustainable massage therapy business.

A simple SMS or an engaging email are the simplest ways that can virtually guarantee that your services wont go unnoticed.


Regular usage of this metric would also mean that your clients arent going to forget about your rejuvenating services!

Here are few ideas that can help you get started on the email and SMS marketing of your massage business:

  • Leverage social media to get email addresses of your prospective clients, by promoting offers or valuable health-related content.
  • Get contact information email addresses and phone numbers from your current clientele and send them exciting news in the form of discounts or offers. Who doesnt love a soothing massage at discounted rates? Send your present clients these exclusive deals on slower days and keep your schedule full.
  • Sharing instructive and helpful contentwill set you apart as an expert in the field, and your potential customers will grow to appreciate and promote your services. This can also help you nurture your potential clients into paying clients.
  • If you are volunteering in any local event like trade fair or charity marathons, you can get as much footfall as possible by sending an email or a text message regarding the details of the event. You can also offer bonuses for the clients who visit your stall at the event.

Offer A Referral Bonus

People love bonuses or discounts. Buy one get one free concept can be a handy tool to market your yoga studio. Though word of the mouth helps to get more students and increase class attendance, you need to offer a referral reward scheme. For your referral scheme to be most effective, offer a membership discount to both parties involved the referer and the referee.

Recommended Reading: How Many Calories Does An Hour Of Yoga Burn

Deepen Your Practice With The Eight Limbs Of Yoga Program

EkhartYoga members can follow our The Eight Limbs of Yoga program. In this program our aim is to help you achieve a good grasp of each limb through informative talks, yoga, Pranayama and meditation. Go deeper and truly enrich your yoga practice and your life. If youre new to EkhartYoga register for your 2 week free trialto begin.


What Class Is Right For Me

How to GROW and build on your Yoga practice at home

There are many styles of yoga classes taught today. Some are very physically challenging and will leave you sweating others are gentle and restorative. Some teachers play music in class others dont. Some classes include references to yoga philosophy and spirituality others dont.

Here are a few types of classes your yoga studio or gym may offer:

Hatha: Most yoga styles being taught in America today are a form of hatha yoga, which is a general term that refers to the physical part of yoga, rather than yoga philosophy or meditation. A Hatha yoga class is likely to be a combination of poses and breathing exercises, but its hard to know whether it will be challenging or gentle. Check with the school or the teacher to find more about the level of classes that are described only as Hatha yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga: This is a challenging style of yoga that is centered around a progressive series of yoga sequences that, traditionally, students practice on their own under the guidance of a teacher. If you think that yoga is not a workout, you havent tried an Ashtanga class. Classes include advanced poses such as arm balances and inversions including headstands and shoulder stands. Beginner students are strongly advised to study with an experienced teacher. Ashtanga classes will also often include teachings in yoga philosophy.

Note: Its a good idea to try several yoga classes. How much you enjoy any class will come down to how much you like the teacher, not how its labeled.


Read Also: Does Yoga Help Stress

Incorporate The Art Of Breathing

Breath is the most important aspect of any yoga practice. By bringing conscious awareness to the breath, we activate an internal, deep-level change and bring balance to the body and mind. A conscious breathing practice, otherwise known as Pranayama, should be the key part of your class thats incorporated during both the meditation and asana segments. By introducing this to your students, you can help them learn pranayama techniques and encourage them to practice it off the mat. This will ultimately help your students improve concentration, build focus, and enhances their asana practice.

Practice Your Meditation At A Silent Zone In Your Home

Do a 10-minute meditation at a silent place in your home. Before you start meditating, you can do a hip opening practice. Do deep lunges, pigeon pose, down dog, and then complete with a pose of your choice. At this juncture, you are all set to sit down for meditation. You can then pick a chair or sit on a meditation cushion to help you lift your bones and release your knees towards the earth.

Draw out your spine by lifting out of the roof of the mouth. Rest your shoulder blades and relax in your seat with your palms facing up. Meditate and be quiet. Allow whatever it is to come. This is a great exercise for your self-study and meditation.

Also Check: Handstand Yoga Poses


Ground Your Yoga Practice To Grow

This months blogs and teachings encourage building strong and stable foundations, whether in yoga, exercise, nutrition or even goal-setting. These facets of wellness do not need to be separate. To build a strong body and mind through any of these practices, you must have a solid base.

I see many yoga students, exercise enthusiasts and people in general wanting to rush to the end. They want to achieve advanced poses, lift heavy weights or overhaul their diets before they have mastered the foundations. Not only is rushing to the end unsustainable, but it also can be dangerous.

This week, we will explore the foundations of building a strong yoga practice. In the following weeks, we will examine the foundations of exercise and nutrition.

Your Feet:Your feet connect you to the earth, to the physical world below. Every step you take is a chance for them to communicate what they are experiencing back to you. As a result, they influence how you interpret your surroundings.Do you take time to notice your feet? Do you give them the attention they deserve? They are telling you a lot, so start to listen.

As you practice yoga, give your feet more attention. Feel them pressing down into the floor and receiving energy back in return. Feel how they root and ground you into the present moment. Feel how, when they are strong and balanced, your mind responds accordingly.


Are you still holding Warrior II? Your pose starts once you want to get out of it.

Yoga Helps Your Physical Body

How to Grow Your Yoga Class

The most obvious benefit is, of course, physical. Yoga postures can help increase:

  • flexibility

These benefits are also why athletes practice yoga as part of an effective cross-training regimen.

During yoga, your body goes through a full range and variety of motion that can counteract aches and pains associated with tension or poor postural habits. Not only does yoga help you and many athletes become more aware of your body, it also allows you to fix these imbalances and improve overall athleticism.

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Require A Minimum Of Practice For Yourself Each Day

Even if its just 15 minutes, make yourself a promise that you will do your 15 minutes. Thats your practicejust thateverything else is bonus time! Start small, this way you can stick with your commitment and feel positive about your practice rather than guilty if you dont have a lot of time or energy that day.

Demonstrate And Explain In Detail

Successful yoga teachers design a comprehensive class by building thoughtful sequences and delivering them clearly to their students. This doesnt pertain to just the asanas, but corresponding breathwork and the anatomical breakdown of the body and message behind each pose as well. Additionally, always take every opportunity to be present in your teaching, be it watching your students and offering adjustments, giving anatomical cues, or opening up about experiences relevant to your theme, etc.

Read Also: Does Hot Yoga Burn A Lot Of Calories

Tips To Improve Your Yoga Practice

Yoga is a divine discipline. Although it has its root in Indias ancient tradition, yoga is more relevant in todays modern stressful life. Yoga is now a globalized phenomenon and the knowledge of yoga is easily available to each one of us. It is important for attaining physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

There is always scope for Improving and enhancing your Yoga Practice. So gear up with some simple tips and get on the yoga mat with a yogis attitude.


A Guide To Foundational Poses

Your Yoga Practice Will Grow When You Develop A Personal ...

It can be helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the main foundational poses that most physical practices use. Check out this list of poses with alignment cues that you can practice in the comfort of your own home.

Downward-Facing Dog

Cobra

  • Lie on your stomach with your legs straight.
  • Firm up the muscles in your legs and have your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointing behind you.
  • Push down through your pubic bone to avoid collapsing into the lower portion of the spine.
  • Place your weight onto your forearms as you lift your chest away from the ground.
  • Make sure that your neck is long as you look straight ahead.
  • Hold for 5 breaths.
  • Warrior I

  • Stand up straight and step your right foot back.
  • Keep your front foot pointing straight forward and position your back foot at approximately a 45-degree angle.
  • Position your feet hip-width apart so youre able to square your hips to the front of the mat.
  • Bend into your front knee. Make sure your knee is directly above your ankle, or behind it.
  • Keep your back leg strong.
  • Raise your arms up straight above your head and relax your shoulders.
  • Hold for 5 breaths before switching to the other side.
  • Warrior II

  • Stand up straight. Step your right foot back.
  • Keep your front foot pointing straight forward. Position your back foot at a little less than a 90-degree angle.
  • Align your front heel with the arch of your back foot.
  • Have your hips turned toward the side of the mat.
  • Keep your back leg strong.
  • Relax your shoulders.
  • Tree Pose

    Cat-Cow

    Recommended Reading: How Many Calories Does Yoga Burn

    Commit To Your Practice

    Be realistic! Sometimes I get overly excited when creating my weekly, monthly, or seasonal timetable. Ill schedule a routine of daily hour-long morning and evening practices. As phenomenal and beneficial as this could be, it is probably not realistic. An unattainable schedule leads to feelings of failure. I sometimes forget that life happens.

    I recommend a sustainable, stress-free commitment to practicing. What length of time can you really commit to regularly? As mentioned before, yoga has cumulative effects. A 20-minute daily session coupled with 5 minutes of meditation before bed is more beneficial than a 90-minute class once a week. To really commit to your practice, its key to intentionally commit to a routine that youre able to stick to as much as possible.

    How To Find Growth In Your Yoga Practice

    by Anna De Sousa | Sep 7, 2021 | News & Blog

    How To Find Growth In Your Yoga Practice

    We all unroll our mats for different reasons. Yet, our journey is quite similar.

    We choose yoga over other forms of movement mainly because it provides a mind-body connection thats suitable for everyone.

    As you start and progress your yoga practice, you discover how enormous the discipline is and how much room for growth there is. However, that growth might not always roll out in the way we expect.Asana indeed has a big platform in the west. So big that we can mistakenly think that being good at yoga is all about the physical. But it really isnt.

    Today, wed like to share five ways you can find growth in your yoga practice that has little to nothing to do with asana.

    Change Intensity for Consistency

    There is no need to practice Advanced/Intermediate classes. Some might even argue it is not the most balanced way of practising.

    We are what we consistently do, so you need to find consistency to find growth in your practice.

    If you make it the highest intensity and challenging practise your practice everyday, itll be hard to make it consistent. Youll be sore your body will be tired. Or worse, youll injure yourself.

    To incorporate the physical practice into your daily routine, youll need to balance out its intensity. That means not doing Rocket every day, practising Restorative yoga and focusing on mobility and flexibility rather than strength.

    Find Ways to Take Yoga Off The Mat

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    Entering The Pro Or Advanced Stage Of Yoga

    Dana Diament, a Yoga Medicine instructor based in Byron Bay, Australia. You can follow her journey at www.danadiament.com.

    Being an advanced practitioner is less about doing advanced poses although your body may certainly be ready for those and more about deepening your commitment to practice on and off the mat.

    Learn Names And Use Them

    Yoga Class to give you the foundation to GROW in your practice!

    Students are blown away when you remember their names it shows that you care and that you are invested in them as individuals. Not only will people be impressed with your memory, more importantly it will make them feel good.

    People wont remember that you forgot Warrior III on the second side, but they will remember that you made them feel supported by recognizing their presence in the room. If you do nothing else, this will bring people back time and time again.

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    Teaching Yoga Beyond The Poses

    Through yoga classes, journaling, and group exercises, learn to integrate themes, ideas, and inspiration into your classes to help your students feel uplifted and more connected.

    Growing your classes is a process, and is propelled by consistency. Look for trends over time dont get down on yourself if your class size fluctuates a bit, but do track attendance so that you get a clear picture.

    Most importantly, if you continue to teach from the heart, you cant go wrong.

    Liza Bertini, E-RYT 500, a personal development coach, yoga and mindfulness educator, and leadership trainer, is the Interim Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga.

    What Youll Get Out Of Tuning In:

    • Get Cates best advice for your wellness pro career development
    • Shortcut the hard lessons you learned as an Ayurvedic Practitioner
    • Learn why you want to focus on results with your clients

    I had the extremely good fortune to be nurtured and nourished by these two deep lovers of Ayurveda. I was apprenticing at CCA in the herb department and the Pancha Karma department under Linseys tutelage. Wed head back to the gorgeous spot Linsey owned above the Yuba River after work/school. We lived, breathed and conversed Ayurveda.

    I want to leave the graduates with an inspirational message about some graduates of CCA and what they have done since their graduation.

    I find the work you are doing out in the world to be inspirational. Having known you as a student and to see what you have manifested since that time is certainly inspiring to me. I remember the first seeds of Yogahealer that you shared with me in your tiny trailer on Linseys property. I would like to share a small part of your story with the graduates and, if you have any words of wisdom for them, Id like to share those, too.

    Ive been able to get some info from your website, but would love to hear any advice you might give to a new graduate. Do you have any advice for the new graduate? Imagine if you as who you are today could have whispered something to yourself during your own graduation ceremony, what would that have been?

    Here are the 10 steps I came up with in response to the question.

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    Yoga Practice Growth: How Practice Patience And Commitment Can Grow Your Personal Yoga Practice

    Now, last Sunday, my husband brought home one of these adorable little flower pots full of strawberry plants from one of our favorite local farmers. My son would turn into a berry if we lived in Willy Wonkas Factory with all the berries he loves to eat, so we figured it would be a great lesson for both kids to help grow some strawberriesyou know, where food comes from, patience stuff like thatand this mama doesnt have time for, you know, like a REAL garden. So, this year we are trying our hand at a container garden and our garden consists of between 6-8 strawberry plants.

    (My grandmother would say his curls were a sin because they are so prettyand on a boy, but this kid loves his berries!

    We were rewarded almost immediately with two strawberries on Monday morning. Both kids were out on the front porch with me when we discovered the delicious red fruit waiting for us and they were so excited to pick and eat their Monday Morning Present.

    The only problem ishere it is Fridaywhich is like FOREVER to little kidsand there are STILL not anymore ripe berries!

    In all honesty, there is one that is sorta pinkishitll probably be ready tomorrow BUT, again to a 3 and 1 year old, thats like an eternity.

    All this week, the kids get up excited to see if their strawberry is ready, excited to water the strawberry , and mostly ready to EAT the strawberry. Not having that instant gratification has been, well, a THING.

    EVERYTHING!

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