5 Lessons from 3 years of Teaching Zoom Yoga

Cory Sterling from Conscious Counsel asked for a Zoom interview chat with me on a topic that could benefit our combined audience of yoga teachers. So I threw out a few topic ideas and we went with the 5 lessons I've learned teaching 3 years of free Zoom yoga.

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Notes from my talk:

I’ve been teaching free zoom yoga classes since March 2020, when my yoga studio temporarily closed and, like many, I was doing everything I could to stay afloat. After about a month, I was burning out fast. And I was getting lost in the sea of non-specific online yoga offerings.

I had to cut what wasn’t working and double down on what did work. For me, what worked as a stay-at-home mom with a one-year old was creating online courses (after bedtime) and maybe teaching ONE yoga short class that I could commit to regularly based on me and my son’s schedule.

Before cutting back, I was teaching over 10 virtual classes a week in different formats, trying to accommodate to the few people who sometimes attended. At first, I was trying to make everyone else happy, at the detriment of what worked for me.

I decided I had to do things differently. I had to pick a class that *I* liked to teach and simply stick to it. The question I asked myself was, “if I never taught or practiced this class again, how would I feel about it?” Now, I love a good challenging yoga class, but I could also take it or leave it. The one thing that stood out to me in the end was my simple morning practice that includes movement and a short meditation. It’s a practice I started doing myself over 10 years ago.

The main take-away: There is not ONE way and there is no BEST way.

5 Lessons from 3 years of Teaching Zoom Yoga

1, Myth: Yoga classes are not your personal practice. Truth: It’s okay to teach a class for YOU, for personal reasons, and not make every class about serving your students (just like it’s okay to offer a service to make money). It is okay to do what works for you.

• Teaching CAN be a form of your own self care.
• Reasons I teach this class: accountability, community, self care
• You can lead yourself and others at the same time.
  

2. Myth: You need to define a super clear and focused ideal client avatar. Truth: You don’t need to have a super clear defined niche audience before you get started. Your energy and personality is the super attractor.

• Strategy – asking myself, “If I never taught or practiced this again, how would I feel about that?”
• I end up attracting like-minded people.
• I never said “I teach women in their 40s and 50s who are dealing with overwhelm.” Instead I say, “I lead a free 6am morning movement & meditation class on Zoom every weekday.”
• I teach ONE class, and that’s the option.
  

3. Myth: Students will get bored if it’s not different and creative every day. Truth: Your classes do not have to be super creative. Students love repetition and accountability. Also, it’s exhausting to come up with something new every day.

• I started my online business teaching yoga sequencing, and how to be more creative. But the more I teach, the more I really just prefer the basics.
• My class has a similar sequence every day.
• The theme or the affirmation that changes.
  

4. Myth: I tried it for a few weeks/months and this strategy does/doesn’t work. Truth: There is no ONE way or the BEST way to do something. Just because a strategy works for someone else, does not mean that it will work for you. Growth is slow. Consistency is key.

• Having a paid membership with a library of classes is a very common and understood strategy. But it’s not the only one.
• For my own body – I used to be very much into hard workouts, lots of running, and powerful challenging yoga practices. I’d practice ashtanga 2x per week, teach 10-15 classes, train for half marathons. And I still enjoy all that. I’m looking forward to challenging myself again. Right now, being pregnant, I feel SO good. From this 30 minute daily practice combined with a 30 minute low intensity workout at home and maybe a walk a few times a week.
  

5. Myth: You can’t make money teaching for free and you devalue the industry and yourself as a teacher. Truth: You CAN make money from a free class and your value is not diminished. I have a 1 hour webinar that explains the benefits, myths, and steps to getting started.

• Membership option, replays, bundles, etc.
• Overcomes price objects for your more expensive offers.
• Eventually, people will want to pay you, as they get to know and trust you.
• Switching to OfferingTree for this reason was a great move.

Watch my free webinar on

How to use free yoga to grow your yoga business

Sign up for my 6am PST Zoom yoga class here.

(Will be on a break January-February 2023)

About Ashley – Ashley Hagen is an online yoga teacher and business coach who helps other yoga teachers transform into confident online entrepreneurs. Ashley went from teaching 15+ yoga classes per week and owning a local studio to running a thriving yoga business 100% online. With a background in marketing & graphic design, she now combines her skills with her passion in order to help yoga teachers navigate the world of online yoga teaching, course creation and business building. Along with her yoga teacher coaching programs, Ashley leads a 6am PST Zoom yoga class every weekday to an audience all over the world.