We are currently into the second month of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Many people have been in the thick of the pandemic for quite a bit longer than this. We are dealing with a flu-like virus that is highly contagious and is responsible for deaths in at-risk populations as it creeps across the globe. Currently, everyone – together – is experiencing something that we never have, and it’s creating immediate and major societal change.
Since the changes started (that feels like a very long time ago but is really about 2-3 weeks), the delivery of group fitness has changed. We’ve seen gyms, yoga studios, spin studios, CrossFit gyms and the like forced to close-for-now and many have moved to online solutions.
Here I’ve decided to share some of my own musings and observations of this massive industry upheaval. My perspective is one of a yoga teacher and studio owner and thus comes from a yoga perspective, but I think that some of these things are more broad and probably apply to the fitness industry as a whole. These observations are informed by my own observation of social media, participating in online conversations, and having my own conversations with my peers, friends, and instructors. I will go into some of these topics in more detail and others I might save the detail for another post.
I hold these opinions as my own and welcome them to be the beginning of open and constructive dialog among yoga teachers, studio owners, and other fitness professionals. The only rules that I suggest…(1) expect non-closure, (2) agree to disagree…and in both cases be ok with it. So here we go…
I’m concerned about not seeing students. Seeing with my eyes, and seeing with the dialogue that happens before, during, and after my classes. I’ve seen a lot of studios (and gyms) using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stream classes. I have two concerns about this…
First [the small concern], these are recording a practice and sharing it, they are not classes in the true sense of a learning environment (even an online learning environment). Some have gone as far as to call them “performances.” Imagine going to a school where the teacher presents from behind a piece of Plexiglas, does not respond to you or give you feedback, and presents something in one way as if everyone on your side understands – would you give this teacher a good review?
Here’s the thing about this type of “class”, even if you think you are teaching by adding verbal instruction and demonstrating – because you explain that you should press down through your big toe mound, turn the back toes out to the side, or rotate palms to face each other – does not mean that’s what the student will do, EVEN if you are doing it in your video. Remember that not everyone is an auditory learner, and not everyone is a visual learner. It’s true that in a studio class you don’t know either, but there at least you can SEE (assuming that you look at your students) if there’s some confusion in your direction – either verbal or visual. Unless you have flawless language, a 360° camera filming with zoom, and a student with endless understanding of movement, anatomical references, and yoga poses (unlikely), this isn’t an encouraging and inviting way to deliver a yoga class.
Second [the big concern, part 1], the larger of the concern of not being able to see your students is safety. This is safety from a human perspective I’ll go Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner on this (extreme example if you don’t get the reference) – if your student is “taking” your class and a piano falls on their right foot while they’re in virabhadrasana I (warrior I) and you can’t see it, what happens? Is there anyone in their home who can help them? Regardless of the level of risk (knee-over-big toe vs. piano falling), there is no way that they are physically safe in your class if you can’t see them and their surroundings. Period.
And to go a step further, this cartoon example fits from a physical danger or injury perspective, but what about the unseen? If you are a yoga teacher who teaches from a mental health awareness perspective, you probably think about the unseen. I do, a lot. And in a studio setting we have cues that we can look for to see if our students are having difficulty, and we have tools that we rely on with language and communication to make the personal interaction comfortable and safe. Without the ability to receive any verbal or non-verbal communication from my students, I don’t have the ability to do this. I can’t offer my class as an accessible, comfortable, and safe space.
Finally [the big concern, part 2], the other part of the larger concern of not being able to see your students is safety from the cover yourself perspective. As I wrote about the second concern, I thought more about this one. Let’s go back to the cartoon reference (the extreme), are you liable for this accident? Have you had the student on the other side of the video sign a release, a consent form, or waiver? I’m guessing no because on the video, you can’t see who is watching and monitor attendance (maybe a little on Facebook or Instagram, but that’s a lot of extra work). In that case, have you included a disclaimer at the beginning of your video/presentation? If you’re teaching for a studio, has the owner contacted his/her insurance to make sure that the studio is covered for online teaching? Is this a new student who had never been to the physical location of the studio – how is the studio collecting a waiver? Was the waiver language updated to include risks that are associated with practicing online? If you carry individual yoga instructor insurance (if you don’t, you should), have you checked with them about the same things? I don’t have answers to these questions for you, but I’d strongly, strongly, advise that you make a call or email to your insurance provider.
I’m curious about the length of classes. I know I could go for a two-hour yoga class right now, every day for that matter. However, some are job-unsure, working as much as we can, with kids going to school from home, spouses working from home and this on top of all of the usual things that need to be done. We aren’t going out to do the things that we usually do so there is extra entertainment, extra cooking, extra cleaning, extra grocery shopping, and extra household coordination. On top of that, you might be helping to care for someone in your family or community by running errands, shopping, or sewing. We are short on time, short on routines, and for many, short on cash. All reasons to start, maintain, and continue to develop your yoga practice, right?
In my experience, however, our own self care moves to the very, very bottom of the list. So is there more or less time for a 75 minute yoga class? My studio is offering 30-minute length classes, partially because of Zoom time restriction on free accounts, but also because I like 30-40 minutes of yoga if that can be done consistently. I also think that it’s an amount of time that can be digested into a busy schedule easier than 60 or 75 minutes (which turns into 75-90 minutes with set up and getting ready afterward. I think it’s important for everyone (especially to those new to yoga) to know that any amount of time is a yoga practice!
I’m excited about props. If you had the chance to practice at Yoga U PGH, you might already know this. What’s more exciting is to see people, yoga students and yoga teachers alike, share new and fun ideas of what things can be stand-ins for yoga props. Can you go online and buy a full set of yoga supplies: mat, foam blocks, cork blocks, strap, zafu, bolster, sandbag? You could. But you can also use a towel, pint glass, soup can, belt, scarf, pillow, cat [ok, that last one was to see if you were reading]! That’s the short list. To the yoga students whether you are new or advanced, be creative. To the yoga teachers, try to create a safe, supportive, non-prop class (think, bodies as props) OR try to suggest a new stand-in every time this is a very unique opportunity to develop skills as yoga teachers – but I’ll save that for another post.
I’m appalled about cost. I will start with a rewind to my discussion above about seeing students (“I’m concerned”) and about length of classes (“I’m curious”). Since most of us have never done this before, the quality of the online class – quality beyond yoga instruction – is all over the place. So that is what I would tell a student looking at starting a yoga practice online, consider what you’re getting and if you don’t know – ask around. Ask people who already practice yoga, ask yoga teachers, call a yoga studio. Beyond that is the underlying issue, the elephant in the yoga studio if you will.
Financial accessibility in yoga is a huge issue, it’s a barrier, even pre-COVID. I’m not saying that classes should be free, but I will say that they should NOT be $15 per class. Consider that, when studios budget for $15/$17/$20 in-studio classes, there are a lot of pieces that go together to arrive at that price. Some of that is based on the market value of a yoga class, but honestly, the market is nowhere near normal right now. We should be operating as if someone took the puzzle pieces that build the price of a yoga class, threw them in the air, maybe ate a few, tore the paper off of one side on a few others, and left us to work the puzzle. To yoga students, teachers, and studios, consider your options, really take time to think about the price of yoga, dissect it and make the choices that you think are best for you in your role. That’s the best thing that we can do right now.
I’m unsure about the future of the group fitness industry. And more specifically, in-studio yoga classes. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and discussion on this. As with most things, I think there are two sides of this and we’ll probably end somewhere in between. There will always be the people who do better when participating in a group. For those, there will be places for them to go to practice yoga. But what about all of the people who aren’t comfortable in group fitness settings? Will this alternate reality that we’re all living in right now open opportunities for them to begin, build, and/or sustain a yoga practice in an environment that is more comfortable for them? Similar to what a lot of people are experiencing from work-at-home, will there be found time (travel, parking, getting in/out, etc) associated with NOT going somewhere? Are we going to see a lot of people who are uncomfortable going into public spaces? Can studios/gyms meet the new needs that might arise from a sanitary perspective (all the way to possible changes in air circulation and cleaning)? Will people reclaim yoga as their own? It’s funny, my 300-hour teacher said (i’m paraphrasing) that our goal as yoga teachers is to put ourselves out of business. Maybe this will prove to be step one…
So like everything there is a good and bad, a black and white when it comes to yoga moving online. In my experience, most things that have these extremes also have a spectrum in between and the reality lies somewhere in between. For those who are delivering from their home or opening a video into their home in order to continue their practice, it requires humility and humanity. At home practice takes some of the guru-ness and the glamour of studio settings and brings the true practice to the forefront. It allows us to show that you really can do yoga anywhere!
Recommended and related reads/watches:
- Presence vs. Performance as the Pandemic Forces Us Online, a conversation between Jivana Heyman and Matthew Remski
- Most Yoga Teachers are Not Online Producers. They Have a Deeper Gift, and Now Is the Time to Trust It. Matthew Remski blog post, 3/26/2020.
- Paradoxia: the podcast, Season 1, Episode 4, “Yoga During COVID-19: Anxiety Overwhelm & Finding Center” with Rachel Vincinguerra
