Photo by Avrielle Suleiman on Unsplash
“It’s not a matter of if you should do this. Listen to that voice that says “why don’t you……..””
Monday nights are never going to be the same again for me when I started teaching my very first Instagram Live class on Monday 23rd March 2020.
Or rather we will never be the same again as we try to adapt to this new COVID-19 era of staying at home and not connecting to others. And the life of a yoga teacher now has to exist in the bright shiny digital world, which seemed busier than ever.
As a student, I’m immensely overwhelmed by the influx of classes online - there’s so many options out there - when it used to simply be to stick to one studio, and you work the one schedule to your schedule, right?
Now it’s a mess!! I don’t even know now who to follow or to do, when to do (though anytime is a right time) and is there such a thing as too much yoga?
Over the weekend, I even practised yoga near midnight; some call it desperation and some call it dedication. I knew I wanted to be with my Baptiste community. And so I sat there with mixed feelings of:⠀
AWE of the immense power of community⠀
JOY at hearing almost 1000 yogis chiming in good morning onscreen⠀
FEAR that i’m screwing up my last 2 months efforts to get my sleep pattern right!⠀
WORRIED that i cant get to sleep⠀
EXCITED that I get to do Baron’s class after 2 years⠀
SAD coz I suddenly felt alone and like I don't belong⠀
SATISFACTION that I did it⠀
And as I was deciding to teaching online - I was also battling the voices in my head that whispered….
No one will come.
Who am I?
I don’t have space.
My house is a mess.
I can’t fit into my yoga pants.
I’m fat.
I should have started earlier.
What if I mess up?
There are others who are better than me...
All the fears, worries and……………..
There are what they are ….. in that midnight practice, Baron ask that we set an intention for acceptance -
Acceptance for what is and what it is not.
Your fears, worries……… SO WHAT?
Can you accept your fears and worries as it is and as it is not? You know they are not real; can you accept that they are just thoughts and they are not real? Can you accept this new way of teaching? Accept that it’s not going to be perfect. Accept that you’re going to mess up. And you may not.
Remember - If it’s not Important, You will not have any Resistance!
what is essential to you?
We are all asked to stay home, and only go out for essential errands. Hanging out with friends when we are supposed to be social distancing is not. Going to the gym or yoga studio is not. This is a life and death situation, right?
So, you are now at home - let me ask you, is it ESSENTIAL that you teach online? If So, WHY do you want to teach online? WHAT IS POSSIBLE if you do it?
(Note: These questions can apply to anything that you’re thinking of doing; just replace the word - “teach”, with the action or decision. Should I exercise? Should I start cooking? Should I learn something new? In fact, that’s too much thinking, just DO IT!)
Teaching online is giving me
The opportunity to reach out to people who would not have come to my class otherwise - like my sisters, my old school mates, etc
Motivation to self-practice with power and vitality.
Space to share my love for Baptiste Yoga
Access to be of service, to give back to the community
Training me to show up when I don’t feel like showing up.
THAT’S WHY I TEACH
“Stop Complaining and Be in the Doing!”
There are too many things going wrong in the world out there. Teaching online - it's one small thing.
It’s OKAY if you don’t want to teach online! Don’t beat yourself up over it.
If you don’t want to teach online, DON'T. Don’t do it because everyone else is doing it. Don’t do it because of Ego. Do it because you want to serve. And because it ‘s ESSENTIAL for the greater good of your life and of others.
And if you decide not to teach, you can be of service by supporting your other teacher friends, and practise with them, and share their classes with family and friends.
If you want to teach, TEACH. Stop complaining, just teach!
And if it’s essential that you start teaching online because it’s your bread and butter, and you’re afraid, you’re feeling anxious………
Start with one class a week
Whether you decide to teach online or not, most importantly, do take care of yourself.
Do what you need to fill up your cup with joy - meditate, connect with others online, sleep well, eat well, move more, love more!!
xoxo
PS. I’d like to invite you to come practice with me on IG LIVE. I teach Mondays 7pm SGT and Thursdays 8am SGT. Please follow me @pocketsofjoyfulness to get updates when I go LIVE!
Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash
BONUS FAQ
Hey, I’ve listed below some questions that came up in my decision-making to teach online.
SHOULD I START TEACHING ONLINE?
Why not? Start with one class, and make a commitment to show up every week. It’s like going to the studio for your classes, only that you don’t have to get out of the house for this one.
WHAT OPTIONS ARE THERE?
Facebook Live OR Instagram Live, which I feel is the simplest option. It has a 1 hour limit, and you can’t see your students. It’s like you’re looking in a mirror and teaching (and talking) to yourself. If you want to do both platforms, you’d need 2 phones.
Zoom - Your students will need to register for a Zoom account and they can “attend” your class from the laptop/computer or from their phone (download the Zoom app). The free option has a limit of 40 mins and no recording capability. The paid version costs US$14.99 per month. With this, your students require a zoom link to enter your “class” and you can opt to set up a password to keep it inclusive, and this is what most studios, coaches teachers use for paid (and sometimes free) classes.
Youtube - This will require more set up, time with the editing; and money, especially if you want to make it look professional with proper lights, camera and microphone. With this, your students will have access to you for life.
There are many others, but so far this is commonly used.
Currently I’m using IG live because it’s simple, and I ‘ve only have one phone. It’s easy to connect your AirPods or headsets via bluetooth, and maybe you don’t even need headsets. Plus you can save your video as well.
SHOULD YOU CHARGE FOR YOUR CLASSES?
You can.
At the moment, my IG Live classes are free of charge. In these difficult times, it’s important for me to give back to the community, because I know some people can’t afford it, or may be overwhelmed by all the tech what with what’s going on with their lives.
Right now, we need more kindness than ever.
So yes, for now, my classes are for free.
If you charging, and you want to know how much to charge - what I see is people charging between $5 - $25, or they do for charity classes.
I NEED THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT BEFORE I CAN START
Does this sound familiar?
I need the right mic, the right camera, the right space, the right body…
Or
I’m not good at this
You will never start if you keep waiting for the right time. And you will never get good if you don’t get started.
Keep it simple and build up from there.
“Be willing to show up and suck until you can show up and shine!”
I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH SPACE
If this is important to you, YOU WILL FIND SPACE.
HOW DO I TEACH?
You know how to teach. You have a 200hours YTT certification with Yoga Alliance. You can teach. You’ve taught before - maybe to your family or in a studio? Yes, you can teach.
It’s the same thing, except you’re speaking to your phone. It’s really weird in the beginning, in fact, it doesn’t stop getting weird, but you’ll get used to it.
DO I NEED TO PLAN THE CLASS?
Sure, it’s the same as teaching a normal class. So what do you usually do to prep? What’s your pre-class ritual?
ANY RESOURCES YOU CAN RECOMMEND
Abundant Yoga Teachers FB group by Amy McDonald
Yoga Teacher Marketing Community FB group by Kelly McHugh of DIGITAL YOGA ACADEMY
Francesca Cervero’s Teaching Yoga Online Resources