Teaching at the Gym

I have recently begun teaching yoga in the only location available in my community - a gym. Has anyone else had experience in this kind of environment? Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with the noise, other distractions, and workout mentality?

Thank you,

ANSWERS:

From Pam Blasco, Yerington, Nevada:

Hi Melissa, My name is Pam Blasco. I received my certification in Nov. 1999 from Ananda. I live in Yerington, Nevada and have a yoga studio in the midst of a ranching community. I teach in my studio during the year. In the summer we vacation in Idaho, and I teach in the gym. The energy at the gym is very different, and at first I felt I needed to adapt to the "workout" mentality. I realized this summer I needed to teach what I believe, not what draws people. I found out that the people are very responsive to Ananda yoga. They don't feel a dripping kind of workout; I teach them something far more valuable as given to me at Ananda. It is very subtle, but as you use the affirmations people will respond to them. This can be done slowly to begin with, using the affirmations that resonate with you the most. The first time someone approaches you to tell you how much they enjoyed the affirmations, because they gave them the intent of the posture, you will know that following your heart is the only path to take.

Ananda yoga also can give people a great way to work the physical body; you hold the posture longer, and go deeper. I also do a couple flow routines. You can do a whole class built around Surya Namaskar; everyone will benefit. You can begin with warm-up asanas and proceed to doing 12 rounds. You could vary the way you do Surya each time also, to provide variety. I wish you all the joy that teaching from the heart brings. I believe now, in light of what Americans have been through, people will respond. When I am affirmed in what I share, people trust me. I feel so blessed to teach the number of people I do. I am also going to teach a meditation class soon.

From Doug Andrews:

Dear Melissa,

You have encountered what I consider to be one of the most challenging aspects of sharing Ananda Yoga with others. For me, yoga is a deeply spiritual practice. Even Hatha yoga is that way for me. But I have learned that many of the people who come to my classes are looking (or think they are looking) for a particular experience, usually a non-spiritual, physical practice. So, for beginning classes and classes where new people are present, I usually neutralize my language and offer a variety of visualizations for people to choose from. I use a sampling of the affirmations and modify those that are clearly God related.

I also use these types of classes as a form of advertising for the deeper classes I offer. Some people will "get" that there is something more going on than just stretching or a different kind of workout. You might try moderating your style of teaching to what the people and place are ready for. Tell them you are doing just that and let them know that you have other classes in which you offer a more inward yoga style that they might enjoy even more.

Blessings to you in your teaching,

From Cynthia Saffell, Fresno CA:

Hi Melissa - I teach in a gym. It is a different environment from a studio. I go to the space before class and pray and meditate. Often when I open my eyes there are others also meditating. I begin class with a few minutes of meditation and end with a short meditation. I often share a "thought for the day". What has happened is the majority of the yoga students choose the experience of a true yoga class. They say they come because it is "more inward". Although occasionally someone will ask for "power yoga", it is rare. I believe it works best if you trust your training and always begin by asking for guidance.

Namaste and good luck.

From Elizabeth McConner:

Hi, Melissa - I don't have lots of experience teaching in a gym, though some of the classes I took were in gym and dance settings. My teachers always taught very respectfully. They reminded the students that yoga was different and that a workout in yoga is working on flexibility and wholeness--subtle, rather than muscle building.

Of course you have probably already told them that. I am just writing because I was so happy to read an email from you and know that you are teaching. You have such a great manner. I'll bet your students love your classes. You don't have to reach everyone. Do some extra centering before you face that class.

Lovingly,

Elizabeth McConner

From Gordana Sarson:

Dear Melissa,

Blessings to your teaching and to great challenge for you! Here is how I overcame that kind of trouble last year: I had to move to another place with my yoga students from my advanced course, because of very high rent which I couldn’t pay anymore. The only place with low rent was in a Fitness center. When we moved there, there were no troubles with the advanced group, but the question was how should I work with the beginners who do not know anything about yoga? At first it was terrible for me: the class for beginners was the time when the greatest noise came from the fitness room, with their terrible music. My own music was of no use - they didn’t hear a single word I said. They wanted to have some quick exercises, in the name of yoga. So, I gave them what they wanted - it was a kind of exercise - yoga stretching for spine problems. For the next class I asked the owner of the Fitness center to turn off their music during yoga classes, and I used my own music. It was better, and slowly, very slowly, I turned to yoga, explaining then, after a few weeks, that the exercises we were practicing before, were only preparation for something more subtle and nicer we shall practice now. So we started with Ananda yoga, including affirmations, which were heard by people working on the fitness tools in other room. Some of them joined us in our yoga classes, too. After a few months they become so subtle in their practice, that I offered them to read Autobiography of a Yogi, and invited them to learn meditation. Some of them are now regular in their meditative practice; others are only in hatha yoga classes, but the important thing is that it worked, because at the very beginning I offered them WHAT THEY WANTED. It’s up to your own skills how to turn them on the subtle way to real yoga, including philosophy and meditation.

” Whatever conditions confront me, I know that they represent the next step in my enfoldment. I will welcome all tests because I know that within me is the intelligence to understand and the power to overcome”

Paramhansa Yogananda

In joy of yoga,
Gordana Sarson
Croatia

From: Bliss Wood, RYT, AYTT 1999
Nashville, TN

Hello Melissa,

I understand your frustrations regarding working in a health club. I teach regularly at a health club in Nashville. When I first started teaching there, the attendance was low and no one really knew much about yoga, so I really had my work cut out for me! It was a little intimidating at first, but I grounded myself in the fact that I knew yoga would help them whether they knew all about the philosophy or not. So, I began to talk about the health benefits for each pose and then slipping in a little of the philosophy at times. (Working in the mid-south can be tricky with all the strict fundamental religious beliefs here!)

The better people began to feel, the more they would ask questions. The more they would ask questions, the more interest they showed in the full spectrum of yoga. This whole process has taken nearly a year to cultivate, but it is well worth it. I now have consistently larger classes and many comments from the students that their lives are changing for the better.

So, I would say to you.....be patient as you begin to open up these "health clubbers" to a new way of thinking as well as opening up their bodies. Tell them the health benefits of opening their hips, elongating their spine, finding the proper spinal alignment and then use adjustments (students LOVE adjustments).

I teach evening classes, which are more restorative in nature, so I have low lighting (I turn off the main lights in the aerobics room) and peaceful music. If your classes are during the day, you might gear the atmosphere to a more invigorating practice, with or without music. Always have time for deep relaxation, however. This will ground the students and allow them to process all they've learned in your class.

I hope this helps you. Please feel free to email if you have any other questions or would like to talk to a fellow "health club yogi"

Namaste,
Bliss Wood

From Dana Anderson:

Dear Melissa,

I used to teach in public/gym situations, and found that I was able to integrate deeper philosophies through two main approaches- Humor and Passion. If I could bring humor into my discussion of the human tendency (and national obsession) to work hard/look hard and also as I presented the inner philosophies of yoga which might seem weird at first, then people were receptive. Most important, however, is passion. When I presented deeper teachings and approaches I did so with passion - and passion is ALWAYS respected.

Good luck!

Dana Andersen

From: Candace Nigh, San Antonio, Texas

Ananda Class of Fall 95

I have never taught at a gym but I have taught in a variety of what you might call 'spirit-foreign' places.

One of them was a high school. I taught an 8-week hatha yoga class as part of a continuing education program. The school was old and I taught in one of the class rooms. I had to go early to move desks out of the way and pick up the large pieces of 'crud' off the carpet. I took incense and a portable CD player with me. I lit the incense and played 'spirit music' before and during class to clear the room and create the right vibrations. Although we did not formally meditate, we did a guided relaxation in savasana at the end of the class.

That 8-week session of classes was one of the best yoga sessions I have ever taught. The people were receptive to the class even though some of them were skeptical at first. Although the room was not the greatest from a 'beauty' point of view; it was quiet and peaceful. And I had complete control over the class format. So I think the combination of things did the trick ... a quiet, peaceful room; open and receptive students; and control of the format.

By way of an alternative example -- I also taught a hatha yoga class in the 'Ballet Arts Minnesota' school of ballet. This is somewhat of a prestigious ballet school so I thought it would be a good experience. However, the v ibrations were never right the whole time I taught there (about 6 weeks). I ended up quitting because I was moving away from Minneapolis. But I think I would have quit anyway.

The room had a hectic and chaotic vibration to it. My class was squeezed in between two other classes and I only had an hour. The class before me was for children so that contributed to the chaotic feeling. And since the room was occupied before I taught; I couldn't do much to clear the room and establish the vibrations I wanted. I felt that I had a lot less control over the format of the class. For example, I like to teach for an hour and a half but was only given one hour. And I didn't feel that the students were as open to a spiritual approach to hatha yoga.

In summary, I think it's good to be open to new places to teach. I would never have guessed that the high school setting would be such a great experience. But I think it's also OK to leave a place that doesn't feel right to you. Give it a shot and move on if it doesn't work out. It may be appropriate to mention this to the gym administrators. Agree to teach the class on a trial basis and meet with them when the trial period is over. And even though I talk about controlling the format; I'm open to what works with that particular group of people in that particular environment. I make adjustments as needed but there are times when you can't reconcile the irreconcilable.

Joy to You,

From Susan Hayes, Meadow Vista, CA:

I taught at the Auburn Racquet Club for two years, which was good in terms of work experience. It's good for getting down pat the routine of teaching yoga to a constantly changing flow of students of all sizes, shapes, etc.

You'll lose your stage fright and get good at spontaneously coming up with routines, based on who is in your class (beginners, hard-core yoga fanatics, old folks, young 'uns, etc.).

If you have any beginners in your class, I recommend that you make them the focus of your teaching. Have them sit in the front row, where they can see and hear you, and you can see how they're doing. The more experienced students can hang out in the back row, where they can do their own thing. They just want to hear your verbal commands. You can occasionally throw them a bone, by telling the beginners they can sit out the next posture, and then having the people in the back row do something hard.

I always start with 5 minutes of pranayama, then warm-ups. Tell the students that you are warming them up to make the muscles relax and stretch out, thus preventing injury, and to increase the range-of-motion in their joints. If they complain that they want to skip warm-ups and get "down" to the asanas, give them a copy of the article from the LA Times that Gyandev told us about, "In Over Their Heads." That'll quiet them down, fast! Teach a few of the energization techniques during warm-ups. People really like them, even at a gym. Then go on to do a few basic Ananda-style yoga moves (standing, forward bends, back bends & twists). You can skip the affirmations, if the students snicker when you say them -- but I doubt that they will if you preface them with: "At Ananda, where I was trained to teach yoga, they couple verbal affirmations with each posture, to raise your thoughts to a higher level of consciousness. The affirmation for this particular posture is:...".

Then you can finish the asana-portion of the class with some flows, or vinyasas. This makes the "power-yoga" people happy, because their hearts get to beating fast and they get hot and sweaty. If there are beginners in the class, go thru the routine slowly the first time (say, when teaching a Sun Salutation). Then, for the hard-core sweathogs, go thru the flow a couple more times, moving faster and throwing in a few tougher variations for fun. You will NOT get criticized for being too easy, that way. Plus, you know that their bodies have been adequately warmed-up, so you need not be afraid of injuring them.

If "flows" aren't your thing, you can have the more experienced power-yoga folks do "yin" yoga, which consists of holding still in the postures for an incredibly long period of time. Tell them it teaches them endurance, stamina, and strengthens them. I read an article in Redbook magazine that said that we get strong from holding yoga postures, not from moving in them.

As far as the "message" of yogic philosophy that you are craving to teach, that is really not appropriate in a gym. It is, however, appropriate to teach in a yoga studio, for those students are seeking out a true yoga teacher, not just another form of exercise. In the gym, where yoga is pretty much part of the package, just stick to raising the students' level of awareness of what's going on inside them as they do the postures.

Specifically, point out what is going on with each posture (anatomically) while the students are doing them, and suggest what they might be feeling in their joints, muscles, etc. Raise their awareness that way. Make sure that you constantly intersperse pranayama techniques throughout the entire class.

Always have them keep their eyes closed with all but the balancing (standing) postures, to avoid competition, distraction and ego-puffery. Most gyms have mirrors plastered all over the walls. Use them to get alignment correct; then stop using them. Or, if a pose looks pretty like natarajasana), have the students admire themselves in the mirrors, then tell them that they're in an ego-satisfying posture. (Giggle.) Likewise, have them rest in-between postures, to get their energy back and to integrate the effect the asana had on their bodies, heart rate, respiration, body-temperature, etc. Those in-between moments of relaxation are when you can push your message home -- i.e., tell them that yoga is about achieving relaxation as well as energization or contraction, union of the subtle with the gross or physical, etc. Leave explicit references to God out of it.

As far as the subtle or astral body (chakras), while the students are in spinal twists or backbends, go ahead and tell them that they're opening up their hearts. Or that, in standing postures, they're getting grounded. Or that, in forward bends, they're going inward, concentrating their energy back into their core or essence after coming to class feeling frazzled or dissipated from the outside world. You don't need to explain it further than that. But, if you want to explain it further, you can do it in an impersonal way. For example: "The Hindus believe that there's a subtle body located inside of our physical body, and that, located on the astral spine, there are energy centers or chakras that the yoga postures and pranayama techniques help to unblock or awaken. According to the Hindus, this particular asana that you're doing now activates the fourth chakra or heart chakra, which is located in the chest and dorsal spine area of the physical body." Make it like a history and anatomy lesson.

While they're in savasana, you can really instill them with yoga philosophy, in a subtle way. You can tell them some yama/niyama stuff (i.e., non-violence or ahimsa, Ghandi's civil disobedience campaign in India against the British and MLK, Jr. with our civil rights movement; being g entle with themselves and not pushing themselves to the point of pain and distraction, which takes them away from focus; etc.) There’s a lot of help available for you on this, from articles in "Awake and Ready!" or Yoga Journal or Yoga International or Ascent magazine; from week-long workshops at Expanding Light; and from books on the yoga sutras. Or, read to them from a sacred treatise or a good yoga book (like Erich Shiffmann's "Moving into Stillness" or Judith Lassiter's "Living Your Yoga"). Or, have them do more pranayama while they're in savasana. Whatever you do at that point in the class, they're not going to complain. They're barely hearing a word you're saying. But it's filtering in, believe me.

When you start craving a deeper experience of "pushing" yoga philosophy, then you must give up the gym setting and stick with yoga studios. That is a self-selected, receptive audience. Good luck! If you want to talk more, call me at (530) 878-7065. I'm in Meadow Vista, near Auburn, about 45 miles from Ananda in Nevada City.

Love, Susan

From Linda Martin:

Dear Melissa,

I'll share my experiences and thoughts with you. Even if our problems aren't exactly the same, it helps to communicate and support each other. I live in the greater Phoenix area.

I graduated from Ananda this past August. I have been a member of a women's health club for years. In Sept I did a lot of subbing for an instructor who teaches a more athletic class than mine. I got excellent feedback from the students, the instructor was receptive to me adding a "gentle yoga class", but management isn't! At the new "branch" of that club, the manager wanted me to take a class first. I took a prime time class, room crowded to the gills, surrounded by an aerobics class on one side, water aerobics on the other and the locker room on the third side. The instructor was YogaFit. Get the picture? I've since subbed her class and had good feedback from the students and subbed other classes there with similar results. However after that noisy experience I requested a Saturday class. The manager said she could fill Saturday classes all day. Well, the gym is empty on Saturday afternoons. I'm considering dropping that class--most students don't even know it exists. At these clubs, the students want the more gentle classes, but unless they speak up, management doesn't know. They just count the numbers. I haven't even considered co-ed gyms!

I have also taken classes at a yoga studio for years. Beginning Sept 1 the owner added many, many classes, including two of mine. The mailing was late, and the new class schedule was just crammed into the back of the brochure with no explanation regarding the new classes. One of my classes is at 6:15 am and slowly a few people are learning about it. The other class is labeled "seniors"--I wanted "suitable for all age groups". I don't think seniors are going to come to this yoga studio, it is too close to the ASU campus and Tempe Parks and Rec is nearby with a long-standing extensive program with many, many types of classes, including many yoga classes. Seniors are comfortable there; I don't think they are comfortable coming to a yoga studio. In fact, I don't think beginners are comfortable coming to a studio, unless maybe with a friend. They are afraid of pretzel bodies! I didn't go to the yoga studio until I had been taking yoga for a long time at the health club. I didn't have this realization until after I started the classes! Unless a miracle happens, I'll probably discontinue the "seniors" class at the end of the year.

I'm beginning to decide that I am going to concentrate on doing what makes me happy! I want to offer my type of yoga to those who want and need it. No one is ever going to make everyone happy. I don't do "workout yoga". I have no problem modifying the affirmations to exclude the "G-word".

I really enjoy teaching yoga to older people--they benefit so much and are so appreciative. I'm doing one class at a retirement apt, which I just love. These ladies are such an inspiration and so appreciative. And the classes are physically easy; I could do them all day! I enjoy modifying the poses to meet their needs. They pay well. I'm looking for more "venues" like this. I teach a small class in my home to my neighbors and they love it. I'm teaching a class at the Unitarian Church, which includes a couple of 75 year old women who come every week and love it. I'm teaching a small class for one of the school districts (they doubled their prices and mailed their flyer just before 9/11--so the sign-up rate was low!) But it is a very pleasant beginner group. At both the church and school, I have to rearrange classroom furniture for the classes and bring my own boom box and pillows, blankets, etc (but I have to do that at the health club too!) Last night I started a class at a community college (non-credit, community ed)--they closed the enrollment at 25, have a waiting list of 15, so if they can find a room I'll be teaching another class for them on Thursdays. This room is good--a relatively decent floor, mirror, mats, and blankets! The students are a broad mix, but definitely beginners. I'm probably going to teach for Parks and Recreation beginning in Jan. I've taken their classes, they have relatively good facilities and high enrollments and beginning students.

Today I'm subbing a prenatal class at the yoga studio and I enjoyed preparing for it. And last night I had a pregnant student, who I enjoyed working with (to the extent that one can work with one student in a 1-hour class of 25!)

But I'm really finding that I enjoy "special needs" students. And those who want "athletic yoga"--well, there are plenty of "YogaFit" people out there! I've had a few women (my age or older) tell me they like the affirmations. I tell people to ignore them if they so choose. I talk about finding our personal strength, etc. in the poses, but I don't go much beyond that--sometimes I conclude with a Buddhist prayer at home, church, retirement apt. I don't know if all this rambling helps or not. But I spent a lot of this past weekend thinking about the direction in which I wish to pursue yoga teaching and this is pretty much my thinking right now. I'm finding the "non-traditional" venues (i.e., other than gyms and studios) are the most rewarding to me and the best paying!

Keep in touch. Let me know what you opt to do and how. It really helps me to keep in contact with other yoga teachers--especially Ananda teachers!

Good luck and blessings