Your Private Yoga Questions...Answered!

 I am just back from a fabulous vacation and beautiful wedding on the beach in South Carolina! One of my oldest friends got married, and it was quite the party. The groom and I have known each other since 1986! Our parents are best friends and he was the person that introduced my boyfriend and me, so it was a big celebration all around!I returned home yesterday afternoon and I am feeling acutely aware of all I have to be grateful for in my life.

I adore the way I spend my days; teaching yoga, connecting with my loved ones, taking time for my own spiritual and wellness practices, and connecting with you!

I so deeply appreciate you allowing me into your lives in this way. I have such a strong desire to support you on your teaching path and the engaging dialogue we have in our online community here lights up my teaching life in the most beautiful way.  As a way to say thank you, I thought I would answer some questions directly from you and our community.Q: When building trust, how do you first start with a new student? Do you meet them at a studio, at a coffee shop to chat, or do you go straight to their home?A: I almost never find myself teaching complete strangers. All of my new clients are either referred to me by someone I know well {usually current students} or have taken public group classes with me. Because of this, safety is not a serious concern of mine. This is one of the reasons I love having a referral only business. {The second reason I love a referral only business is that my teaching gets to be my advertising, I don’t have to do much else!} I usually meet my students at the space we will  practice in regularly, most often their home, but sometimes it is their office. If you were teaching a new person and concerned about your safety, I highly recommend meeting them in a public place first! On a few occasions I have taken on private clients who found me only through my website. In the last two years I have gotten at least 60 requests for information about private sessions, and have taken on three of those people as clients. The first level of screening I do with non-referral clients is respond to their email with a long list of questions: Have you done yoga before? What are your goals and desires for your practice? Why do you want to work with a private teacher? Do you have any current or past injuries? The people who write back long, in-depth responses are clearly invested in their practice and are legitimately interested in me as a teacher.Q: How do you prepare for each client in your non-teaching hours? Do you take notes immediately after your session with a client to prepare for the next time you meet?A: I don’t often take notes after a session, but I think that is a great idea! When I started teaching private clients 10 years ago, I had no idea that teaching would manifest into such a busy private practice. If I could go back to the beginning of my teaching career I wouldn’t change much, except this! I never got in the habit of doing it, so now it feels impossible. I am in a rhythm of keeping all my clients aches, pains, and issues in my head. I am lucky to teach students regularly for many many years, so I get to know their bodies as well as I know my own. But I think you should definitely take a few notes after each session, just to help you remember what happened. As far as how to plan for your next session, I have a huge teaching on the topic in my online training so I have a lot to say about that! For our purposes here I will just say this: The goal in preparing to see a private yoga client is to be intuitive and alive in your teaching. It may be a good idea to bring some special focus or sequence for your student, but you also have to be totally ready to drop that plan if it doesn’t meet your students’ deepest needs on that day. The best thing you can to do prepare yourself for your private student is get really grounded and quiet in yourself so you can be completely present for them.Q: How do you deal with a student that decides, for some reason, to discontinue private sessions without volunteering any information as to why? Do you let it go...follow up? How?I am assuming this interaction has occurred in an email. I would respond right away with a warm, curious, and direct tone.“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that! I have so enjoyed our work together. It has been a blast to see you grow stronger and more self aware in our time together. I’ll never forget the time you did your first handstand on your 50th birthday :-)Is there any reason you have decided to take a break from your yoga lessons?Sending love,Francesca”

Then a few months later, I would check in again,

“Hi! I was just thinking about you and wanted to say a quick hello.I hope your daughter’s wedding was a blast. How is your new job going?Have you been practicing much yoga?I hope all is well!Warmly,Francesca”The most important thing you can do here is not take their action personally. I am sure it is not about anything you have done. I would imagine it is more about where they are in their life, and the kinds of self care practices they are finding most helpful or are able to commit to right now. As long as you stay confident and upbeat, you will be ready to teach them again when they are ready to practice with you again. I have had that happen with clients a few times!Do you have other questions you’d like answered? Tell me in the comments below and I will get to it in our next round of Q and A!