If you do yoga, would you hire a private yoga teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Indian here, and I have done yoga for decades as have my parents and grandparents. The whole yoga craze and commodification in the West is just a bit...much. For one, this was a *free* thing that people did for centuries (maybe millenia). In fact, most of the Hindu temples in the DMV *still* run completely free yoga classes (and you don't have to "belong" to the temple - anyone is welcome and I see non Indians there all the time). Will the people there be doing yoga in 105 degree temperature in Lululemon? No of course not. What's more there are plenty of excellent free videos online. It seems a waste to pay for a yoga class, let alone for a private instructor.

Sorry I don't mean to be rude but I can only say such things in an anonymous forum. I keep mum when my non Indian friends go to hot yoga with goats in candlelight or whatever. It's their money.

This is OP and I appreciate your perspective. It drives me crazy how athleticized and whitewashed yoga is in the US, along with a worship of the perfect body. Very un-yogic.

I teach gentle/restorative yoga and emphasize breathing and meditation, and teach in a trauma-informed way. My nonprofit was devoted to bringing yoga to underserved populations, annd I was able to work with disabled veterans and older populations. I know a lot of American studios are very ableist and looks/aesthetics focused.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been doing yoga for 40 years and I enjoy the community. I’m also very picky about the vibe of the studio. Doing yoga in my tiny house with a trainer sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

Yes, and I have. But only because I wanted an Iyengar trained teacher to help me with a routine I could do at home.

This was to address a very specific medical condition and I needed to make sure I was doing the moves correctly.

It was totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

I would (depending on the price). My partner and I like doing yoga together - I'm more advanced than he is. We hired a teacher on vacation and it was great - she adapted poses for me to make them more challenging and for him to make them more accessible. The best part was she got us to be able to do tree pose together. It felt like such an accomplishment and such a metaphor for a relationship to lean on the other and also prop up the other. I think in a class with a larger group we wouldn't be able to have that level of help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Me, no. My mom, she definitely would.

I posted this and thought I'd elaborate - she's got the money, she likes the attention. Older women are a goldmine. Seriously. She's not rich, but she and my dad are comfortable, and at different times in the last 20 years she's hired personal trainers, personal yoga lessons, personal pilates ... she thinks of it as a health thing, to make sure she is doing everything right and safely. She will stick with a provider if they CARE for her. That means attention. Older women need and want attention and love and to feel welcomed and wanted. Also some are more mobility challenged, so you going to them is a bonus.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely hire a private yoga instructor if I had the funds, I do not right now.

I have not found any of the online videos that great. I love when I find a great teacher with great music.

The classes are okay but sometime they are too hard or too easy or not what I want. I'd love someone to make specific classes for me as I age.

[Anonymous]

There’s a woman in my neighborhood who has a home studio in her walk out basement and does small group classes. I’ve never gone but the photos look really nice. I think she gets a lot of retirees and SAHMs of school age kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a woman in my neighborhood who has a home studio in her walk out basement and does small group classes. I’ve never gone but the photos look really nice. I think she gets a lot of retirees and SAHMs of school age kids.

Is this in Alexandria? If so, I think I know who you’re talking about and she is awesome.

[Anonymous]

I've worked with personal trainers but I don't see the value in private yoga lessons. I suppose the exception would be if I had specific goals, like conquering the Ashtanga primary series. Even then, I think it would be better to find a well-qualified in-person instructor in a group setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indian here, and I have done yoga for decades as have my parents and grandparents. The whole yoga craze and commodification in the West is just a bit...much. For one, this was a *free* thing that people did for centuries (maybe millenia). In fact, most of the Hindu temples in the DMV *still* run completely free yoga classes (and you don't have to "belong" to the temple - anyone is welcome and I see non Indians there all the time). Will the people there be doing yoga in 105 degree temperature in Lululemon? No of course not. What's more there are plenty of excellent free videos online. It seems a waste to pay for a yoga class, let alone for a private instructor.

Sorry I don't mean to be rude but I can only say such things in an anonymous forum. I keep mum when my non Indian friends go to hot yoga with goats in candlelight or whatever. It's their money.

This is OP and I appreciate your perspective. It drives me crazy how athleticized and whitewashed yoga is in the US, along with a worship of the perfect body. Very un-yogic.

I teach gentle/restorative yoga and emphasize breathing and meditation, and teach in a trauma-informed way. My nonprofit was devoted to bringing yoga to underserved populations, annd I was able to work with disabled veterans and older populations. I know a lot of American studios are very ableist and looks/aesthetics focused.

Indian pp here. See even your response is very white washed - you only know yoga in upper middle class white liberal circles. How screwed up is it that that's the norm. For a decade I attended yoga with my dad with Parkinson's at the temple. My 90 year old grandmother was doing it (within the constraints of her ability).This is not an ableist form of exercise. It was inherently designed this way, to accommodate everyone and it's part and parcel of a larger spiritual practice (Hinduism) that people here want to just ignore. It would literally be unHindu (traditionally) to take payment for this - everything would be donation based.

I would highly recommend that people stop shelling out $20-25/lesson and just go to a Hindu temple - most have classes on Sat and Sun mornings. The people there actually know what they are doing despite lacking a "certification" (maybe decades of daily practice has something to do with it??). Also noone is going to try to convert you because you cannot technically convert and even atheism is not contradictory to being a Hindu. I'd avoid Hare Krishna though.

[Anonymous]

No and i practice yoga. The class is part of the experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Me, no. My mom, she definitely would.

I posted this and thought I'd elaborate - she's got the money, she likes the attention. Older women are a goldmine. Seriously. She's not rich, but she and my dad are comfortable, and at different times in the last 20 years she's hired personal trainers, personal yoga lessons, personal pilates ... she thinks of it as a health thing, to make sure she is doing everything right and safely. She will stick with a provider if they CARE for her. That means attention. Older women need and want attention and love and to feel welcomed and wanted. Also some are more mobility challenged, so you going to them is a bonus.

You seriously need therapy.

[Anonymous]

You could probably host retreats. I don't know how it works and it sounds like a lot of planning, but my neighbor went on one that her gym-based yoga teacher put on. It was in Costa Rica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indian here, and I have done yoga for decades as have my parents and grandparents. The whole yoga craze and commodification in the West is just a bit...much. For one, this was a *free* thing that people did for centuries (maybe millenia). In fact, most of the Hindu temples in the DMV *still* run completely free yoga classes (and you don't have to "belong" to the temple - anyone is welcome and I see non Indians there all the time). Will the people there be doing yoga in 105 degree temperature in Lululemon? No of course not. What's more there are plenty of excellent free videos online. It seems a waste to pay for a yoga class, let alone for a private instructor.

Sorry I don't mean to be rude but I can only say such things in an anonymous forum. I keep mum when my non Indian friends go to hot yoga with goats in candlelight or whatever. It's their money.

This is OP and I appreciate your perspective. It drives me crazy how athleticized and whitewashed yoga is in the US, along with a worship of the perfect body. Very un-yogic.

I teach gentle/restorative yoga and emphasize breathing and meditation, and teach in a trauma-informed way. My nonprofit was devoted to bringing yoga to underserved populations, annd I was able to work with disabled veterans and older populations. I know a lot of American studios are very ableist and looks/aesthetics focused.

Indian pp here. See even your response is very white washed - you only know yoga in upper middle class white liberal circles. How screwed up is it that that's the norm. For a decade I attended yoga with my dad with Parkinson's at the temple. My 90 year old grandmother was doing it (within the constraints of her ability).This is not an ableist form of exercise. It was inherently designed this way, to accommodate everyone and it's part and parcel of a larger spiritual practice (Hinduism) that people here want to just ignore. It would literally be unHindu (traditionally) to take payment for this - everything would be donation based.

I would highly recommend that people stop shelling out $20-25/lesson and just go to a Hindu temple - most have classes on Sat and Sun mornings. The people there actually know what they are doing despite lacking a "certification" (maybe decades of daily practice has something to do with it??). Also noone is going to try to convert you because you cannot technically convert and even atheism is not contradictory to being a Hindu. I'd avoid Hare Krishna though.

The Indian embassy in Nigeria offered free yoga classes when I was there. I had not realized that this was not an anomaly. I live in DC now and will definitely look up Hindi temples. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I have done yoga regularly for a decade and I would not regularly, at least at home. I like the community aspects of a studio and find being away from my home and obligations an important part of my practice. I have previously hired private teachers on vacation when I am with a group who will mostly participate, usually girls' trips.