While group yoga offers a space to explore a sequence and a sense of community, private yoga adapts to you as an individual.
While private and group are both wonderful options, they do offer different aspects to students. While group yoga offers a space to explore a sequence and a sense of community, private yoga adapts to you as an individual. Private yoga classes are completely personalized and the student is given the instructors' full attention. Classes are designed and adapted according to the individual's specific needs. This can help assist in avoiding injury, modifying and deepening the poses, as well as offering support throughout the session.
Let's explore more in-depth some reasons people would choose private sessions over group yoga classes.
1. They Are New To Yoga
Some people may be intimidated or uncomfortable to join a group class because they’re unfamiliar with the poses. They want a chance to understand and develop the foundations of a practice at their own pace before they jump into a group class. In private yoga sessions, students are given detailed alignment cues specific for them and their practice. They have the opportunity, space, and time to explore what works for them and refine the postures as they develop their practice.
2. They Have An Injury
One of the great benefits of practicing yoga privately is that your instructor learns about your practice in depth so that they can provide the best care possible within your yoga sessions. This means if you have a previous or current injury, they help you modify postures to find ones accessible to you, they sequence the class so you’re at less risk of getting hurt, and you can go at exactly your own pace.
3. They Want To Work On Something Specific With An Expert
Group classes can tend to cover most of the bases in terms of a daily practice, but if someone already has a practice and wants to move forward but doesn’t know where to begin or wants guidance as they move into more advanced postures, private yoga can provide great support and also most likely provide faster more effective results than a group class would.
4. They Want A Practice That Is Convenient, Accessible, And Efficient
Sometimes the hardest part of doing exercise is getting out the door. If someone has invested and made the commitment to practicing with a private instructor, they are probably less likely to come up with excuses not to practice. If sessions take place in one's home, it is minimal effort for them to “attend” class and the results from practice will probably occur more efficiently than they would without that ongoing personalized support.
Working with a private instructor will also likely result in you experiencing faster results from your practice than you would in a group class setting. Each class is designed personally for you and what specifically you're looking to gain from the classes. There is an instructor equipped and ready to adapt to you within your practice and support you along the way.
5. They Want Something More Personalized
I was speaking with another yoga teacher recently who was expressing that she was almost never received hands-on adjustments in class. She wanted the teacher to help her in fine tuning her practice. Because her practice is established, the teacher is usually giving more of their attention to students that are newer, perhaps at risk of hurting themselves, or who more frequently need modifications in the poses. This is totally reasonable but also frustrating for students who want to continue refining their established practice and continue learning. With a private instructor, all attention is on the student, they can ask specific questions, and the instructor will be available to help and offer modifications and hands-on assists whenever it’s deemed helpful and supportive.
Thinking of starting private yoga sessions? Let's chat!
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