The yoga world has been deeply shaken by almost two years of global pandemic. Well-established yoga centres have had to shut their doors and have been unable to reopen. Many yoga teachers have struggled to make ends meet. I don’t think there is anyone whose yoga business hasn’t been affected by the pandemic!

It has been a massively huge learning curve for yoga teachers who have had to find new ways to deliver their classes, mastering new technology and adapting their classes to such a degree which was unthinkable before.

Looking now, as countries like the UK are only just starting to ease their restrictions, the yoga world looks very different. Yoga teachers wonder whether things will ever go back to the way they were.

I offer my reflections on the current and future world of yoga:

  • In-person (face-to-face) yoga classes: for many yoga teachers (me included) this was the only way we ever considered teaching yoga pre-pandemic. Yoga was taught in groups or one-to-one, but always face-to-face. If someone had told me in February 2020 that I would be teaching online yoga classes, I would have laughed out loud: ‘What a silly idea! Who would want to do that?’ I think every yoga teacher secretly hopes that in-person yoga classes will come back as they were pre-pandemic. I am not so sure whether they will…. After two years of pandemic people are a lot more conscious about space and who they share their space with. I think people value their personal space a lot more and some people may not re-adjust so easily to practising yoga in a crowded, hot and steamy room. Sharing equipment like a yoga mat may also be a thing of the past. I have had to make adjustments in my small home yoga studio and I now allow only up to 4 people to attend. Strict Covid19 protocols are in place, including only allowing fully vaccinated students to attend. I have been criticised for this by other yoga teachers and students, but the bottom line is that I want to feel safe, I want my students to feel as safe as possible when they come for yoga and, ultimately and most importantly, this is my home which I share with my family. I am entitled to make up my own rules! I believe that there will always be some demand for face-to-face classes and it is, without a doubt, the safest and preferred way to learn yoga. It may take students some time though to trust being in the same room with other people. My face-to-face classes at my home studio are very slow coming back and I doubt I will ever get back to the same level of face-to-face classes that I used to teach pre-pandemic. I hope I am wrong.
  • Zoom yoga classes: teaching online yoga classes has been a new thing for many yoga teachers (me included). Those of you that haven’t ventured into online yoga classes yet may be wondering whether it works. Having taught yoga classes online for almost two years now, I can answer that question with a resounding ‘YES, it works!’ It is safe, convenient, easy and usually cheaper than attending face-to-face yoga classes. I have had new students who had never practised with me before and who joined me online and they have been able to follow the classes, make progress and reap the many benefits that yoga has to offer. I always urge my online students to keep their camera switched on and to adjust it when we move from seated to standing and vice versa, so that I can keep an eye on them. Of course there are some limitations. For example it is difficult to check the students’ correct alignment online. I try and be as precise as I can be with my instructions and I warn my students that this is something they have to do for themselves as I cannot always pick up on alignment. I think it encourages them to practise sensibly and responsibly. I also avoid certain postures like inversions as I would prefer to be in the room with them when they do them. I have made an exception for Viparita Karani Mudra (aka the half-shoulderstand) as I believe this posture to be very user-friendly. It is safe and accessible. I avoid teaching headstand, shoulderstand or handstand online for safety concerns. I think zoom classes are here to stay in the long term as they are practical, convenient and they can reach students who are further away. All of my zoom classes now have students who are not in London. There are numerous benefits to online yoga classes.
  • Hybrid classes: these are classes which combine the online with the face-to-face. They are also referred to as ‘Livestream and in-person’. I think they are a good compromise and a good way forward as we continue adapting to the challenges posed by the pandemic. As my home studio is small, I can only have one student drop-in to my 60-minute, online yoga classes. The benefits are that I am only working face-to-face with one student, therefore not causing too much distraction to my online students. The face-to-face student receives a lot of attention being the only one in the studio with me. I think it’s a good compromise as long as you don’t have too many students in the room. I think hybrid classes are also here to stay!
  • Recordings: I must admit, I was quite unprepared for this. Although it is not ideal, it works, especially for students who have been with me for a long time. It gives complete flexibility as it allows the students to practise at a time which is convenient for them. I have received some very positive and encouraging feedback from some of my students who have used recordings. It’s perfect if you have a busy week and are unable to attend the online classes. You can practise multiple times which make the recordings excellent value for money. Yes, there is no interaction and that’s the main downside. The risk of injury is higher as the teacher is not there to give you verbal cues. The onus is on you to always practise responsibly, sensibly and with awareness and respect for your body. I must say that since introducing this option to my students, I have been receiving a few requests for recordings every single week. Recordings go hand-in-hand with online classes. As long as classes are taught online, then recordings will also remain as a viable option.

In conclusion, we can say that the pandemic has forced us to find new ways to deliver yoga classes and it has succeeded! It certainly hasn’t been easy. I can say it has been quite traumatic at times and a huge rollercoaster of emotions! But I know it’s not just me. It has touched us all in one way or another and has forced us all to find new ways forward. In Sanskrit we have the word ‘tapas’ which is used to describe an attitude of steadfastness and austerity which is necessary to effect big changes. ‘Tapas’ is harsh but it leads to deep transformations. ‘Tapas’ is also translated as ‘heat’, prompting the comparison to the heat which is applied to a metal in order to forge it into a new shape, which is an apt metaphor for what the pandemic has done for us.