After some initial ‘market research’ in December (ie lots of posts on local Facebook community pages!) I decided there was enough interest to set up my first local class – a ‘6 week Yoga for beginners course’. I found a wonderful local dance studio to hold the classes in and the course booked up pretty fast. I am 4 weeks into the course and am loving seeing the progress my 15 students are making each week – it’s a pleasure spending my Sunday mornings with them.
I used the money gained from my beginners course to purchase my own set of Yoga mats and Yoga blocks. I got my equipment from yogamatters.com as they offer an excellent bulk buy discount and their sticky mats come in a great range of colours! Buying the equipment was the easy bit… working out where to store everything has been fun (bye bye boot space in my tiny car!). It turns out yoga mats are heavy, and I have come to be known as the ‘trolley lady’ in school as I wheel my mats and blocks from one classroom to another between the staff / student classes I teach at the secondary school where I work.
It has been wonderful providing the stressed out, exhausted staff at school with an hour a week where they can forget the troubles of the day and just focus on their body, mind and breath. Yoga has been so powerful for helping me manage my own stresses as a Secondary School teacher / Head of Year, so it’s great to be able to pass this on to other staff. One lovely lady said to me “After our first session, I just went home and cried – I felt so emotional”.
I am also working with a fab group of Year 10 and 11 students who are busy preparing for mock exams. Sessions with them are great fun with lots of giggles – they particularly love the ‘bit at the end where we get to lie down and do nothing’. At the end of one class, a Year 11 stayed behind and said “thanks so much Miss, I haven’t felt this relaxed in ages”.
I must admit that this month wouldn’t have been so productive without the help of my wonderful husband. He has been so supportive and has helped me with all the ‘marketing’ aspects of my yoga business, such as redesigning my Facebook page to match the wonderful flyers, website and business cards that he designed for me. He’s also helping me keep track of my finances via a very detailed spreadsheet. What a legend!
The highlight of this month had to be leading an assembly on mindfulness, in which I lead a 10 minute meditation with 600 Year 9 and 10 students and their tutors. It was nice to start the school day with a moment of calm.
January has been a busy and super enjoyable month and I can’t wait to see what adventures next month brings!