Tips For Making Yoga Classes More Inclusive
As a yoga teacher, you will undoubtedly want to ensure that your yoga classes are a safe and inclusive space for anyone who might want to access the spiritual and fitness benefits that come with a regular yoga practice. That is why it is so important that you do whatever you can to make your classes more inclusive.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few things you can do right now to ensure that inclusivity is at the heart of your yoga teaching:
Advertise your inclusivity
Many people in minority groups are worried about joining various classes and clubs because they do not know how they will be received. So, one of the simplest things you can do is advertise that your classes are fully inclusive of BAME people, people of color, people who might not have tried yoga before, and so on.
Consider accessibility
It’s all well and good saying you welcome disabled yogis, but if your studio does not have ramps or wider doors and various other apparatus that will enable them to physically take part, then you are not going to see much inclusion from that group, or if you are a trans-inclusive yoga studio but you don't offer gender-neutral bathrooms and changing facilities, then chances are you won’t get much uptake from that community either.
You need to think about the physical space you are practicing in and how you can make it safe, comfortable, and accessible to everyone if you are serious about inclusivity.
Think about modifications
If you are running inclusive classes, then you can’t just assume that everyone will be physically able or comfortable doing all of the yoga poses you usually teach. A transwoman with crossdresser breast forms or a plus-sized individual, for example, may need to modify the poses they are doing to feel comfortable, safe, and not overexposed. So, if you are going to call yourself inclusive, you need to ensure you can back it up by thinking about how different poses might work for different populations, and then coming up with alternatives for those poses too.
Consider the price
Of course, one of the biggest barriers to yoga for many people is price. In many places, yoga is seen as strictly a middle-class pastime. Of course, you need to make a living as a yoga teacher, but if you want to see more people from disadvantaged backgrounds at your classes, it may be worth looking at offering a losing-scale of payments, a pay what you can model, or offering lower cost classes once or twice a week. You may find that, although you charge a bit less, more people come along, so it could actually be advantageous for you in the end.
The more inclusive your yoga classes are, the better it will be for your community as a whole. Everyone has something to teach, and by having a diverse bunch in your classes, you can ensure that you will all learn more about the people and world around you. So, what are you waiting for?
