Why You Should Teach Yoga Outside

As the weather turns warmer and days stay brighter for longer, the possibilities for teaching yoga outside are increasingly appealing.

Being able to teach a yoga class outside is a wonderful way to encourage your students to connect to nature. It can be a refreshing change of scenery from the yoga studio, and can also encourage your students to join you in real life if they have previously been learning with you online.

The Benefits of Doing Yoga Outside

Practicing yoga outside is a great choice for so many reasons. In addition to simply being a fun way to mix things up, it can also help your students to truly relax and expel stresses from the mind.

The combination of fresh air and sunshine can often be exactly what we need in order to reset and refresh how we feel. This is naturally going to be all the more effective when doubled up with a yoga class!

If you are thinking about getting back to teaching yoga for the first time since the pandemic, then doing so outside can be a much safer option than indoor classes. When you do yoga outdoors, then it is much easier for your students to keep a distance from each other. Also, as they will bring their own mats with them, there is much less need for people to be touching the same items and potentially be spreading bacteria.

Preparing For Outdoor Classes

When you are teaching yoga outdoors you will have to give a little bit of extra thought to class preparation.

Unless you are teaching very close to your usual studio, then you are not going to have access to the range of equipment that would normally be on hand. This means you will have to encourage everyone to bring their own yoga mats. It can be a good idea for you to bring a few spares just in case, but making sure people know to turn up with one should be a priority. Additionally, mats that are extra padded could be a wise investment, especially if you are teaching on hard or uneven ground.

You should also make sure people know to bring:

• A bottle of water
• Warm clothes
• Sun cream

A bottle of water is essential when doing any type of physical activity outdoors. Warm clothes are a good idea to bring along just in case the weather takes a turn, and sun cream will be an individual choice, but it is wise to encourage people to bring along and to use.

Check the Weather

Always planning ahead and being aware of the weather is essential when you are planning an outdoor yoga session.

As well as avoiding bad weather, such as rain and high winds, you will also want to make sure it isn’t going to get too hot during a session. On the days when you think there is a particular risk of high temperatures, be sure to remind your students about the importance of bringing water and sun cream.

The time of day that you are going to host your yoga classes will also need considering when you are checking the weather. If the place you live is anything like England, then the weather is often liable to change dramatically throughout the day!

Find the Perfect Location

Finding the perfect location can be tricky, but once you have found it, you can use this location for all of your outdoor sessions, so it is worth putting the effort in!

The place that you are looking for should be flat and free from anything that might disrupt the session, such as sticks, rocks, holes, or similar. It is usually best if you do outdoor yoga on grass, but that is not totally necessary and it is up to you entirely. Yoga on the beach can also be a fantastic choice, but generally only if you have access to a sand beach and not a pebble one.

You will want this area to be within easy reach so that your students can find the sessions without issue, but it is also great if you are not going to be disturbed much by people who are passing by. Some students might find it difficult to settle into the session if they feel as though they are being observed or as though they are likely to be interrupted.

Teaching the Class

When you are teaching a class outdoors you should always aim to arrive early. There are a number of issues that could hold you up, such as not being able to find a parking space or not being able to claim enough space in your chosen area. These are both likely to be common problems during the warmer months when everyone wants to be outside.

Try to accept that unforeseen problems are going to arise and embrace this as an inevitable part of being able to teach outside. These problems will hopefully never be big enough to cancel your classes altogether, and will simply require a little more patience and planning.

Be sure to ask your students for feedback at the end of each lesson if they would like to give you any. This can help you to understand how the outdoor sessions are going and how they might be improved upon in the future.

If you are just getting started with promoting your own yoga business, then check out my top tips to Sell Out Your Yoga Classes!