Teaching Hatha Yoga - What Do Hatha Yoga Students Want?

At this point in time, Yoga has gone "global." Mosthorizon. To guide beginner Yoga students on the path
Yoga students, outside of India, have heard of three oftoward the study of Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara,
the nine main types of Yoga; the most commonlyDharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, is a lesson in futility.
known are Hatha, Raja (Ashtanga), and KundaliniMany beginning Yoga students do not know what
Yoga. Of these three, Hatha Yoga, and its manythey are looking for. Most beginning Yoga students do
sub-styles, have received the most publicity.not want to hold Asanas for long. They are so used to
In general, the public perception of Yoga is classified asstimulation from technology, that short attention spans
a "mind and body exercise." When you ask theare common place. This is why Flow Yoga, Vinyasa
average person what that means, he or she willYoga, and Power Yoga, are so popular with beginners.
respond by saying, "Some sort of exercise." Hence,To ask them to practice Pranayama and meditation is
the reason why Yoga can be found in many healtha big challenge. This would require the mind to focus.
clubs is that Yoga becomes an exercise class, whichThere is an old sales and marketing saying which goes
is categorized with Tai Chi and Pilates.like this: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Let's look at the
With that said, beginner students, with little knowledgeold saying and how it pertains to teaching Yoga
of Yoga, have the perception they are entering anclasses. After 5,000 years of research, Yoga is a very
exercise class. Their reasons for coming to a Yogadeep subject, which cannot be covered in one class. If
class differ greatly. The main reasons for beginninga student enters your class, or studio, looking for
Yoga practice are: Weight loss, weight control, stressfitness - So be it.
management, low impact exercise, or painLabel a few classes on the schedule as: Beginner
management.fitness Yoga, Yoga fitness, fitness Yoga, or Yoga
Notice that beginners do not often seek enlightenment,exercise. Start with warm-ups, teach Yoga postures,
meditation, mantras, Pranayama, or to change theirmix in a few breathing techniques, and end with a five
lifestyle. In fact, the classification of Yoga levels is easyminute body scan relaxation technique. On your
to understand, but it is inaccurate. Terms such as,schedule, write descriptions of all your classes, and
beginner, intermediate, and advanced, are all basedgive them options to go deeper into the subject of
upon the physical difficulty of performing an AsanaYoga.
(Yoga pose). Again, the physical challenges areThe more serious Yoga students will take the path to
presented as the major aspects of Yoga practice.study more about Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara,
So, what do Hatha Yoga students want? To put itDharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, but there some who
simply, they want some sort of mind and bodywill choose to exercise the body, only. This is not a
exercise. Beginner Yoga classes could be presentedproblem. Remember this: A little bit of Yoga is better
as an exercise class, with much more to learn on thethan none.