How to Setup Your Home-based Yoga Studio for Teaching Online

The transition from teaching in-person to online is all about addressing the smaller details that can help elevate your yoga practice. Similar to teaching in-person, students appreciate the gentle touches and care that will go into you creating a virtual space that is welcoming. It will show if you have taken the right effort to captivate their attention virtually. Read on to learn more about some tips to help you turn your at-home yoga space into a comforting atmosphere for you and your students.

Create a relaxing environment

Staying at home doesn’t mean you should limit the potential of your yoga practice. Do a visual and spiritual overview of the area you are thinking of using for your virtual class. Not only will this help you feel more comfortable while on camera, but you’ll be providing a more visually appealing background for them to see.

Ask yourself, “what do I need to teach yoga online?” Depending on what atmosphere you are creating, you may want to have incense burning or bring some houseplants into your frame to help your space look and feel more alive and refreshing. Consider hanging a soothing wall painting or creating a wall collage of inspirational quotes and positive affirmations on the wall behind you. Think about what your students will see beyond your movements and how that will affect their subconscious as they engage with you in today’s practice.

Be yourself

Regardless of what options you choose, remember to keep it natural. Your space should be a reflection of your personality. This is an opportunity for your members to connect with you and get to know a little bit about you, even if they aren’t in the same space as you. However, don’t go overboard with aesthetics—minimalism should be your best friend when thinking about your background space. You want your members to be focusing on your class or workshop and not be distracted by the items you have surrounding you.

Choose your space

Not sure what room works best? There’s no harm in testing out different rooms in your home that will optimize your natural lighting. It’s important to note that whatever space you decide on, make sure the lighting is behind the camera and not behind you. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a backlit situation that makes you look like a dark silhouette. The bottom line is you want to create a bright, clean, and soothing environment to practice. On a good day, don’t hesitate to experiment with natural outdoor settings of your backyard or even a nearby park.

Get the right lighting

The appropriate lighting can help establish the mood of your online workshops. Consider what time of day it will be. When you know what kind of natural lighting you’re working with, it will help you decide which area of your home would be best suitable for your class. Choose a spot near a window, or on your balcony, veranda, or even in your backyard. Take advantage of the natural lighting shining through.

Pro Tip: Invest in a ring light: they can do wonders for lighting up your space, or lighting your face in for your camera.

Check your audio

Sound is an important part of the yoga class experience. If you find your voice is not picking up clearly, you may want to invest in a wireless headset or microphone to teach yoga online. Depending on your computer, the audio quality may not be strong enough to capture your voice from a distance. Realize that your voice is their guide so be clear in providing instructions, and at the same time make sure the sound is clearly audible. Unlike a studio-based class, you don’t have the opportunity to walk up to a student and correct his or her posture or demonstrate a movement yourself by performing it again. So your voice and instructions will have to be their best guide and lead them through a comfortable practice.

Pro Tip: AirPods with hooks that go around your ear are very popular among yoga and fitness instructors.

Plan your sequence

An essential part of creating a virtual space for your students that mimics your in-studio session is to plan your class - the sequence you will follow today or the form of yoga you’d like to teach. Ensure your audio is clear and won’t pick up background noises—if you can’t avoid background noise from traffic or construction disturbances, consider playing some soothing music in the background to help set the mood.

Be sure to test things out with your own audio first before going live with your members. When hosting online classes, members rely on your voice to guide them through instructions on when and how to bend their bodies in the right way. Be clear and go over your instruction sequence for each class.

Your spot in the frame

Framing is everything when it comes to members seeing you fully. Set your camera up on a stable, flat surface. Consider what angle and distance you’ll need from yourself to the camera. Give your members the best experience, which means avoiding the need to move your camera during the class. Your full body must remain in the frames as you move from side-to-side or moving from the floor to standing. This is important because your students could be logging in to your class from anywhere, any device - laptop, tablet, mobile. We typically encourage our yoga teachers to advise their students to join their practice from a larger screen preferably, a laptop or a mobile screen cast on a smart TV.

We hope you found these tips helpful. Know that you’re not alone and you shouldn’t be feeling left out or lost in this digital world. No imposter syndrome either! Digital transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Even the giant multinational firms with all the needed people, money and resources take years to fully transform and reach a desired state. So, feel proud of what you’ve accomplished so far - all by yourself, as an independent yoga teacher.

Namaste.fit is built for independent yoga teachers to help them create a digital twin of their yoga studio. It would be our honor to join you in your journey, to support your yoga business expansion from an in-person yoga studio to teaching yoga online. Our team can’t wait to speak with you. Click here to reach out today.

Namaste!