How to optimise your remote yoga session experience
In my opinion online yoga sessions are here to stay for the immediate advised ‘physical-distancing’ period and beyond. Remote yoga sessions provide an opportunity for us to connect with our preferred yoga teacher, friends and familiar yoga class personalities, access a pre-recorded session at a time to suit ourselves or work with a teacher in another geographical area, possibly in another part of the world.
I long for the day when I can return to ‘face-to-face’ yoga teaching but in the meantime I’ve gleaned some tips from the British Wheel of Yoga guidelines to enhance your experience when accessing remote yoga session:
- Allow 15 mins prior to the session to begin with, to allow enough time to get set up properly, be comfortable and in the right place. You may need to adjust your lighting so your teacher can see you clearly. After a few sessions it will not take so long to set up.
- Think about connecting your laptop to your TV via an HDMI cable to give you a bigger screen. If you want to do this, have a trial run beforehand to make sure you can do it easily on the day.
- Opting for gallery view will bring images of all participants onto your screen and you will have more of the experience of a group class. The downside is that the image of your teacher will be smaller. Depending on the size of your screen this might not be practical. Experiment and see which works best for you.
- The main image will switch to whichever participant makes a sound so use speaker view and keep muted once started, unless you are in a group chanting or philosophy discussion. In a physical session you can use the chat button on whichever online platform you are using if you need to speak to the teacher.
- Arrange your screen so that your teacher can see as much of you as possible and then you won’t have to keep moving the screen or adjusting yourself. You will probably need to be a minimum of 6 feet away from your device.
- Make sure you have plenty of room to move your arms and legs.
- Your teacher will let you know in advance what props you will need; make sure you have everything ready beforehand, including water.
- Don’t have any music in the background because it will distort and/or be in competition with your voice if you do need to speak to the teacher.
- Dress as you would if you were attending a face to face yoga class. This will eliminate the possibility of any embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions! Remember, other people in the class will be able to see you on their screens.
- Laugh – it’s a new experience so don’t worry about being perfect. Be human, be authentic, be you!
If you’d like to join one of Aura Yoga with Geri’s yoga sessions via ‘Zoom’ please complete and submit the online Health Questionnaire on my website www.aurayoga.co.uk and acknowledge your understanding of the remote learning disclaimer.
If you are a new student to my classes, you will undertake a ‘one-off’, brief online assessment interview. It is advisable to bring to the attention of your teacher, before each yoga session, anything that may impede your yoga practice, in relation to your health. This is vital for your wellbeing, safety, enjoyment and to maximise the benefit of your yoga experience.
I always advise the principle of ‘Svadhyaya’, a Sankskrit term which means ‘Self-Study’, be observed throughout every yoga session and in every thought, word and deed we undertake.
We practice each asana (yoga posture) at least three times, where I encourage the student to observe their body and breath in each posture, breathing exercise, yoga technique, as it provides such instant and reliable feedback. For example – “Where do I feel this most? Why that may be? What can I do to improve the quality of the movement/experience? Which side of the body moves more freely? Why is this may be the case? ……”
I always suggest any modifications to suit specific medical conditions or injury, throughout the session or have advised each participant, beforehand of prohibitions and precautions to apply to their yoga experience.
The aim of each of my yoga classes is to provide a well-balanced blend of hatha yoga asana (posture), prananyama (breath control), relaxation, fun and laughter to balance and harmonise each student’s energy system, resulting in a feeling of enhanced wellbeing – physically, mentally and emotionally.
Why not join us via ‘Zoom’ soon?
