Our kids and family yoga classes require full session registration and, while we allow single class drop-ins to our prenatal and postnatal classes, we encourage adult students make the same commitment and here’s why:
1) Consistency & Commitment
Building a habit takes consistency and humans often need accountability to get that. By committing to attend every week you establish that consistency for yourself. Having already paid can be a strong motivator to keep that weekly yoga appointment with when possible conflicts arise 1.
When I wanted to start running more than once in a blue moon, I signed up for a training group. Perhaps the marathon was overkill, but I’m always more consistent – running, yoga, and everything else – when I’ve made a public, social commitment. ~Jen
Children, even more than adults, benefit from consistency. It often take a few classes for children, especially toddlers, to feel comfortable in a space, with a teacher, and with other students and start to show their true personalities. Some children warm up more slowly than others and might not participate very much for weeks (even if they are teaching entire classes to their dolls or siblings at home).
Children benefit from the repetition. Instructors will do similar routines from week to week to help students learn activities and sequences. By creating consistency in class, children feel secure and are more able to learn. Your toddler doesn’t get that many opportunities to demonstrate their expertise. Their pride upon showing that they know the sequence of their tot yoga class warmup awesome to witness.
2) Community
Practicing next to the same friendly faces every week, struggling through the same challenging poses, chuckling over the same jokes or instructor’s verbal gaffs (no, that never happens), and simply being together every week builds community. Friendships are established in yoga classes and we are practicing with our neighbors.
That community helps bring us back every week and helps create a safe space where we can do the inherently vulnerable work of yoga. It’s not just that we are bending into unfamiliar positions in yoga pants – though that’s vulnerable enough, the reason yoga is so effective in reducing stress is that a major component of it is learning to let go. Many yogis find the postures and balancing effort and surrender in the poses help them access parts of themselves that are often hidden away during our daily lives.
It can be disconcerting to adults to be surrounded by strangers and expected to try something new. That’s much worse for kids. Not understanding why they are uncomfortable, children will act out and disengage from class. Having the same students (and parents in our family classes) in class each week helps children feel safe, let their guard down, and learn.
3) Progressive and Customized Teaching
Another benefit of a weekly commitment is how it enables progressive teaching. Because the same students attend week after week, your instructor can build on skills learned from week to week.
Additionally, over several weeks, your instructor will get to know the students’ bodies and preferences and can customize teaching to match.
4) Safety
Consistency in attendance enables progressive teaching and enhances safety. Your instructor won’t teach the advanced versions of a pose before instructing the basics. When students come back week after week, your instructor will get to know any special conditions and limitations and be able to personalize their instruction to students.
Commitment at Breathing Space
All our classes are offered in multi-week sessions. Families sign up for season, or semester, of classes, which is typically 6-14 weeks, depending on the calendar. If you must miss a class, you can take advantage of our generous make-up policy.
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1) Of course we understand that life happens, which is why we have a generous make-up policy should you have to miss class.