One summer, daughter decided to master the jump rope. It was a struggle and her body often didn’t do what her mind envisioned. As I cheered her on, I reminded her that the only way for a new physical skill to become easier is to practice again and again.
In Yoga, it’s not just the physical postures that require practice. While physical relaxation, flexibility, and strength may progress quickly, relaxing or focusing the mind can be harder and often requires consistency to see and maintain progress.
Why Commit to a Weekly Yoga Class
Our classes are offered in multi-week series and here’s why:
1) Yoga Benefits Come with Repetition
Intellectually, we know that attending a yoga class once every few weeks won’t have the same benefits – in flexibility, strength, and relaxation – as attending weekly or even more often.
Children, even more than adults, benefit from consistency and often take a few classes to feel comfortable in a space, with a teacher, and with other students. 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). That’s among the reasons we require registration in kids & family classes.
2) Commitment Yields Repetition
Of course, that knowing we should come to class doesn’t make it easier to carve out time in our busy lives to condition our bodies and center our minds. Building a habit takes consistency and humans often need accountability to get that. Having already paid can be a strong motivator to keep that weekly yoga appointment with when possible conflicts arise.
When I wanted to start running more than once in a blue moon, I signed up for a marathon 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
While adult classes students may pay as they go with single-class drop-ins, semester registration encourages commitment and accountability.
2) Yoga Community Takes Time to Build
While it can be more obvious with children, adults too benefit from class roster consistency.
It can be disconcerting to be surrounded by strangers and expected to try something new. 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 the act of balancing effort and surrender in the poses help them access parts of themselves that are often hidden away during our daily lives.
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. The community we build in class helps bring us back every week and helps create a safe space where we can do the inherently vulnerable work of Yoga.
3) Student Consistency Yields Better Teaching
Another benefit of a weekly commitment is how it enables progressive teaching. Our instructors won’t teach the advanced versions of a pose before students demonstrate the basics. If the same students attend week after week, your instructor can build on skills learned from class to class.
Additionally, over several weeks, your instructor will get to know the students’ bodies and preferences and can customize teaching to match. Student consistency means the 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.
There are no drop-ins for kids & family classes. Families sign up for season, or semester, of classes, which is typically 8-14 weeks, depending on the calendar. If you must miss a class, you can take advantage of our generous make-up policy.
Our weekly adult yoga classes – which includes prenatal yoga and yoga trapeze – do allow students to drop in as long as there is space – and both prenatal and yoga trapeze do sell out. If committing to the semester just won’t work for your schedule, you can book multiple drop-in classes at once for a discount.
Check out our full course schedule and sign up today.