7 Tips For Teaching Corporate YOGA

Kira Simone

Events Partnerships and Full-Time Yoga Instructor 

If you’ve recently started your journey teaching corporate yoga, or as a new teacher in general, you may have some images in your mind of what kind of teacher you want to be.
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​When I first started out, I wanted to teach Serious Yogis only.

​I saw myself sequencing effortless flows and saying fancy things in Sanskrit that made me sound like a high priestess of wellness.

I would be an ethereal creature floating through a room filled with incense while I instructed a sea of yogis how to achieve the same spiritual wholeness and secret knowledge that I now possessed.

Over the past decade, I’ve gradually realized that teaching yoga is not about trying to be a guru, or about how cool my sequences are, or whether I teach at The Most Serious Yoga Studio in town.

It’s about helping people explore what yoga means to THEM, even if that has nothing to do with being spiritual.

And in a corporate setting, it usually doesn’t. Students have one hour away from their desk to work on the basics.

​Beginners and seasoned practitioners come together to get in touch with their bodies and minds.

At hOM, we set up pop-up studios in corporate spaces.

Learning to teach in these spaces has helped me grow as a teacher by showing me what the average person needs from yoga- quick and dirty and in under an hour!

Everyone can benefit from a simple class, from the so-called guru to the beginner who thinks he should wear socks on the mat.

The look of honest gratitude on corporate students’ faces after class is more rewarding than any gratification you may (secretly, shhh) feel about being the revered guide at the head of the Serious Studio class.

If you’re just starting out as a teacher, or as a seasoned teacher stepping into the corporate sphere,
here are 7 tips that I hope you find helpful:
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7 Tips For Teaching Yoga In A Corporate Setting

7. Avoid Sanskrit.

​I know, I know. This is a tough one. Sanskrit is a beautiful language and there is a sacred quality to calling poses by their Sanskrit names, chanting in Sanskrit, etc. The problem is that some students will unwittingly hear Sanskrit and think “This sounds religious. Are these teachers pushing a religion on me? I’m out of here!” We don’t want to alienate anyone before they even get started, so keep the Sanskrit out of the office setting. Speaking of chanting...

6: Avoid chanting. ​

Even if you make up a chant in English, it can feel very woo-woo to students who are new to yoga. Remember, we want this class to be accessible to everyone, even people who might have preconceived notions about yoga being for hippies only-chanting in a corporate class will confirm that notion for them, and they will be uncomfortable.

5: Keep it simple.

Corporate classes usually encompass all levels, and you will often have a few first timers who may not have built much body awareness thus far in their lives. The basics will be much appreciated- a gentle warm up, a couple warrior sequences, a few back bends, forward folds, core strengtheners and corpse pose.

4.5: Keep it simple part 2: ​

Choose poses that won’t need a lot of props to be embodied safely. You will probably have a block or two per person, but it’s unlikely that you’ll have straps, bolsters, etc. Be prepared to have to choose poses like bound angle as opposed to restorative goddess.

4: Be mindful of what you wear to class.

I teach at a hot studio and when I’m there I often teach in a sports bra or short shorts. In an office setting, that would just look strange. Your students had to choose office appropriate clothes when they got up that morning, so be a pal and do the same. That doesn’t mean you have to wear anything in particular, but try not to be too exposed.

3: Explain the yoga-y stuff.

Tell them what to expect during class as they begin. For example, “We’ll start by getting a sense of how the body feels today with a warm up, do some breathing exercises, flow through some steady movement, and then do some simple meditation and rest.”  Include a brief explanation of savasana (except you’re calling it corpse pose, right?) and why it’s the most important part.

2: Emphasize chill over firey.

Most students in an office setting are there to destress. They usually have to go back to work afterwards, so they don’t want to be drenched in sweat. Teach them ways to let go, and little exercises they can do at their desk when they’re feeling tense. Three rounds of seven second breaths is our favorite way to begin and end classes at hOM, and students sometimes say they find themselves doing it on their own when they’re outside of class.

1: Finally, smile and have fun!

The more you relax and enjoy class, the more it will help them to have fun! Your class is a brief respite from their stressful day, and they will be grateful to you for it. And what, oh enlightened one, could be better than that?

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If you're a yoga teacher interested in working for hOM, seriously we're always hiring www.iamhom.com/hiring