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| I want to say a few things about "gym yoga." There are some interesting comments coming up in other threads about "gym yoga."
First: Quality. Much of the class is determined by the teacher. The quality of gym yoga teachers can vary greatly. It's not so much a matter of credentials because every gym requires credentials from their trainers and group fitness instructors--mostly for insurance purposes and also because many gym owners don't know so a certification tells them that you know more than they do about yoga. However, the audition process can be rather quick and sometimes the people in charge of the program don't know enough about yoga or don't see enough of the teachers to really get a sense of how good they are. I teach at two gyms and the group fitness director came to observe my class at one of the gyms. I took a class with the yoga coordinator of the other gym and she made me teach for 10 minutes during her class. That's all they've seen of my teaching. I think they depend on the clients/members to give feedback about the teachers and let them know who they like and don't like. In NYC you have so many teachers that if you aren't getting good reviews, they'll just replace you. In Western Michigan you might have more job security. Luckily, I have great reviews. 
Atmosphere. Although most gyms are getting bigger and better, their main selling points are still shiny equipment, flat screen tvs and towels/showers. It's hard for a gym to dedicate a nice quite space to yoga practice. Unless they have a real dedicated yoga following (as many gyms in NYC do--but not the rest of the country), they are going to have to share a room with aerobics, pilates, bosu, bodywedge, step, body sculpting and belly dancing. Unfortunate, but that's the way it goes until they have enough yoga students stand up and shout "give us a quiet yoga room."
Personally, I like teaching at gyms. I usually don't dumb it down too much for the gym crowd. Maybe I won't om as much, but I'm not big into chanting and stuff anyway. Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder, but I like to let people know that yoga is challenging. I want people to come away from my class feeling like they really did some work: not just with their bodies but with their minds too. It's great having regular students whether you're at a gym or at a yoga studio. You get to mold and shape their practice and watch it flourish.
I think the yoga practice in this country is becomming extremely sophisticated. At least in NY and LA and some other big cities. Hopefully, that will spread to the rest of the gyms and studios too. I think it's acceptance into the mainstream has made a huge difference. Although it is still rooted in ancient traditions and teachings, the effort is being made to make it very accessible and understandable to the modern practitioner. On some levels there may be some dilution, but on other levels, the practice is really growing and moving forward and expanding.
Edited by YogaGuy 2005-05-11 11:27 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Fascinating! What happened to the message??? Seems we have some gremlins in the machine this morning..... |
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| tourist - 2005-05-11 11:14 AM
Fascinating! What happened to the message??? Seems we have some gremlins in the machine this morning.....
Yes. Gremlins. That AND I overzealously hit my return button a few too many times. |
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| We do have plenty of teachers that suck in W. Michigan too, and their classes are quickly replaced by some other fitness class due to low attendance. Students may not know tons about yoga, but they know a good teacher when they see one. Fortunately, even though we do have the mirror wall, they have awesome yoga supplies for members (everyone cleans their own after class) and great sound insulation from the rest of the gym. Phew!
We also have our share of gyms who know absolutely nothing about yoga, so they take their aerobics instructor aside and say "Watch this yoga DVD at home so we can offer yoga classes too, okay?" Sadly, a gym like this is affiliated with a local hospital. I have sent my resume to them several times only to be told "Nah, our aerobics instructor teaches the yoga." All I can say is "Hope your insurance is up to date!" 
Another hospital-affiliated health club in Kalamazoo does not require an RYT, but does require ACE or AFAA. Fortunately, their yoga instructor happens to be AMAZING despite the fact that she is a few contact hours shy of her 200-hr RYT. I've taken classes of much lower quality from teachers with more credentials. You just never know. This particular teacher puts a lot of time and energy and love into her classes, and it shows!
The YMCA just asked if I would be interested in teaching lunchtime classes this summer in a pretty little park downtown, so people could take a little yoga break during their workday. This sounds like lots of fun!! |
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| Well, I started the trouble on the other thread, so I'll weigh in here.
Not all yoga studios are good and not all gym yoga is bad. In major metros, yoga is popular enough that you have your pick of studios, teachers, and styles. It's easy (but usually expensive) to find a great class tailored for your individual needs. In choosing any class there are two key elements: the teacher and the environment.
The environment in studios is almost always better than at gyms. That's not a surprise. Studios are geared around providing an exclusive space designed for yoga. Gyms host yoga classes in general rooms. The noise, temperature and general vibe at the gym is more...challenging.
Teacher quality is the greatest variable. I've rarely had a bad experience with a teacher at a successful studio (Bikram notwithstanding). At the gym I've had terrible teachers, average teachers, and good teachers. But, in my experience in my area, the typical studio teacher is better than the typical gym teacher. Then again, if you live in a market where there are no studios, I would expect that the best teachers in the area would teach at the Y or the gym.
I also think that teachers at the gym have a more difficult assignment. At studios, you usually have a regular group of students that attend on the same days at the same time. Relationships develop and the practice evolves mutually. For example, the 6:00 am class (when I can get up for it) tends to be chattier and we move faster with less instruction because it's a smaller group of regulars. At a gym, people are always dropping in and out, trying yoga for the day, and moving on to kick-boxing.
I get frustrated when the gym substitutes teachers without notice - and it happens constantly. So, if you're expecting an Astanga class and you get a gentle hatha class, that can mess your day up. It's also impossible to avoid bad teachers if you never know who's teaching until you show up. |
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| Thanks for putting up this post, Yoga Guy. I was thinking about putting up a post regarding gym yoga myself, but you beat me to the punch.
Anyway, as an instructor who has taught at a variety of gyms, and still continues to do so, I can totally see where you are coming from on this issue. I've noticed many of the same things you have regarding gym yoga.
Unless a group fitness director has actually sat in on a few of your classes, they're not going to know what kind of teacher you are, and even then, if they don't know much about yoga, they still won't be sure on what to look for in regards to what makes a good/bad instructor. Often, they rely on student commentary to see whether or not a teacher is one of quality (and whether or not a teacher is dependable enough to come on time and to come to teach on a regular basis--well at the gyms I teach at, anyway). Directors usually depend on students' opinion of who they should keep or get rid of. They may dismiss a person due to habitual lateness and another if they don't watch out for their students' safety, yet may keep someone else even though they are kind of flakey because they are such a well-liked teacher. (One of the instructors at a gym I work at is late to almost every class she teaches, but because she's got such a loyal and loving following and is such a knowledgeable teacher, the gym keeps her anyway.)
I also noticed that depending on how loyal and big the yoga crowd is at a gym, a gym will use that as a determination as to how much effort they will put into their yoga program. (Like YogaGuy said, NYC has big yoga community, so one of the gyms that he teaches at has a yoga coordinator. At the gyms that I teach at in Las Vegas, there isn't enough of a yoga following to have a yoga coordinator.) At one gym I teach at, there are a lot more classes and a lot more variety of classes than another gym, simply because one gym has a bigger and more loyal yoga following than the other. I've had classes becoming permanently cancelled simply because there wasn't a demand for them, yet I've also had classes also added to my teaching schedule because a number of people wanted more classes.
I don't agree with the mentality of some people that the gym crowd isn't that sophisticated when it comes to yoga. The classes that I have that are frequented by beginners are of course are going to be a little less sophisticated than the ones that I have that are more heavily attended by more advanced practitioners. I'm not going to teach beginners the same thing I am going to the more advanced students. Yes, at the gyms that I teach at, there are definitely a lot more beginners than the studios, but one should remember that most gyms are not going to specialize as deeply in yoga (unless there is a demand for it) as a studio will, so I don't think it's fair to compare gyms to studios because they're two completely different things. You can't compare apples to oranges. |
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| Just a quick note on teacher substitutions . . . I don't know how other gyms do it, but around here the teachers are constantly trying to find subs at a moment's notice. They have a set schedule, then somebody gets sick, or their kid gets sick, etc etc etc. I get called AT LEAST once a week to go in and teach someone else's class, and it is always the other teacher calling me directly.
The gyms don't discourage this practice at all, they would rather have someone teaching the class rather than cancel it. But, they do recognize that certain students like certain teachers and they show up or not based on whether they want that particular teacher's class.
I think a lot of this is the conscientiousness of the teacher. Obviously certain things are unavoidable, if your child was in an accident nobody would ever expect you to come to class! But it's one thing to know you'll be out of town and to let the students know that a different teacher will be there on a certain date. It is quite another to be constantly calling for a sub because you have allergies or something better came up. I should note that the only other RYT in town is the only person who has NEVER called me to sub. She shows up every time, as do I.
Recognizing that certain students prefer certain styles, what I have been trying to do is attend the classes taught by the other teachers. That way, I have a good idea of what the students are expecting when I have to sub for that class. Of course I will put my own spin on it, but if people are expecting a workout I don't want them to go mad with boredom holding tadasana for 50 breaths. Or if people are expecting to relax I don't want to put them through a rousing hour of sun salutations. Of course they'll still get ME, and if they don't like me they will think twice when they see me setting up for class. But, at the very least I can try to build on the classes that they're used to. Even with beginners, they may have come to class because a friend said "You've got to try yoga with Wendy, it will kick your butt!" Then if substitute teacher Jean gives a slow, meditative class, they'll both be disappointed. You have to understand your target audience.
It's like subbing for a math teacher. You wouldn't just walk in and decide to teach whatever math you like. You would want to know what they have been studying and take it from there. At least, that's how I look at it.
Okay, that wasn't a quick note after all! I just don't know when to stop typing!  |
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| It's like that in the gyms I teach at too, Jean. I'm in a similar boat too. I at minimum get at least 1 sub call a week. Some weeks it gets so crazy w/ calls (like around the holidays or summer), I have to turn off my phone completely off for a day or two if I don't want to go mad! I also try to do the same thing. I try to go to as many teachers' classes as my schedule will allow so that I can give their regulars what they're looking for. If I can't go to a teacher's class and am not familiar w/ a certain teacher's style, I'll simply try to get the best verbal description I can from the teacher needing a sub so that I can give his or her class what they want to the best of my ability based on what came straight from the horse's mouth.
P.S. Jean, the puppy in your avatar is so cute!
Edited by itchytummy 2005-05-11 4:04 PM
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| Thank you! That's my baby Xuxa, wearing a JeansYoga t-shirt that is too big for her. It may look as if she's posing, but that is just by chance - she is a perpetual motion puppy dog!
I'm lucky, cuz the girl who helped me get the job at the YMCA is always chatting about what students at various locations think of everyone's classes. They just love so-and-so and they can't stand so-and-so . . . that's actually been some extremely helpful information!
I can see where subbing would upset the equilibrium for many students, especially if some of the teachers treat it like a j-o-b and not like something they really take pride in doing. Aren't our students just so lucky to have us? 
Right now it's awesome that everyone calls me to sub because I really need the work, plus I love it at the Y so I don't mind going. But I'm sure it will wear me out eventually! We'll soon find out! |
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| Interesting posts. I like taking other teacher's classes, but have found it extremely challenging with my schedule. Now that the summer is here, I have more time and will try out some of the classes and teachers in case I sub for them. That being said, I find it difficult to step into another teacher's shoes and continue where they may have left off. I find that I'm usually just me and if I'm feeling gentle, then that's what they get and if I'm feeling vigorous, then that's what they get. If the class is billed as beginner or advanced or something else, then I try to stay within those parameters to the best of my ability. Of course, there was the time I tried to teach the upbeat rocking vinyasa class to a bunch of beginners because i forgot to look at the schedule and the girl I was subbing for neglected to tell me it was a beginner's class. Oh well. Now I ask at the beginning before I start class.
I just got back from teaching my second gym class of the day. I have to say that the environment can definitely be "challenging" as Mitch pointed out. I taught class tonight in a glass walled aerobics room with people constantly coming in to get equipment out of the room. The airconditioner was blasting and there are no light switches in the room to control the "ambiance." Did I mention the people constantly walking through the room to get equipment? Argh!!!!
I've decided I don't want to sit behind a desk this summer so I'm on quest to fill up my schedule teaching yoga and seeing what that might be like for the next few months. I'm going to attack a bunch of the studios and try to get lots of classes. Gyms are a little trickier only because I have to wait to here about their next cattle call auditions. We'll see how it goes.
Overall, it sounds like people are having good experiences at their gyms doing yoga. That's good news. |
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| I wouldn't practice yoga at a gym. The temperature is way too cold inside of a gym You might pull a muscle. |
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| YG, I don't know if this would work in your area, but another teacher in W. Mich. tipped me off that I should just send my resume & contact info to the local gyms and tell them I'm available if they want another sub on their list. Since I did that, I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger!! Summertime will be especially busy, because many of the teachers have vacations and family events to attend.
Of course, around here there aren't any "cattle calls" and the gyms just about pass out when they get a resume that actually reflects some training and experience. Most of them, anyway. The ones that don't care about that aren't places I'd like to work anyway.
It is HARD to schedule other teacher's classes, that's a fact!! Yesterday I got a call from a very classy health club, indicating that they wanted to get me on their roster but I should take their current class right away. I've been really hoping to get into this place, so I worked in the office from 7am-5pm, drove home 45 minutes to change and get my mat, drove another hour to the club for the class, and another hour home. I got home just shy of 10pm, and that's the 2nd night this week! YAWN!!! But, it paid off - when I got to the class, the other teacher said "Thank god you came, can you sub for me next Wednesday?" So I guess I'm IN! Yeehaw! Plus, her class was awesome and it made me feel fantastic afterwards.
I do NOT recommend going at that pace for very long - I'm about to keel over! 16 more days in the office and I'll be FREE!!! |
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| Keith, cattle calls in yoga now? That's too bad. What do they do - give you a minute to show your best poses 
Maria |
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| MariaFloresta - 2005-05-12 12:11 PM
Keith, cattle calls in yoga now? That's too bad. What do they do - give you a minute to show your best poses
Maria
Actually....they give you about a minute to teach your best stuff.
You go into a room with a bunch of other yoga teachers. Set up your mats like you are taking a class. Then, depending on the person running it, you either go up in order according to where you are set up or they call your name at random. You basically have to go up and teach from where the last person left off and try to show that that you know what you're doing. It's pretty ridiculous. Meanwhile you have to practice and I assume they watch how you practice as well as how you teach.
So the first few people have to do sun salutations or variations and the last few should do stuff on the floor. The middle few are a toss up. The one I went to was about 30 teachers. I've heard of ones with 100 or more. It's nutz. Because everyone is nervous you end up doing all the poses on your right side. Everyone says, "inhale your right foot into warrior one." You seldom ever make it to the left side.
Smaller studios let you have an audition class. You get a group of friends together and teach them and the owner decides if she likes what she sees. Or they come and watch you teach at your usual spot. It's the big gyms that hold the cattle call auditions. You have gyms with 10-20 locations in the metropolitan area and lots of yoga teachers that want a taste of the action. It's downward dog eat dog.
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Wow.
I'm starting to appreciate my situation in West Michigan a little more! |
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| Most people have their first "yogic experience" at gyms. At least those in my circles, including me. Its hit or miss. I had taken yoga classes in other gyms in other cities for 2 years prior to getting "hooked." I was lucky to have some really good teachers and a variety of classes. And for those people who like working out in a gym its way cheaper to take advantage of the classes included in their membership than to join both a gym and pay for classes at a studio.
Personally, I've come to hate the gym....the smell, the machines, the nasty showers, the over-zealous personal trainers and all their excersises with balls. UGH UGH UGH. |
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| How I first got into the gym scene was I gave the group fitness director of one gym a call and I sent in my resume. She liked my resume so we had a one-on-one interview. The interview went well, so she invited me for an audtion. She found a class that was already put on the gym's regular schedule and set up a specific time and day I was to teach the class as a "sub." She wasn't too sure about hiring me at the first audition, so to help her make up her mind she assigned someone who had been at the club for a while as a yoga instructor to be my mentor. My mentor and I team taught for a few weeks (maybe 2 months at the most--it was so long ago I don't remember the exact time period), and based on my mentor's good feedback regarding my skills, the group fitness director scheduled another time for me to audition/ "sub." I auditioned again, and after the audition and the great reaction the students had to me, she hired me.
So there you have it, my story of how I first started teaching at the gym.
Edited by itchytummy 2005-05-12 10:38 PM
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| Oh my gosh, talk about attending other teachers classes! This morning, ALL the other yoga teachers at the YMCA took my class! What the heck?? |
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| Just do everything "left sided" during your cattle call audition, it would throw so many people off AND prove that you can do stuff on your left side too!
There are like 2 health clubs out here: the YMCA and a Four Seasons I think they both offer yoga ( i know the Y does ), but I think right now im gonna stick with the studio I went to prior, it kinda seems worth it, and besides gyms kinda creep me out, especially if im the ONLY guy in a yoga class showing off my scrawny lil 5'11" 130 pound frame to a bunch of ladies, alot of which I shall assume are hot and single and at the gym trying to pick up a guy without being asked:
"HEY doo yoo know where the weightroooom IZ?" GRR! :argh:
I have a big enough infatuation with boobies as it is, its not like I wanna be distracted by 18 pairs of em moving about while im trying to focus on yoga moves!
Edited by sideshow 2005-05-14 12:04 PM
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| sideshow - 2005-05-14 11:51 AM
I have a big enough infatuation with boobies as it is, its not like I wanna be distracted by 18 pairs of em moving about while im trying to focus on yoga moves!
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| There's a simple solution to your problem, sideshow. If you wanna avoid being picked up by the single ladies - just be ugly like me! It works. Until now not one woman has tried hitting on me. And I'm the only male in class often enough to be noticed. Maybe it's also partly due to my wedding ring. The ladies are looking out for small things like that ya know.
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| me being ugly isnt exactly the problem here...
the problem would more or less be having the realization while in asana that NEITHER my hands or feet are touching the mat...yet im holding myself 9inches above the ground anyways....
Yeh like some hotties want to have their men put to shame while in YOGA class....then again if they are the said girls found wanting...ill be WAY popular..
muwahaha.....i just made a funny with a bit of seriousness to it. |
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Gym Yoga
