Check it out:

http://blog.tulasoftware.com/posts/2015/9/14/on-the-benefits-of-private-yoga-instruction

For the past few weeks I've been taking a private yoga lesson about every other week with a woman named Natalie, who is also one of the instructors that teaches at Maile's studio. While I assumed I would enjoy the private lessons, I've actually come to find them far more valuable than I was expecting, and have come to believe private yoga lessons are something that more people would benefit from.

I wanted to write a bit about why I've found the private instruction valuable, why other yogi's might want to consider adding the occasional private lesson into their practice and hopefully provide something that will help instructors begin the conversation with their students about why they might be interested in a private.

Understanding the cost

The first thing I'll note is that I was actually a bit surprised at the cost for a private yoga lesson. At about $100 to $125 per hour, a private yoga class often costs about as much as a "regular" massage or Thai Massage. At first I thought to myself: "For a massage I can just lay there and someone massages me for an hour, but for a yoga class they're 'just' teaching me. And I have to do some work during a yoga class!"  And for a group yoga class, a drop-in is usually somewhere around $15 or 20% of a private instruction.

So my point is I was a little unclear as to why the cost was what it was.  Now, after having a few private lessons under my belt I can clearly articulate why privates are valuable.

Focused Attention

Here's the thing: what you're paying for with private instruction is the attention of a trained professional to guide you through a series of breathing exercises, postures and adjustments, specifically tailored to your practice, your body, your needs and the specific things you want to accomplish with your practice. For some people that might mean working on inversions, for someone else it might mean getting the right adjustments for their lower back, while for another person it might mean being guided through a meditation to calm their anxiety. 

Instead of looking at a private yoga lesson as the multiplied cost of a group class, it's far more accurate to look at it as an opportunity for all the energy and expertise that a yoga instructor usually has to divide amongst a class of people, all directed at you. 

Tailored Adjustments

Often times you'll notice in class an instructor will ask about whether people want or don't want adjustments. After having a few privates with the same instructor, they start to understand your body and your needs in ways that they simply wouldn't be able to through only teaching you group instruction.

The opportunity this affords you the student is that you get exactly what you want, and nothing you don't. 

Touch (If that's your thing)

It's interesting to note that of all the senses we have, how often we sometimes go without the sensation of touch by another person. Natalie commented to me once something that really stuck with me. She said something like: "You know for some people, a yoga class is the only time all day that they'll be touched by someone else in a kind way."

I don't necessarily think a private yoga lesson is something you should get just because you want to be touched (I'm not sounding creepy right?) but I do think that adjustments and the touch by another human are indeed one of the many positive aspects of a private yoga class.

A safe place for emotional release

Hands down, the weirdest thing about yoga to me is the way in which it can cause emotion to be released. I still remember coming home one time after a yoga class being completely confused, and told Maile that when I was in pigeon pose I started crying all of a sudden. Her response: "Oh yeah that happens sometimes!"

A good instructor will make sure that your classes are a safe place for you, and if a burst of emotional release is something that your body generates, a private yoga lesson is a safe place for this to happen. 

Positive impact on group classes

The most surprising benefit of private yoga instruction for me is the compounding benefit that it seems to have had on my group class participation. It's really remarkable how being shown a few modifications in a private can have a cascading impact into your practice as a whole. I've witnessed this not just with myself, but also with Maile who has at times had privates to work on various things she wanted to focus on.

Private instruction can be an important and valuable part of a yoga practice

The reason I write so passionately about the business of yoga is because I believe that the work instructors do is important and valuable. My experience with private instruction only makes me think moreso.

It's clear to me now that private yoga instruction is one of the many opportunities the industry affords to both the student and the instructor, and I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to experience the benefits first hand.

If you've been on the fence over scheduling a private, I say go for it.

~Written by Andrew Wicklander of Tula Software

Originally written for Tula Yoga studio August 2015: http://tulayoga.net/blog/2015/8/23/restorative-yoga

When Maile asked me to write a blog post about 'Restorative Yoga' my initial thought was that I wouldn't know where to begin. Restorative yoga and gentle practices take up a lot of space in my brain and my relationship with them runs deep.  

Restorative yoga has healed me in more ways that I can count.

Physically, it was like finally locating the missing piece to a puzzle I had been working on for years.

I grew up dancing and studied a pretty strict style of ballet. I remember when I was 16 begging my mom to let me get a 'sports massage' to help with my chronic shin splints and foot and knee pain. When I was in my training to become a yoga teacher I was working as a full time massage therapist, and had been one for a while. I worked in a busy spa in an international hotel downtown where we were booked 90 minute massage after 90 minute massage.  By the time I made it to teacher training my body was overused, tired and it hurt. I would wake up in the morning with my arms and hands totally numb. There were days when I couldn't turn my head an inch in either direction. Committing to a regular yoga practice slowly started to heal and re-strengthen my body, but there were many days that I simply didn't have the energy or strength to do much more than child's pose.

It was during teacher training that I took my first Restorative class. I walked into the dimly lit classroom with candles lining the altar and I thought,

this is exactly what I need right now.During the class we were shown how to structure our props to support healing, long held poses. When we did any sort of movements they were slow and gentle. My body was much more receptive to the practice than my mind was at first. The mental practice of 'letting go' was a challenge at times (it still can be!), and often my mind would get really chatty and loud the second I hit the bolster. Ironically, the longer we stayed in postures the easier it became for me to let go. Eventually, with a period of sustained and quiet physical stillness, the mind follows suit.

After that first class I started to incorporate Restorative Yoga postures into my regular practice, and so they naturally made their way into the classes I taught as well. It is incredible to see how people respond to Restorative Yoga the first time they practice it. 

Often they express feeling surprised at the unexpected power of such a subtle practice.It can seem so counter-intuitive - doing less to inspire change. It is pretty magical though, what can happen when we slow down and get quiet. In the stillness of these powerful poses everything softens, and in this softness we become more receptive to physical, mental and spiritual evolution. The body slowly readjusts becoming more spacious. When the body is still the mind can relax, and when that happens a healing process begins.

Restorative yoga is not flashy.In it's quiet simplicity it is nearly impossible to compete with oneself or others, and so it offers a retreat from the over stimulation we are bombarded with in daily life. If only for a short while there is an opportunity to feel free from expectations, pressure, competition and comparison. There is even freedom from effort since these poses are so self sufficient.

To gain the benefits of a Restorative practice, all that is asked of us is to show up, become still, and practice letting go.