Sitting down with Nicole one day for theory, she shared with us what a teacher should be charging for their expertise and time. It then dawned on me that soon I would be graduating and needed to start thinking of finding students. What a daunting task.
Several of my family members and friends have said that they would like to join my class when they saw my IHA related posts on social media, but I have not responded because I was apprehensive about charging them money. Would they think it’s too pricey? Would they rather pay for a gym membership which would allow them to attend an unlimited variety of yoga classes? I have always wondered why people paid such high fees for Personal Trainers when they could just look up exercises for weight loss etc. on the internet.
Then I realized that there is just too much information online and people would be willing to pay for convenience and if they believe that they will benefit from the investment. This got me started thinking more about lesson planning and how to tailor-fit a 1 hour session for a student so that they would not be disappointed. Coming back to one of the 8 limbs of yoga, Yama: Asteya (Non-stealing), I would be disappointed in myself too if the student felt like they just wasted their time.
I think if one gives it their best effort, with the best intention of helping, and equipped with the training and knowledge from this course, one should not be embarrassed to ask to be paid for their efforts.
With love,
Afiza
