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Here Are My Top 3 “Non Marketing” Tactics For Filling Up My Yoga Classes

In this post, you’ll discover the top three non-marketing tactics I use to fill up my yoga classes. No marketing needed!

My name is George Watts.

I’m a BWY yoga teacher and have taught 800+ classes in the last 15 years.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the hundreds of free yoga class planning tips, ready-to-use yoga class plans, and yoga class handouts on my site. They are resources that I’ve personally used for my own yoga classes.

Okay. Tactic number one is using a an Online Yoga Lesson Planner to reduce stress and save time creating lesson plans.

Full Yoga Class Tactic 1: Use A Stress-busting Online Yoga Lesson Planner

Without a good yoga lesson planning system you’ll be stressed!

Here’s a sneak preview into the life of a yoga teacher without a yoga lesson planning system…

You wake up on the day of your yoga class with dread and fear coursing through your veins. It’s a yoga lesson planning panic attack. The various symptoms of a yoga lesson planning panic attack can be understood as follows…

Yoga Lesson Planning Panic Attack Symptoms

When you wake up on the day of your yoga class, you feel fear. This leads to a release of adrenaline (epinephrine) which brings about the so-called fight-or-flight response wherein the yoga teacher’s body prepares for strenuous physical activity.

This leads to an increased heart rate (tachycardia), rapid breathing (hyperventilation) which may be perceived as shortness of breath (dyspnea), and sweeting (which aids heat loss).

Because strenuous physical activity rarely ensues, the hyperventilation leads to a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and then in the blood.

This leads to shifts in blood pH (respiratory alkalosis or hypocapnia), which in turn can lead to many other symptoms, such as tingling or numbness, dizziness, burning and lightheadedness. Moreover, the release of adrenaline during a yoga lesson planning panic attack causes vasoconstriction resulting in slightly less blood flow to the head which causes dizziness and lightheadedness.

A yoga lesson planning panic attack can cause blood sugar to be drawn away from the brain and towards the major muscles.

If you’re thinking: “It’s not much fun having a yoga lesson planning panic attack,” you’d be spot on.

But if you don’t have a yoga lesson planning system, you almost certainly have yoga lesson planning panic attacks. You’re just not aware of it because you’ve got so used to it.

Work Smarter

Before creating the Online Yoga Lesson Planner, I used to spend several hours burning the midnight oil creating a yoga lesson plan.

And that doesn’t include the 80 hours during the week that I would be subconsciously panicking about what my yoga class theme and structure was going to be. I was always worried about what warm ups to use, what sequences to use, what pranayama exercise to use…and so on…and so on.

That’s a whole lot of unconscious stress simmering just below the surface!

The main problem, before I started using the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit, was that my yoga lesson planning was woefully unorganised. I just didn’t have a system. And that meant I was constantly reinventing the wheel every time I sat down to plan a yoga lesson.

I simply had to figure out a way to work smarter.

The alternative was going back to a normal job. Just writing those words fill be with horror. After all, lets be honest here. Going back to a normal job after years of being a yoga teacher would be like going back to live with your parents in your 30’s due to unforeseen circumstances, such as walking in on your partner making love to your boss (partner and job gone in one whoooshing swoop).

I digress.

My point is that I desperately needed a yoga lesson planning system.

I needed a nifty system to make yoga lesson planning a walk in the park. So, I did the only reasonable thing. I went for a walk in the park to make sure that “park walking” was both easy and enjoyable.

It was.

Over 10,000 hours later my yoga lesson planning system has morphed into the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit and has become the largest collection of yoga lesson planning resources on the web. It’s so easy to use it’s like…what’s the analogy I’m thinking of…ah yes…like a walk in the park.

Full Yoga Class Tactic 2: Don’t Use Scissors

With the Online Yoga Lesson Planner I went from spending several hours a week creating yoga lesson plans to only a few minutes. And something amazing occurred that I hadn’t anticipated. My yoga lesson plans were way better! Surely, you would imagine, taking more time doing something makes that something better? Actually, no it doesn’t.

Here’s why.

Think of the Lesson Planner as really useful tool, such as your trusty lawn mower.

Now imagine getting down on your knees and cutting your overgrown lawn with a pair of scissors.

Imagine away…

Not much fun cutting a lawn with scissors is it?

It could be done, but it would take hours and be exhausting, back breaking, boring, soul destroying work.

Now imagine using your lawn mower to cut your lawn.

Ah, yes…

Feel the gentle throb vibrating through your body as you glide your sleek, bright orange lawn mower effortlessly over the long, thick, tangled grass and weeds.

You take in the aroma of freshly cut grass as it shoots into the bag of grassyness. You listen to a red robin singing you a song that goes something like this, “Tweep. Tweep. Tweep.” (loosely translated as, “I love your sleek, orange lawn mower. Can I mate with it?”).

You get lost in the moment.

Life is good.

Life is blissful.

And within 15 minutes, the gentle throb has stopped and you’re done. You put the orange mechanical beast back in it’s cage and plonk yourself down in your comfy, well padded garden chair and think to yourself, “Boy ow boy, that lawn looks good.”

And you secretly chuckle and snort to yourself at the thought you only spent 15 minutes cutting your lawn.

That my fellow yoga teacher, is precisely what happens (possibly accept for the talking Robin) when you use the Online Yoga Lesson Planner. If you haven’t got a lesson planning system – it’s the equivalent of cutting your grass with scissors.

Quel un nightmare!

Forgive the slipping into French, but thought it might add a little gravitas to the lawn cutting analogy.

Before using the Online Yoga Lesson Planner, the unorganised me created lots of boring classes with the occasional WOW class. Now the organised me creates lots of WOW classes with the occasional boring class. Hey, even with the best system you’re still human…so allow yourself the luxury of being boring every now and then.

Full Yoga Class Tactic 3: Use Yoga Class Handouts

There are 250+ editable yoga class handouts are available within the Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

Use them!

Yoga class handouts are an amazing way to turn students into raving fans.

Definition of a RAVING FAN: A student that comes every week to your yoga class without fail and raves about you to friends, family and co-workers.

These RAVING FANS are absolutely key to your success.

Here’s why….

A student who comes regularly to your class is worth £294 a year to your yoga business.

Here’s the math behind the £294…

£7 a class x 42 classes a year = £294

Here’s a quick quiz for you

What’s more important?

(A) Getting new students to your classes

(B) Keeping your current students happy so they keep coming back to your class

The correct answer is (B).

Here’s why…

When you keep your current students happy, they will keep coming back to your class. That means you can cut down on the amount of yoga marketing you do. Plus, the RAVING FANS tend to bring their family, friends and co-workers to classes.

It’s time for my conclusion, and why I love using yoga card decks as teaching aids in my classes.

George’s Conclusion: Using Yoga Card Decks As Fun, Easy-to-Use Teaching Aids

I hope you found my top three tactics useful, and they help to fill up your yoga classes.

If you’re a fellow yoga teacher, I’ve got a hunch you’re gonna love my Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

As a Yoga teacher, I’m always looking for fun, easy-to-use teaching aids to make your classes engaging, informative, and effective. That’s why I create yoga card decks. Each deck has been painstakingly crafted to serve as a quick-reference guide, teaching aid, or lesson-planning tool, designed with Yoga teachers, and serious students, in mind.

Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck: 52 Cards For Mind-Body Unity

The Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck is a transformative tool designed for yogis of all levels, especially those seeking a gentle, accessible practice. This beautifully illustrated 52-card deck combines the wisdom of the chakra system with the ease of chair yoga, offering a unique way to balance your energy centres while staying grounded and supported.

Chakra Chair Yoga Expansion Card Deck: 52 More Cards For Mind-Body Unity

The Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck was so popular that I created the Chakra Chair Yoga Expansion Deck with another 52 chair yoga exercises.

Blissful Breathing Card Deck: Your Guide To Mastering Pranayama

The Blissful Breathing Card Deck is your go-to resource for mastering the art of pranayama (yogic breathing). With 41 beautifully designed cards, this Blissful Breathing Card Deck guides you through a wide variety of breathing techniques to enhance relaxation, focus, and vitality.

Face Yoga Card Deck: 50 Cards For Youthful Radiance

The Face Yoga Card Deck is a fun and effective way to tone, relax, and rejuvenate your facial muscles. This 50-card deck features simple, step-by-step exercises designed to improve circulation, boost skin elasticity, and promote a radiant, youthful glow.

101 Mini Yoga Cards: With 101 Asana Sanskrit Pronunciations

The 101 Mini Yoga Cards are a compact and versatile resource for yoga teachers and practitioners alike. Each card features an illustrated yoga pose, its English and Sanskrit names, and how to pronounce the Sanskrit name. This makes it easy to plan classes, create sequences, or inspire personal practice while deepening your connection to yoga’s roots.

Zen Of Blissful Boredom Card Deck: 52 Ways To Cultivate Calm

The Zen Of Blissful Boredom Card Deck offers a lighthearted yet profound approach to finding peace in the mundane. Featuring 52 cards filled with simple, humorous, and mindful activities, this deck encourages you to embrace boredom as a gateway to inner calm and creativity.

But don’t stop there. You’re on a roll. You’ll definitely want to look at my 10-step yoga sequencing formula. It’s got lots of infographics to make the learning visual and fun.

“Below are hundreds of yoga lesson planning tips on my blog…to help enlarge your yoga lesson planning brain.” – George Watts

Online Yoga Lesson Planner

Create yoga lesson plans quickly and easily. Access 100,000+ yoga lesson plans. Choose from 3000+ poses. Used by 1000+ yoga teachers, trainers and trainees worldwide.

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My Top 3 Non-Marketing Tactics For Filling Up My Yoga Classes