BIG CLASSES

I have been teaching for 15 years. In that time I’ve taught some very small classes – classes that have turned into private lessons because there was only one student who showed up at the scheduled time. I’ve also taught to groups of over 100 people on several occasions.

I have experience of teaching big classes. BIG classes are fun to teach but there’s quite a skill, if I may be so bold as to say, in teaching big classes.

Big classes have a life of their own:

Big classes have a life of their own. Such classes need to be led, but at the same time the teacher needs to get out of the way. You may have seen images of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, in Spain. People run ahead of the bulls. Their presence ahead of the bulls encourages the bulls to stampede. However, if the people running ahead of the bulls are not careful, they will be mowed down, gored and trampled by the herd. Teaching a large class is not quite that dramatic for the teacher! Phew! However, it is still important that the teacher lead without getting in the way.

It is important for the teacher to see the whole, to have a sense of the group and to manage and channel the group through the practice collectively. Along the way, the teacher needs to see every individual in the group and ensure that all are coping, have tools to deal with the various challenges of the practice, and are being encouraged to join with the flow of the class, the life of the class as a whole, in a way that is sustainable for each individual.

If the teacher is all about the group, then individuals can be neglected. The student who needs a little longer in the transitions may suddenly find themselves left behind if the teacher is not present to their need to work through transitions a bit more slowly than most others. In that moment, the student may feel themself unseen, unacknowledged and may feel unwelcome in the practice. Such an experience is alienating for the student and does not build their commitment to the community.

If, however, the teacher goes too far the other way and fusses and pampers over individuals, then the group becomes disgruntled and frustrated and the energy dies. When the teacher puts their focus on one or two individuals for too long a time or too frequently, and loses presence to the group as a whole, then the group energy dissipates and life drains out of the class.

It is a skillful exercise to be inclusive of every individual in the group and to let the power of the group be fulfilled.

Teaching from your mat does not work for big classes:

It is important in a large class that the teacher not be practicing as they teach. There are a number of teachers who choose to lead their classes by doing the poses from their own mat. Such teachers lose connection with the group. It is permissible to offer some poses as a teacher from the pose or poses being taught. One can lead from one’s poses periodically. However, to teach from one’s own mat to a large group as the norm does not generate effective connection between the teacher and everyone in the group.

Big classes are great from the student perspective:

Large classes are also an amazing experience from the students' point of view.  Some feel that there are too many people, too close to them, breathing their oxygen and crowding them. How much land does a man need asked Leo Tolstoy in his short story. How much land does a yoga practitioner need? Do you need a foot of space around you? Two feet? A metre?

In the Shine Centre in Nairobi, mats are put out such that they cover the entire floor. The mats touch one another on each side and at the front and back of each mat. At class time, there is a student on each mat. Ultimately, there is a value in sharing the space and not being resentful of the people around you who have come in to practice and enjoy the experience of breathing and moving just as you have done.

In my first year of yoga practice, I was in a class where the room was packed. There was very little space between mats. Then, another student arrived. They were a bit late for class. The teacher asked that everyone bunch up a bit to make space for her. I grumbled in a sotto voce voice. Another teacher who was in the room to practice and whose mat was next to me, said very simply and cheerfully, "She needs the practice". What a great lesson for me in that moment. Being selfish was not the way. Be understanding. Share the space. Be cognisant of the needs of others and help, even if only by allowing the space either side of your mat to reduce by a centimeter or two, to see their needs for health and wellbeing fulfilled.

Once you get into the practice you will experience a tremendous flux as the group energy carries you. You may be conscious of the heat from practicing closely to others. Great! Channel that heat. You may experience greatyer mobility, perhaps deeper back bends, when you are really warm.

There is a synergy in practicing in big classes. The group is collectively greater than the sum of its individual parts. You may find yourself doing things that you would not normally do. The energy, presence and inspiration of the group is empowering. I was, as explained, loth to have others so close when I was new to yoga practice. Across the years, I have had plenty of opportunities to practice in big classes where the students are in close proximity. i have grown to love it. You will too!

What is a big class?

What is a large class? In many respects it depends on the size of the room. A room that can fit 20 students in it, and there are five students present, feels like an empty room. A room that can fit seven or eight students at a squeeze, and there are five students present, feels like quite a full room. The same number of students can be a large class or a small class depending upon the environment.

From my extensive experience, I generally consider a class to be large once it’s over about 15 students. Then, the skills of the teacher in managing both the individuals and the group as a whole, come into play. As I say, I have taught some large classes. Last Sunday, I taught my largest class since closing my studio and teaching on my own account. There were 36 people present in that class. They filled the room well, and it felt BIG.

In August last year on a teacher training program where there were 50 participants, I had the opportunity to teach part of the sequence to the whole group. It was a privilege to be invited to do so, and I was the only student participant on the program who was given that opportunity. Teaching that group in the size of room that we were in, felt like teaching a big class.

In 2017, the previous time I attended a Baptiste training, I was, again, given the opportunity to teach to the whole group. That was a larger room. That was a larger group. There were about 105 students present on that occasion. On another occasion, a fundraising occasion held at Christ College's auditorium, I, again, taught to a group of over 100 people. On yet another occasion, outdoors, I taught a very large group, maybe 70? The outdoor space gave me a sense of a big class, but without walls, it felt like there could have been twice that number present in order to make the group seem really big.

In 2011, I attended a programme with over 150 people present. Those classes were big and big things happened in those practices. The teacher was great too. He held the space, spoke into each and every, and generated inspiration.

On every occasion when I come to teach a big class, my intention is to keep the energetic ball in the air. I seek to keep the process moving forward. I seek to provide challenges and scope for each individual to practice at their level of strength, mobility, energy and experience. I seek to acknowledge everyone in the group in one way or another, and to serve the whole.

Teaching big classes is fun. It enthuses me, energises me, and it is a great experience from my perspective as a teacher. Be energised by the big classes you attend. Be enthused to be in such powerful groups. Have great experiences when you are in big classes. They are tremendous fun when you are open to it.