Yoga In Rural Areas: How To Connect

Moving to a rural area from a large city a few years ago proved both a challenge and a growing experience as a yoga teacher and practitioner. I reached out to other local teachers to get an idea of their experiences and obstacles as well.  

Included are the obstacles observed in rural areas and small towns for yoga teachers and practitioners:

• Consistency: Often there is only one yoga teacher working at a specific setting. If they cannot teach, the class must be canceled. When there’s no consistency, clients get frustrated and don’t return.  
• Connection: It is challenging to connect when you don’t see any of the other local teachers and rarely share the same space. I feel a strong connection to the regular participants in my classes, but I miss the connection fellow teachers can offer.
• Misconceptions & Misunderstandings: It is not a cult. It is not a religion. It’s not about flexibility and the ability to reach one’s toes! 
• Affordability & Rates: There is a wide range of prices between studios and gyms. Creating a financially sustaining business of yoga in a rural setting seems out of reach.   
• Training: Typically, yoga taught in a studio requires at least a 200-hour training, while a gym may only require a 5-hour training from a fitness certification program.
• Storage & Logistics: Accessible and affordable locations with plenty of storage for props can be difficult to ascertain. Class times, frequency, and finding a specific style can create limitations for both teachers and clients.

Considering the above barriers, I thought of my teacher Jivana Heyman. When he moved, he did not wish to compete with the other teachers already present, but wanted to offer a way to connect and enhance the already established community.  While thinking along these lines, I had an idea to create something of a yoga co-op, similar to a temporary job agency. All the members would be required to maintain at least a 200-hour yoga teacher training, be CPR certified, and pass background checks.   

Any company or organization wishing to create a class – be it a gym, a corporate setting, a senior center, a school, etc. – could hire the co-op. The co-op would then release the date and time of the desired class to the membership. A yoga teacher member would have the opportunity to accept that class as theirs and have the back-up of the other members of the co-op to substitute teach when necessary.  

Through the co-op we could offer CEU’s and mentoring. The co-op could also create its own classes, workshops, and retreats. This model could be recreated anywhere there is a need.  The co-op could solve several of the previously listed obstacles:

• Creating consistency and community for its members.  
• Educating teachers and the local community members about all of yoga’s limbs, not just the physical practice. Local yoga enthusiast and previous studio owner Miriam S. states, “Awareness of yoga’s contribution to health has mushroomed into broad acceptance that yoga is not a religion and that everyone can do it and benefit from [practicing] some type of yoga.” Yoga is not just about having physical flexibility, but the practicing flexibility of the mind and the body.
• Pricing would be determined by the co-op and the organization hiring the co-op, with a competitive rate for the teacher.  
• If teachers or students who wish to join do not have the required training hours, the co-op could offer training and/or assist in finding a training suitable to the individual’s choice in yoga style or lineage.
• Locations would be provided by the organization hiring the co-op. The hope in developing this community is to create more consistent and frequent class times and variety.

Yoga can benefit everyone, everywhere. “Certainly, the interest in yoga has grown and more are experiencing the wonder of the practice,” states Janna L., client and previous yoga studio owner. Please take this idea and run with it. Let’s get yoga into every small town!

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