If you’re completely new to yoga, a group class may be, understandably, a bit intimidating. Rest assured that yoga is a very personal experience and I 100% pinky-promise that none of the other students will even notice if you’re off-balance or struggling to keep up. A good yoga teacher will immediately step in to offer advice and a helping-hand. That said – if you have anxiety, feel out of place in large groups, or would just like a bit of help before you venture into a studio – private yoga classes are exactly what you need, and in many ways – offer the benefit of personalized and more in-depth instruction, creating a yoga practice tailored specifically to the student’s needs.

Let’s talk about some of the benefits of private yoga classes.

One of the most rewarding aspects of a regular yoga practice is the ability to observe, without self-critique or judgement, the boundaries of your comfort one, and to begin gently pushing past them in a healthy, mindful way. That said – not everyone can tackle their fear of heights by jumping in a hot-air balloon. Baby-steps are healthy and necessary, and scheduling private yoga classes are an excellent way to begin your journey.

Creating a Personalized Practice

Often, a group class begins with the yoga teacher asking if anyone has any injuries or areas to which they would like to give special attention (think tight shoulders, or a sore lower back). A great teacher will customize the practice based on this initial feedback, but there’s only so much one can do for a jam-packed class of 25 students, each with his or her own individual aches and pains.

The beauty of a personalized private yoga class is just that – it’s personalized. If you’re having pain or tightness in your hips, your teacher can dedicate an entire hour-long practice to stretching the hip flexors. The same can be said for anxiety and other “below-the-surface” issues we may be experiencing with our emotional health. We carry a lot of negative emotion in our hips, and other parts of the body – so when your yoga teacher asks how you’re doing – be as real, raw, and honest as you’re comfortable being. They’re asking for a reason, and the benefits of a personalized practice go much deeper than stretching the physical body!

Practice Around Your Schedule

Nothing is quite as detrimental to keeping up with our physical and mental health than a busy schedule, and these days we’re on the go more than ever. The busier we are, the more we need to set aside time for ourselves in order to cope with our modern schedules and responsibilities. Unfortunately – many yoga studios only offer classes early in the morning, or in the evening to accommodate the standard workday.

If your schedule doesn’t follow the norm, you may find it next to impossible to get to a group yoga class with any regularity, and scheduling private sessions with an experienced yoga teacher is the way to insure that your practice stays consistent, so that you can reap the myriad benefits of yoga while juggling the demands of your life off-the-mat!

Deepening Your Yoga Practice

We’ve primarily discussed various yoga class benefits for new yogis, but private classes aren’t just for new yogis. They offer a ton of benefits for seasoned practitioners as well! Private yoga classes allow you to really explore your postures – from alignment and muscle memory to the emotional revelations that come through as you practice.

Every body is different, and the personalized attention and dialogue inherent in working one-on-one with your yoga teacher allows you to break down poses in a way that can’t be accomplished in a group yoga class, deepening your understanding of what the “fullest expression” of the pose means to your body, which carries over into your group classes.

The benefits of private practice aren’t just physical. With the ability to carry on a dialogue throughout the class, it’s possible to dive further into the philosophy of the practice as well. After all – yoga is not just about stretching and breathing. Yoga is an all-encompassing practice of living, supported by centuries of direct “student-to-teacher” interaction. If you’re so inclined, you can use the time spent with your teacher discussing mantra, meditation, karma yoga (the yoga of selfless service), spiritual classics like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita – the list goes on and on!

Are Private Lessons Right for You?

Private lessons do tend to carry a heftier price-tag, but this is reasonable considering the more focused level of instruction. In a private yoga class – your teacher can not only give you much more personalized attention, but can dive a bit deeper into the history, purpose, and physical benefits of each posture. This approach expands the home practice considerably. Rather than simply doing your warm-up stretches, you develop a firm understanding of WHY each warm-up posture is important – knowledge that guides the yoga student in crafting their own personalized practice based on his or her individual needs.