On today’s solo episode Shannon shares her experience with posting a question on The Yoga and Movement Research Group on Facebook where she asked:
“Who is teaching yoga for students who are 50+ and what are you calling it?
A general All Levels or Gentle Yoga are not what we are looking for. Instead something new and fun.
Also, to clarify — I am looking for a name that isn’t offensive (such as yoga for seniors would be)”.
Shannon was asking on behalf of a client who had been approached by a group of 50+ women requesting their own yoga class without mentioning the term “senior”.
The question set off an intense debate resulting in over 500 responses in a Facebook thread. It was certainly a hot button issue with words like “ageist” and “offensive” being scattered throughout the responses. A very interesting conversation developed and many asked if a class geared towards seniors was even necessary. A significant number of responses were something like “just call it yoga.”
Many important points were discussed, bringing in a wealth of insight. Through this thread we were able to compile a list of possible class names that were shared by respondents with great humour and wisdom. Other important considerations pulled from the thread included defining “senior”, the gift of teaching older adults, and marketing considerations.
Shannon is grateful for the insight she gained from this passionate debate. Aging in the context of yoga is a topic that clearly needs to be explored. What is your opinion about yoga for seniors? Has this episode sparked any insights? Do you have any class names to add to the list? We would love to hear from you.
[10:20] Shannon’s post that sparked the debate
[15:10] Compiling and sharing the wealth of responses
[17:30] How do we define senior?
[18:25] Yoga teachers that are firmly against senior-specific classes
[21:25] Yogini Flame on ageism and her own view of aging
[25:25] Yoga students that want to be grouped by age
[28:00] The beauty of teaching older adults
[29:45] Marketing considerations
[31:35] List of class name suggestions
[33:35] Shannon’s final thoughts and gratitude for the insightful conversation
Links
Yoga for Seniors article (written by Laura Cameron)
Shannon’s Seniors Yoga Question: Facebook Post and Thread
Austin Ince’s Website: Shanti Power Yoga
Flame’s Facebook Group: Yogis and Yoginis
Louise Bloom on Tumblr: Bloom Yoga Coaching
Autumn Anderson’s Facebook Page: Wellness for Busy Women
The Connected Teacher Facebook Group
Follow The Connected Teacher on Youtube
Book a Consultation Call with Shannon
Yoga for Pelvic Health Teacher Training with Shannon
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity
I teach a class (it’s all levels) and all but two of the clients in the class are over 50. All of those bit one are over 70.
They told me the other day that they really love my classes because I “know how to work with mature bodies, what mature bodies need to feel good and function well.”
So, I said “might we call it “yoga for mature bodies?” or “specializing in mature bodies?” And they liked that.
I love it that your students are telling you that you are great at knowing how to work with mature bodies Jenifer. I also love that name — Yoga for Mature Bodies.
Hi
This is such a topic of interest topic to me. I have been practicing for more than 30 years!I am a 61 yr. old yoga teacher just completing teachers training last year. I struggle with what to call my yoga classes since I feel this is my niche. my students are mostly older adults like myself & are so much fun because they do not take themselves too seriously.
I can really relate to Flame since I too have experienced ageism while doing the training. However I started to wonder if this was just my insecurities since I was like the younger students as well & did all the same poses that seem to be most popular. However I was not interested in doing many of these poses but rather more information about how to stay strong & healthy as I age.
When marketing there was a tendency to use older gray-haired, bent over ladies but there are such variety of students at all ages.
Thank you for discussing this very important topic!
You are welcome Margaret. Thanks for commenting and sharing what your journey has been like in your YTT and now as a teacher. I love how you wrote about looking inward when you were noting the ageism. It isn’t always easy to come to that svadhyaya (self-study), but it really is usually the best way to bring change and insight.
I love the name “vintage ” yoga for a senior group. I am 68 and have done yoga off and on since 1975ish, but have never been flexible because I run and do Scottish Country dancing my body is strong so I need the stretching.
My yoga studio combines seniors with all ages in our classes : our teachers give us alternatives but I know I am slower getting up and down on the mat now We also have gentle yoga that seniors attend quite a bit.
What a fantastic name Isobelle! Vintage Yoga! Thanks for sharing your own journey with yoga in this comment.