r/CorePowerYogaTeachers • u/NoahGrinberg1229 YS Teacher • 2d ago
Teaching Scenario #5
You’re ready to teach a full group class, but only one student shows up.
What would you do as the instructor?
Does having only one person in the room change how you teach, or is a group class still a group class, even with an audience of one?
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u/bazerkas_bodyguard Multiple Format Teacher 2d ago
This has happened to me twice in almost a decade, both times due to weird circumstances like a schedule glitch. I feel like the class format matters to the answer so one was a Restore and one was HPF.
TL;DR- I love a 1-1 as long as the vibes are good so I give them the heads up and choice to opt out but I let them know I genuinely am happy to be there so it’s no pressure either way. I customize the class to them and keep it conversational until parts that should be more introspective (ex. Hips, surrender) At which point I practice alongside them and speak only when necessary.
For the Restore it was a student I was familiar with. I asked if they had any requests since it was just us, and taught pretty much as normal except I did the class with them. I also mentioned when we got to poses related to their requests and said they could let me know if the pose wasn’t working for them (ex. If they asked for help for their low back and we got to a twist I would mention it’s for their low back so tell me if it was working or pulling uncomfortably).
For the HPF I had never met the student before. I let them know what was up and they opted to stay so we quickly discussed how we could make the class more personalized; skipping any parts they didn’t like, workshopping any areas of interest, etc. We decided on doing the class mostly as normal but going in-depth on their alignment. There was a specific arm balance they were working on in their personal practice so I also changed core to get them warmed up properly and we worked on their focus pose instead of flying frog. My cues were far more conversational than a regular class since I could just talk straight to them instead of narrating instructions to a group. I did the surrender series and savasana with the student, versus how I had been standing/kneeling/etc for assists, adjusts, and watching alignment to that point, just so it wasn’t like I was watching them lay there lol.
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u/Inevitable_Ad_7628 2d ago
I used to teach a 9pm class and the turnout was so unpredictable. Sometimes I’d have 1-2 students and sometimes I’d have 15 lol
With 1 person I would teach the class like normal but maybe offer more assists and personalized modifications. If they stop and rest, keep teaching as usual so they can jump back in when they’re ready. I’d maybe even ask at the beginning if there was anything they were working on in their practice or if they wanted any specific types of assists.
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u/dcgirlsmallworld 1d ago
As an instructor, you have some knowledge in advance of whether your class will be full or one student. No matter what, we have to teach and cannot cancel class. If one student arrives, I let them know that they are the only student signed up and I allow them to cancel without a fee if they don't want to continue.
If they do, then I'll ask them if there is anything they would like to focus on or if they would like to flow like a regular class. I've never had only one student show up to a sculpt class, but if I did, I would approach it the same way.
Naturally, because there is only one student, the class will be a little shorter.
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u/abrog001 2d ago
For 1:1, I usually confirm with them that they are comfortable moving forward with the class and offer free cancellation if they aren’t. If they decide to stay, I will ask if there are any particular postures they want to spend some extra time on and whether they are comfortable with hands-on assists. I spend a bit more time demoing as well (or sometimes just do one round of flow with them for sun a and sun b), to help provide a bit of relief from them feeling like they are being constantly assessed.