6 tech tools to take your yoga classes and wellbeing events online
With the current developments of COVID-19 and the world-wide self-isolation measures, freelance yoga teachers, wellness professionals and small businesses are confronted with uncertainty and existential fears. Yoga studios are shutting down, corporate yoga classes and other wellbeing events are being cancelled and suddenly there is barely any money coming in to even pay the basic bills.
During the past 2.5 years, since starting and growing my business Palms Up Club, I poured all my time, heart and creativity into my one big mission: to help wellness professionals bring their services and classes online, leveraging tech to make their work more accessible to more people.
Currently, we’re all facing an extreme situation, and I want to emphasise one thing: take. your. time. As an early-stages small business owner in London, I know the existential fears all too well, and the past two weeks were incredibly tough to navigate. Yet, this situation will affect us in the long run, so I think it’s important to give our ideas and thoughts space to grow.
For me, it felt like before I could even process what was going on in the world around me, I was already bombarded with emails and content on social media telling me 1837982 things I should/could be doing now, as a human and as a small business owner. How to boost productivity, launch 10 new offerings over-night, which tone of voice I should be using, how I should act and feel….the list is LONG.
If you’ve also felt overwhelmed like me, I’m here to tell you: it’s ok to take your time. A scary thing is happening in the world, and we don’t have to fall into reactive-panic-mode to keep going. Instead, I’m focusing on keeping a clear, cool head and making the space I need to slowly let go of the plans I had, whilst forming new thoughts, ideas and plans.
I’ve worked remotely for almost 4 years, I’ve run an online business since 2.5 years and have been teaching yoga online as well. I know all about the best tips and tools and will make it my no. 1 priority to be here for the Palms Up community in these difficult times, by sharing my knowledge, hosting free virtual community events and spreading calm and positivity instead of panic and fear.
I want to facilitate a space where we can all get together and support each other. Because in times like these, the work YOU are doing as a wellness professional is more important than ever before and you CAN keep on making a positive impact with your work.
Live online yoga classes, meditation videos, online coaching sessions or virtual community events - there is so much we can do! To support you in setting up your virtual classes and events, I wrote down 6 (free!) tech tools you can use to host virtual yoga classes, wellness events or coaching sessions.
Heads up: some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means if you click and sign up or purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only use affiliate links for my favourite tools that I’ve personally used and that I love.
1. Zoom
Zoom is my all-time favourite tool for hosting virtual meetings, sharing circles, 1-to-1 client sessions and live yoga classes. With the free version, you can host up to 100 participants in your virtual meeting and have unlimited 1-to-1 meetings. For group meetings with three or more participants, there is a limit for 40 minutes per call. To host my virtual yoga classes (they’re usually 60 minutes long), I signed up for the Pro version, which costs £11.99 per month.
Zoom is mostly used in professional contexts, so it has a high reliability and stable throughput, great quality and it’s super easy to use. For me, the biggest pro is that with Zoom you can also see your students/participants and have a stronger sense of community than for example with Facebook Live. Especially in times like these, when many people struggle with isolation and loneliness, feeling this sense of togetherness can really add to the experience.
You can sign up for Zoom here, it’s super simple and you can immediately schedule your first meeting and send out the invitations to your participants.
Quick tip: Make sure to give your participants clear instructions on their setup at home, for example they might have to download the Zoom app to their device beforehand and they should also make sure to have enough battery or have their device plugged in.
2. Skype
Skype is another great free tool to host video calls and teach 1-to-1 classes or sessions. The pro is that most people know Skype or have an account already and you can connect accounts already beforehand, so it’s super simple to start the virtual session without a big hassle.
Skype enables up to 50 people to join your video call for free via mobile or desktop device. However, I heard from a few yoga teachers already that Skype can be a bit more unreliable with a steady and good connection, and that it works better for 1-to-1 classes than for bigger group classes.
3. Google Hangouts Meet
Google Hangouts Meet is a video conferencing tool developed by Google. It’s part of GSuite, which usually comes at a monthly cost of around £5.00. However, Google has just announced that the paid version of Hangouts Meet will be free until 1st of July 2020, to assist businesses and schools operating remotely during the months of self-isolation.
I personally don’t find it as easy to use as Zoom, because Zoom has an amazing scheduling system that’s really simple, but that’s also personal preference :). On the other hand, you can simply set up a meeting and share the link without worrying about whether the participants have the right accounts or plug-ins, so that’s definitely a plus.
4. Facebook Live
Facebook Live is a great way to stream live classes to a group of people. Facebook Live is free to use and enables you to broadcast live videos from your personal Facebook account, business page or in a private group. The setup and planning is a bit easier than with other tools, because you simply announce your event schedule and start streaming, without having to facilitate a virtual meeting/event.
In my opinion, hosting a class or event with Facebook Live is a bit less interactive than with Zoom, Skype or Google Hangouts Meet, because you can’t see your students or participants. Yet, on the plus side, it might be also a bit less intimidating for people to join the class, because it’s more casual and they can simply join in and take part without being in a video call/meeting.
Quick tip: If you are a yoga teacher, make sure to check with your insurance if they cover teaching online on Facebook Live. Some insurances only cover you if you are able to see your students, for example in a Zoom or Skype video call.
5. Instagram Live
If you have an account on Instagram, you can go live on there with literally one click, to share updates, host talks/interviews or even classes for your community. To go live, simply take the steps you would to post a new story, but instead of taking a picture swipe to “Live”, set up the phone, and start the Live with one click.
Instagram Live videos are usually shot in portrait mode (vertical), so depending on the type of event or class you are hosting this could be an important factor to consider. Once you finished your Instagram Live session, you can save it in your story, but it will be deleted again after 24 hours. That means that your content won’t be saved and you won’t be able to repurpose it. Yet, on the plus side, it can also feel less scary, as the video will be deleted soon anyway, and could thus be a great first step if you are just starting out with video and want to practice to get more comfortable in front of the camera.
In my opinion, Instagram Live is especially great for certain types of classes, for example meditations, breathing practices and educational content, as well as for connecting with your audience with more casual and personal videos.
Quick tip: Instagram is a very crowded space, especially at the moment, so it can be hard for your community to keep track of your live events. Make sure to promote your live events on your feed and in your stories beforehand, announcing the time and the topic.
6. IGTV (Instagram TV)
I love Instagram TV (short: IGTV) for my own business and think it’s a great tool to share amazing content with your community. I’ve recorded online yoga classes and other training videos and uploaded them to my IGTV and had some great engagement. It’s easy and free to access for your community and they can also watch your video on a bigger screen, by looking at your IGTV with their normal desktop browser and using the full screen feature.
Unlike with Instagram Live, your IGTV videos will stay on your feed and profile and will always be available for your followers and people visiting your profile. While the previous five tools can be used to host or stream live classes and events, you will have to produce your IGTV video beforehand and upload the finished video.
Your videos must be at least one minute long. The maximum length of your video is 15 minutes. I’d recommend keeping your IGTV videos rather short, under 10 minutes, if possible. You can upload a vertical video or a horizontal video.
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This was my list of 6 free tech tools to host virtual yoga classes and wellbeing or community events. As a small business owner, I’m always so grateful to hear back from you (comment your feedback or questions here or over on Instagram) or see you sharing my content on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram or with anyone you feel could benefit from reading this. If you want to stay in the loop and receive more of my free training content, sign up for my email community here.
Always rooting for you,
Laura