Why I Created EB Yoga Online Studio Membership

If you’ve ever tried to find yoga online, you probably haven’t had to look very far. A quick google search for “yoga videos” brings up 1.3 billion results. WOW. Over the past few years, I’ve had students ask me where to go for online yoga video and I used to have recommendations. Last November began my in-depth anatomy/hypermobility training with Alex Crow. As many of my students know, I teach a lot differently than I did a year ago. I am very focused on teaching yoga that doesn’t put our bodies past what is considered the functional range of motion in our joints. We are often taught that there is a certain way that a yoga pose should look and that we should try to conform our bodies to these shapes, even if it causes us pain. I disagree. I think that every person’s yoga pose should be completely individualized to the person and comfortable for them. It totally depends on what your body has been through and how it is feeling that day. Your yoga poses may look different every single day. When I teach yoga, I never say “Your hands go here; your feet go here.” I always encourage students to check in with how the pose feels in their body. I frequently ask, “How does this feel in your knees? Ankles? Is your lower back comfortable?” So now I look at these yoga videos I used to recommend, especially the ones “for beginners,” and I see these poses that aren’t only not for beginners, they are poses that aren’t really safe for anyone’s joints. Even if you are a hypermobile person who can achieve these poses, is it really good for you? That’s a conversation for another day… But I think that people get discouraged from trying yoga because they can’t achieve these poses. I hear this all the time as a teacher: “I can’t do yoga, I’m not flexible…”

My intention as a yoga teacher is not to turn you into a pretzel. My intention is to help you de-stress and relax, by focusing on your breath and your body, even if it’s just for a one hour class. My ultimate desire is to help people feel better. Our society in general is overstimulated, over-stressed, and overwhelmed. We need to take more time-outs. Taking a yoga class gives you a chance to drop your to-do list and just concentrate on your breath and your body movements. I don’t want to add to people’s stress by giving them yoga poses that are inaccessible and could potentially be harmful for their bodies. I am all about modifications and variations in poses. There’s no need to try to look like some picture you saw on social media.

So why go online? I want to be able to offer my students more than just 10 classes a week at my studio. I want to be able to connect with people who might not be comfortable coming into a studio or don’t have the time in their schedule. I want to offer more than just online yoga classes, but a real online studio experience. I’ll be available to members via email for any questions they have or class requests. I’ll host a weekly class in the member only facebook group and be available for q&a. I want our fb group to be a place to share and connect!  I’ll post weekly updates on the member website featuring q&a’s from members, new class listings, and ask for feedback from members. I want to support members on their yoga journey! I can’t wait to take class requests and create videos to support what my members need. The class library currently has about 35 videos and I can’t wait to expand!

I am so excited to share my online studio! I hope to create a supportive online yoga studio community. I truly want to be a teacher for my members, not just be another face in an online video. I hope you’ll check it out, even if it’s just for 14 days :)

~Elicia~

P.S. I need to give a shoutout to my sisters who supported me these last 8 months. Thank you Becky and Bre, I love you.