I've run an annual New Year Retreat day for a few years now and it's always really popular. December can sometimes be a little quiet, so I find it's a great way to get the business year off to a good start.

It's gives me that connection with my students and enables me to share what I really love.

So, if you’re thinking of hosting a workshop, here are some things I’ve learnt that I hope help you plan a successful event that your students find valuable.

Choose a focus

If you connect into your intention as a yoga teacher and convey that through your workshop when teaching yoga, your students will have that chance to connect into their intention in life.

My theme this year is pause, practice and prepare, so I’m going to share a guided movement with creative flow, meditation and breathwork in the morning, with yoga philosophy, reflections, restorative practice and Yoga Nidra following a warming and nutritious lunch.

If you’re not sure what to focus on when teaching yoga, here are some ideas:

• Nurture and nourish

• Clarity and intention

• Reconnection to self and community

• Pause, practice  and prepare

• Deepen your practice

• Pause and play

• Compassion and wisdom

• Tapping into creativity

Remember, it doesn’t have to be yoga asana, you could talk about the other limbs, or maybe you're someone who enjoys sharing something creative, like journaling, or writing or drawing.

How to structure your day

Once I’ve welcomed everyone and introduced the theme, we’ll begin with some gentle movement and breathwork, with mindfulness for the first 60-90 minutes. Then, following a short comfort break, we’ll head into a stronger yoga practice for an hour, followed by lunch.

Refreshments are important, so if you aren’t comfortable prepping food yourself, why not do a skill swap with a friend, or speak to a local café about catering.

After lunch, I tend to lead with a bit of discussion or something creative, sharing relevant ideas or readings related to the theme, with handouts they can take away with them. So, for example, if you're teaching on clarity, you could talk a little bit about mindfulness and how the mind works, linking how yoga and psychology work together.

My workshops tend to close with a restorative practice and some yoga nidra, or maybe somatics and breathwork.

To summarise, a full day workshop could look like this:

10:00: Gentle movement leading to breathwork and meditation
11:20: Break
11:30: Dynamic asana
1:00: Lunch (don’t forget to check dietary requirements)
2:00: Discussion or creative activity
2.30: Restorative Practice / Yoga Nidra

This structure works whether you’re kicking off the New Year, growing into spring or resetting in autumn.

My workshops tend to be full days, but shorter workshops can be successful too, especially if your focus is something more dynamic and energetic.

Looking for more advice for your yoga business?

Take a look at these blogs for more tips and advice on running a successful yoga business and teaching yoga to beginners

A guide to teaching beginners yoga

How to get yogis back into classes

Planning a successful yoga business

How to make money teaching yoga

If you found this article useful, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, where you’ll find more tips and advice for creating and sustaining a successful yoga business and for teaching your first yoga class

You can also download my FREE introduction to Yoga 6-week course plan that will walk you through a 6-week yoga teaching plan class by class to allow you to find out how to create a strong, inclusive offering that gets your beginners off to the best start and gives you students for life. The course plan can be downloaded here.