What is the Definition of a Valuable Workshop to You?
When speaking to one of my favorite yoginis the other day, she casually mentioned that with as many yoga workshops as she has been too, she would only consider a handful of them to be beneficial to her. I listened and then the conversation simply moved on. Yet, later that same day this one comment returned to me and I have been unable to let it go since. With an impending workshop of my own, coming up in March, I have begun to question how I can ensure it will be of value to my participants.
I admit this is not my first workshop, as I have led countless programs throughout my career. Of course, there is one glaring difference – these workshops were focused around my previous “life” bringing technology to elementary and middle schools. Yet, I am truly excited about this latest project as it couples two of my favorite topics over the last few years – yoga and running. From my previous experiences, my best workshops were those I was passionate about and truly took the time to fully understand.
While I have always had a deep love for yoga, running has been more of a love-hate relationship for me. I have had several major injuries (car accident/skiing accident) that at times I properly cared for through yoga, pt, and so forth, yet I have had many other injuries (almost all running related) that resulted from losing my practice and not focusing on proper alignment and stretching. Since I broke my femur when I was seventeen, yoga stands out as my most valuable method of finding both mental and physical strength as I have worked through any of my injuries. Therefore, the idea behind my Yoga for Runners workshop is to teach proper alignment within poses and how to stretch to restore fatigued muscles; all in an effort to avoid injury before it strikes.
That’s why I am putting this out to anyone who would like to comment. Maybe you have attended an effective workshop before; and if so, what about it did you really enjoy? Maybe you have attended a workshop of little use to you; and if so, what about it turned out to be impractical to you? Maybe you have led or attended a Yoga for Runners workshop? What was most valuable to you? What would you have liked to change or seen added? Or maybe, you have your own ideas that you would like to share of your ideal Yoga for Runners workshop. I am open and ready to learn from your experiences and ideas…
~The divine in me salutes the divine in you, Namaste~
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Rachel, as an instructor, I always find it helpful to have some sort of survey that participants could full out in advance to show what they hope to learn/gain from the workshop. It also provides an opportunity for participants to express what some of their fears/concerns are, as well as what brings them do the workshop and what excites them. And on the back side, I always like to get feed back from participants, as well as to provide them resources where they could build on your workshop, be it particular yoga courses, specific poses, or gauging interest in a future follow-on workshop—like a Yoga for Runners Part 2. Hope this is helpful.
Danielle as always you are very helpful and supportive, thank you. I am going to start putting together an eval form later today, fantastic idea 🙂
Rachel I really like your approach. I always believed the more you learn from your peers the better you can serve. Keep it up baby.