Yoga Teacher Confidential: Secrets of Becoming a Great Yoga Teacher

46. How to Build Community in Yoga Class—Before, During, and After

• Sage Rountree • Episode 46

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What makes students keep coming back to your classes? It’s not just your cueing or sequencing—it’s the sense of connection you cultivate.

In this episode, I break down the art of building community in your yoga classes—not in a forced, overly social way, but in a grounded, intentional way that supports all types of students. You’ll learn what to do before, during, and after class to foster belonging, how to navigate common challenges like oversharing or cliques, and how to hold strong boundaries while still creating connection.

You don’t need to be an extrovert to lead a welcoming, connected class. Whether you’re teaching regulars, athletes, or a one-off workshop, these techniques will help your students feel like they belong—and help you feel more confident and fulfilled as a teacher.

Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Get in the Zone at Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you—let's chat there!

For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials:

And come explore my mentorship program, continuing education workshops and 300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at sagerountree.com.

Can I tell you something? The most powerful thing you can create as a yoga teacher isn't perfect alignment or flawless sequencing. It's community. When students feel connected, not just to you, but also to each other, magic happens. They come back week after week, their practice deepens, and the ripple effects extend far beyond your classroom walls. My favorite definition of yoga, in fact is connection. This is why students come to your class to feel connected to themselves and to others. I'm Sage Rountree, and this is Yoga Teacher Confidential: Secrets of Becoming a Great Yoga Teacher. We often think yoga is solely about the individual journey inward, and that's certainly part of it, but humans are social creatures, and the Sanskrit word sangha or community is central to many spiritual traditions for good reason. When students feel a sense of belonging in your class, several things happen. First. They're more likely to return consistently, which means they experience more benefits from regular practice. Second, they're more likely to challenge themselves appropriately when they feel supported by peers. Third, they develop relationships that extend beyond the yoga room, enriching their lives in countless ways. And fourth, for you as a teacher, building community means developing a loyal following that will sustain your career.'cause yoga isn't only about teaching the poses, it's a chance to create a container where meaningful human connections can form. As a yoga teacher, you're not just an instructor, you're a community architect. Think of yourself as the host of a dinner party. You're not just serving food, or in this case, yoga poses. You're creating an atmosphere where meaningful connections can form. When I first started teaching, I was so focused on remembering my sequences and cues that I missed opportunities to foster community. I'd see students walk in, roll out their mats, practice and leave without ever speaking to one another. Over time, I realized I was missing a key ingredient in creating a memorable class experience. The Host Mindset, completely changed how I approach teaching. Just like a good dinner party host thinks about the mix of guests, the flow of conversation, and creating opportunities for people to connect, I started thinking about my classes the same way. How could I help that shy new student feel welcomed? How could I introduce the runner to the cyclist, knowing they might have training stories to share? This shift from teacher as instructor to teacher as host doesn't require you to become someone you're not. If you're naturally introverted, you don't have to become a bubbly extrovert, but you can become intentional about creating small moments of connection. Let's get into some practical, actionable steps you can take before, during, and after class to build that sense of connection between your students before a class begins. Arrive early and create a welcoming space. Be there at least 15 or 20 minutes before class starts. This gives you time to greet students individually as they arrive. Remember, you're the host of this gathering, and a good host is ready when guests arrive. They aren't just getting into the shower. What does creating a welcoming space actually mean? It's about more than just dimming the lights and putting on music. I like to think about the energy I'm bringing into the room. Am I rushed and scattered, or am I calm and present? Students pick up on our energy immediately. I also pay attention to physical details. Is the temperature comfortable? Are there enough props easily accessible? Is the lighting inviting rather than harsh? These might seem like small things, but they contribute to that sense of being welcomed and cared for. Learn and use your students' names. Now, this sounds obvious, but it's really transformative. When new students arrive, ask their name, then use it during class, even more powerful, introduce returning students to newcomers. For example, Sam, have you met Maria? She's also a runner. This simple introduction creates immediate connection points between students. If you are like me and struggle with names, develop a system. You could keep a small notebook to jot down names along with something distinctive about each student. Sarah Purple Mat works in healthcare. It sounds clinical, but it works. After a few weeks, you won't need the notes anymore. Find what works for you because using someone's name is one of the quickest ways to make them feel seen and valued. For more on using names in class, see episode four of this podcast. See whether you might be able to create some pre-class social opportunities. Arrange your prop station in a way that encourages interaction. If space allows, create a small gathering area where students can chat before they roll out their mats. Set your own intention for connection. Just as you might set an intention for your personal practice, set an intention for community building in each class. This mindset shift will make you more attuned to opportunities as they arise. Your intention might be as simple as, I want everyone to feel welcome today, or I'm going to help at least one person feel more connected. Sometimes my intention is I want to learn something new about my regular students, or I'm going to create one moment where the whole class feels united. Having this intention doesn't mean you're forcing anything. It just means you're paying attention to opportunities that might otherwise slip by what you can do during class To create community, you can, in the right situations, create safe partner work. Partner work doesn't need to involve elaborate assists or acrobatic poses. AcroYoga, start simple. Have students turn to a neighbor and share one intention for their practice. Guide a seated back to back breathing exercise where partners can feel each other's breath. Ask partners to observe each other in a simple pose and offer one supportive comment. For newer teachers, I recommend keeping this very basic at first, even just having students turn to acknowledge their neighbors can create connection without adding complexity to your teaching. I know partner work can feel scary, especially if you're still building confidence in your basic teaching skills start incredibly simple. Just having students make eye contact with the person next to them and say, good morning, that can be profound for some people. You don't need to create elaborate partner sequences in order to build community. If you're worried about students feeling uncomfortable, always make it optional. If you'd prefer to stay in your own practice during this time, that's perfectly fine. Most students will participate, but giving that option can take the pressure off. During class, you can normalize the shared experience point out when the whole class is having a similar experience. For example, I see many of us are finding steadiness in this balance pose today, or seems like we're all feeling that stretch in the shoulders. This creates a sense of shared experience even without direct interaction. If it's suitable for your class, you might create group challenges, offer achievable group challenges that foster a team spirit. This could be as simple as, let's see if we can hold this pose for five collective breaths in complete silence, or inviting the whole class to try something new together. The keyword here is achievable. I'm not talking about challenging everyone to hold crow pose for one minute. I'm talking about things like, let's see if we can all breathe together for the next three breaths, or I'd love for everyone to try this variation and also remember your own version is always perfect. Okay. Group challenges work best when they're about collective effort rather than individual achievement. It's the difference between, let's all try to do this pose perfectly and let's all support each other in exploring this pose together. You might use circle formations with your mats when appropriate. If your class size and your room set up allow, you could occasionally arrange your mats in a circle rather than in Rose. This simple configuration change makes your students aware of each other and it can create a sense of shared space connection. Acknowledge the collective energy. Make comments about the group energy. When it feels germane, you might say something like, there's such focused energy in the room today, or, I love how everyone's breath has synchronized. This helps students feel part of something larger than their individual practice. Sometimes I'll notice things like I can feel how much care everyone is bringing to their practice today. Sometimes I'll notice things like I can feel how much care everyone is bringing to their practice today, or there's this beautiful sense of ease in the room right now. These observations help students become aware of the collective energy they're creating together. This works especially well during final relaxation or meditation when you might say something like, feel how peaceful the whole room has become. Or notice the sense of shared stillness we've created together. Here's some ways you might create community after class. Have intentional closing rituals. End your class with a moment that acknowledges the group. This could be as simple as saying, take a moment to feel the collective energy we've created together, or a shared ohm or saying thank you. As you invite students to look around the room, one of my favorite closing rituals is to have everyone slowly open their eyes and use their peripheral vision to see that they practiced in the presence of other people. Then I'll say something like, there's great power in community, and I'm so glad to have you in ours, it's subtle, but it creates this beautiful moment of connection after the inward journey of final relaxation. Sometimes I'll invite students to silently acknowledge the person to their right and left, recognizing that their presence contributed to everyone's practice. You don't need elaborate ceremonies. Simple moments of recognition can be incredibly powerful. Then after class, once you're rolling up the mats, facilitate some post-class connections. Don't rush out after class. Stay available for questions, which often leads to group conversations you might even directly suggest. If anyone wants to grab tea after class, I'll be heading to the cafe next door. Now a side note, because when I've posted on social media about why I don't have coffee with students, people ask why ever not we're all adults, because going with one student is a chance for boundaries to blur. But inviting everyone to be included is completely different. You might recognize milestones, acknowledge your students' milestones publicly with their permission. Sarah completed her 50th class today, or it's Michael's yoga anniversary. These celebrations create a sense of shared journey. If you teach at a studio with software like Wellness Living or Mind Body, you'll probably get a visual reminder of people hitting these milestones, a little ribbon or a birthday cake if it's their birthday. Always ask permission before you publicly acknowledge someone's milestone. Some people love the recognition. Others are shy or prefer to keep these moments private. I would check in quietly. Hey Sarah, would it be okay if I mentioned that you hit 50 classes today? Also be mindful about creating FOMO for newer students. When you celebrate milestones, frame it in a way that includes everyone. Sarah's hitting her 50th class today, which reminds me how grateful I am for all of you who show up so consistently, whether this is your first class or your hundredth. Maybe you could develop traditions that are unique to your class. It could be bringing in cupcakes on your own birthday or offering a themed class on holidays. These can become community building events that students look forward to sharing. In today's screen, forward age community building extends beyond the physical classroom. You might create a private Facebook group or another social platform for your regular students. You could share resources there, inspirational quotes there, or practice tips between classes. You could encourage students to share their experience or questions in these spaces. A quick sidebar. If you're doing that, make sure that it's operating within the non-solicitation rules of your studio. It might be best hosted on the studio platform itself. Now, building community isn't always straightforward. Here are some common challenges you could expect and how you might address them. The exclusive clique challenge. Watch for small groups that form, but exclude others if it's possible. Gently break these up through your teaching. Mix up the room for partner exercises or intentionally introduce newcomers to established students. Cliques aren't always intentionally exclusive. Sometimes people just naturally gravitate toward the same spots in the room or the same conversation partners. But as the teacher, you can gently mix things up. I might suggest people try a different spot in the room, or I'll intentionally introduce topics of conversation that would include everyone. I'd love to hear from anyone who tried that home practice sequence I shared last week. You might wind up with an oversharing students. Occasionally students will dominate the pre or post-class discussions, or you might find that they share inappropriately as best you can kindly redirect them or create a boundary. That's an interesting point, Sarah. I'd love to hear from the others as well. Oversharing often comes from a place of enthusiasm or need for connection, so I try to redirect with appreciation rather than shut down. Something like, thank you for sharing that, Maria. That sounds really meaningful for your practice, followed by opening the conversation to others. If someone consistently dominates conversations, I might have a private conversation with them about creating space for others to share. Most people are responsive when you approach it as helping them be their best selves rather than criticizing their behavior. You might encounter a reluctant participant because some students prefer solitude. They might resist community building efforts. Always respect this preference by making community activities optional. If you prefer to stay in your own practice during this time, that's perfectly fine. Remember that people come to yoga for many different reasons. Some come for the physical challenge, others for stress relief, and some specifically for the solitude and internal focus. Your job isn't to force community on anybody. It's to create opportunities for those who want it while respecting those who don't. I've had students tell me that just knowing the community is there, even if they don't actively participate, makes them feel more supported in their practice. Sometimes belonging looks like active participation, and sometimes it looks like being peacefully present while others do the connecting. The approach to community building will differ based on your class type for regular weekly classes. These are going to offer the richest opportunity for community building because you'll see the same faces over and over focus on gradually deepening their connections over time. In regular classes, weekly classes, you can build community across seasons and months. You might start by acknowledging the rhythms of the year with your students, celebrating spring renewal, summer energy and fullness, autumn transition, and winter. In introspection, these shared seasonal practices can become part of your class culture. You can also acknowledge the life changes your regular students go through, new jobs, moves, relationships, challenges not in an intrusive way, but with the kind of care you'd show to extended family members even in one-time gatherings like workshops, you can create meaningful connections, you could use icebreakers at the beginning or pair partner activities, small group activities that don't require deep knowledge of one another. When you're teaching groups that already do know each other, like workplace setting or teaching sports teams as I do, you can leverage the existing relationships while being mindful of the workplace dynamics or the team dynamics. Corporate classes present unique opportunities and unique challenges. People already know each other, but they might have complex relationships that you know nothing about. In that setting, I suggest you keep your community building activity simple and optional. Focus on stress relief and mutual support rather than personal sharing. Sometimes the best community building in corporate settings is simply creating a shared experience of relaxation and renewal that people can reference later after you've gone. Remember how good we all felt after that at breathing exercise in yoga class for more on corporate classes. Listen to episode 41 of this podcast. While you're fostering community, it's important you maintain your own appropriate boundaries. Be friendly without becoming everyone's best friend. Guide connections without forcing them. Remember that some students prefer more anonymity, and that's okay too. This balance between fostering community and maintaining boundaries is one of the trickiest aspects of teaching. You want to be warm and welcoming, but you're not your student's therapist, best friend or social coordinator. I found it helpful to think of myself as a facilitator of community rather than as the center of it. I create opportunities for students to connect with each other, but I don't need to be everyone's primary relationship in the yoga space. It's also okay to have personal favorites. You will naturally connect more with some students than others. The key is treating everyone with equal care and respect, even if you don't feel equally close to everyone. I've seen firsthand the power of community in yoga. Over my career, I've had students form relationships and even a marriage. More commonly, I see students checking in on each other when someone misses class or carpooling to workshops, or going out for beer down the strip mall after class, or simply exchanging smiles of recognition when they encounter each other outside the studio. The impact isn't always dramatic. Sometimes it's as simple as someone having a familiar face to wave to at the grocery store or knowing there's a room full of people who care whether they show up on Monday night. Your approach to community building will likely evolve as you grow as a teacher. With reference to the Yoga Teacher success timeline, we covered in episode 44, here's how it might evolve over time. For phase one teachers focus on basic welcoming behaviors, learning your students' names, being available after class, creating a warm atmosphere. Don't overwhelm yourself with elaborate community building techniques when you're still mastering basic teaching skills. Phase two and three teachers, this is when you can start experimenting with more intentional community building, doing partner work, offering special events, even creating digital communities. And phases four and five. You might find yourself naturally becoming a community hub, with students organizing their own gatherings or looking to you for leadership and community initiatives. How do you know if your community building efforts are working? Here are some positive signs. Students arrive early and stay late to chat with each other. You see students interacting with each other, not just with you. People ask about missing classmates. Where's Sarah this week? Students organize their own gatherings or activities. Your class retention improves. People keep coming back. Students bring their friends or family to class, and the energy in your room feels warm and inclusive. Of course, not every class will become a tight-knit community, and that's okay. Some classes are more focused on individual practice and that's equally valuable. Remember that your impact as a teacher extends far beyond the cues you give or the sequences you create. When you intentionally foster community, you're creating something that continues to nurture your students long after Shavasana ends. Community building isn't about being the most charismatic or outgoing teacher. It's about being intentional, observant, and genuinely caring about your student's experience beyond just the physical practice. Start small. Maybe just commit to learning every student's name or creating one moment of collective awareness in each class. Notice what feels authentic to you and what resonates with your particular group of students. The beautiful thing about community building is that it benefits everyone. Your students get richer connections and a deeper sense of belonging, and you get the satisfaction of seeing the positive impact ripple out into the world. Speaking of community, if you're looking for more support in developing your teaching skills, including community building techniques, I'd love to invite you to join The Zone. It's my free community for yoga teachers. It's a place where teachers at every stage support each other, share ideas, and build the kind of professional community that sustains us In this work. You can also find more comprehensive support through Mastering the Art of Yoga sequencing My mentorship membership where we spend six months together diving deep into, not just sequencing, but all aspects of creating memorable, meaningful classes that keep your students coming back. I had love to hear about the community building practices that have worked in your classes. Come to comfortzoneyoga.com and join our discussion In the Zone. You'll find the link in the show notes. For now. I'm Sage Roundtree, and this is Yoga Teacher Confidential. See you next time.

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