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6 Biggest Factors People Consider When Choosing a Yoga Class

Happiness | Lifestyle

DOYOU conducted a global survey that assessed several factors about yogis’ practice patterns. Over 10,000 yogis from around the world answered and the results were pretty intriguing. With such a diverse sample—reaching various ethnicities, genders, ages, and practice levels—we understand that all kinds of people practice yoga and for many different reasons.

But we wanted to know…how do people choose a yoga class, and what are the most influential elements? The results show that there are some definite trends, and below we’ve listed the top factors for choosing a yoga class:

1. The Yoga Teacher

The most important factor in determining which yoga class to attend is the teacher. With 95% of our sample citing the teacher as an important element, it makes sense considering that a teacher (despite the material) can make or break the class.

When it comes down to teacher preference, whether high-energy or calming, alignment-heavy or spiritual-based, students have a lot to consider. There are lots of options to fit all different types of yogis.

2. The Class Atmosphere

Ranked as the second most influential factor, the atmosphere can greatly affect the decision to take a particular class. When it comes to the yoga community, people valued open-mindedness (57%) and the idea of conscious living (55%) most.

3. The Class Style

Another determining factor, the style of yoga, is incredibly important when choosing a class. According to the DOYOU survey respondents, the majority of people prefer the faster-paced practice of Vinyasa yoga (57%).

And interestingly, Restorative yoga was the third most popular style of yoga. Perhaps there’s an interesting correlation there as those two practices do complement each other well.

4. The Cost

Affordability is also a big factor taken into consideration. Over 40% of our responders spend $50 or less on yoga-related classes per month. That’s not a lot when you take into account that many studios charge twice as much per month.

So when choosing between studio, gym, online courses, and events, yogis absolutely hone their mindful economical skills and choose monetary value over lavish memberships.

5. A Meditation Aspect

Nearly 4 out of 5 of our responders practice meditation—and of that, twice as many males practice meditation than females. Many yoga classes incorporate meditation, and perhaps this wave of mindfulness is influencing yogi class choices.

6. The Convenience

When choosing a yoga class, convenience is imperative—especially in terms of location, duration, and time of day. For instance, nearly half of the people we surveyed practice solely at home. Most people typically choose morning or evening classes and the classes are usually 30 or 60 minutes in length.

It’s interesting to note that the least important factors in choosing a yoga class were studio size and class size. In addition, students may shy away from class due to cost and certain community dislikes such as not feeling accepted.

While it may seem like yoga decisions boil down to personal preference, yogis actually share a lot of similarities in class choices. Evidence shows that there are astoundingly widespread tendencies—such as a preference for vinyasa style yoga, class affordability, and convenience.

How about you? How do you choose a yoga class and what do you consider the most important factors in making that choice?

Image credit: Tie Simpson

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