Why I am NOW a Believer in Online Learning.
Why I’m a believer in online learningIn a, “sometimes you’ve gotta be careful what you wish for way,” this era of online trainings wasn’t a complete pivot for me. In December 2019 I sent an email to everyone who worked with me. The email was called the “Blissology State of the Union.”
Long before I had ever heard of Coronovirus, I outlined a strategy to bring our Blissology Yoga School trainings online by April 2020.
Why? My prime motivator was that I wanted to lower my eco footprint, but still make our trainings accessible. I had finally reached a point where, getting myself on a flight every second weekend to teach in yet another city had lost the joy and curiosity that it originally used to offer me. I knew I would miss seeing students in person, but I knew that I needed to come up with a way of sharing yoga teachings that was more sustainable both for my mental health, my quality of life and also to make the trainings more accessible financially by more.
I had no idea of course that things would SHIFT so quickly and how…
Can Yoga Trainings be Taught Effectively Online?
Back then I wondered if Yoga trainings could be taught online effectively? Have you ever wondered that?
At that point, I was looking down a dark tunnel. I couldn’t foresee the future. I have to admit, I had my doubts. However, now that we have 10 online courses behind us, I am a total believer in this new format of teaching yoga.
… The Answer is A Resounding YES!
As far as the quality of the trainings, I am continuously blown away by the power of online learning as a tool to effectively transfer knowledge.
For one, if I say something in person that a student doesn’t “get” in that moment, they cannot “rewind” me. In the digital world, however, they do.
I can also subtitle the videos and make important ideas POP. And this way, everyone, including you, yes you who like to hang out at the back of class, you too have a front row seat in class. 🙂
A few other technical strategies that I have now honed since the first training is that I can use the text in the manuals and in the video lecture notes to pinpoint exact time codes of important ideas to discuss.
Finally, something that didn’t occur to me until this year is that much of the knowledge I am sharing is progressive. This means in any course I am teaching there are always people who have done the previous course and ones that haven’t. I can simply add the previous lectures to the current course so students can get caught up or get a refresher if they need to or they can also choose to skip that video if they feel confident. This allows the courses to really align with where students are at.
Connection is Our Currency
And how about the connection? If there was one thing I had reservations about, it wasn’t the quality of the teachings, it was the glue that holds Blissology together called connection. What really makes Blissology Trainings powerful is our focus on breaking down barriers to authentic and deep human connection so we become incredible friends for life.
We often repeat this Mantra, connection is our currency.
However, I can tell you that some of my greatest joys from 2020 are for the incredible friendships that I made with students online who I have still never met in person to this day.
We share and respond to each other‘s comments on our teachable platform, on our private Facebook groups and on our zoom calls. Is it as powerful as real, in person connection? No. But it is way deeper than I ever thought possible.
This is why I can finally say without reservation that while we are busy planning for in person trainings as soon as we are able to, we are thrilled to bring our 100 and 200 hour trainings online. If you are looking for a flexible way to complete your 200 hr YTT; and want guidance and support within a community yet the ability to work at your own pace, drop us a line, we’d love to chat about your goals and discover if this training format is ideal for you.
This is why I can finally say without reservation that while we are busy planning for in person trainings as soon as we are able to, we are thrilled to bring our 100 and 200 hour trainings online. If you are looking for a flexible way to complete your 200 hr YTT; and want guidance and support within a community yet the ability to work at your own pace, drop us a line, we’d love to chat about your goals and discover if this training format is ideal for you.
Have a beautiful day + namaste + peace.
Eoin.
