Delivering Family Yoga Workshops

Have you ever lead a family workshop? Is this something that you would love to do but don’t know where to start?
They can be a really lovely fun experience for everyone involved, it can feel very special to be included in some ones family time!
 
One -off events such as family workshops can also be a great thing to have in your kids yoga business  both from a financial perspective and also because they help you to connect with a wider audience of people than you may be able to access in after school classes etc.
 
There are a few things to consider and today I’d like to share with you some thoughts based on my own experience in this area.
 
FAQs
When should I run these?
Some people run them as monthly events or even weekly! I find this a bit much for me personally, I’d rather do something more involved, less often. For me, family yoga workshops work really well in holiday times, so it’s worth looking at when the school holidays are in your area.
I love running seasonal ones, then I link it with nature and what the general themes are around that time. If you would like to run a spring workshop, check out my tried and tested plan for this.
 
How long should it be?
This really depends on your energy and what you feel is right for you and the people who you would like to invite. For example, if the families coming all have very young children you might like to keep it to one hour – 90 minutes, but if your families have older children you can probably manage anywhere from 90 minutes up to three hours.
 
What timing is best?
Generally, I would avoid lunchtime, mainly because that involves feeding people lunch and although snacks are definitely something I’m comfortable with, I’m no domestic goddess and I don’t fancy feeding everyone. For me, that would feel stressful. But If you are someone who really enjoys feeding people then this may be something that you would like to include. Also, consider the age of the children you hope will come, would they be younger children that may need a nap at some point? Old older children who may not enjoy an early morning?
For me, it comes down to knowing your people, ask them! Having said that, it’s ok to get some general feedback, but don’t try and accommodate everyone because you’ll never please everyone, if you have a social media account that your people interact with, a poll can be a useful way of finding out preferences.
 
 
What should I include?
 
I think this depends on what you love to share and do and what type of person YOU are! I personally love: eating treats, nature, being creative and connecting with others so that transfers to my family workshops!
 
A structure that has worked really well for me previously has been:
 

• Welcome simple craft activity while people arrive.
• Yoga adventure / story that combines mindfulness games and family poses within it.
• Snack and a drink.
• Mindful craft.
• Ending relaxation story/ mindfulness exercise.

 
I have found that this structure can be used for a variety of different durations  and I have just played around with different amounts of time for each section.
 
 
How should I price it?
Again, this really depends! Some factors that you will need to consider are:

• What would be your ideal income goal for the event?
• What are your costs? (include everything here from the venue hire, snacks and craft resources to your fuel for the journey)
• How much time will you be putting into the planning of the event?
• How long is the event itself?

It can be really tempting to base your prices on what other people are doing but that doesn’t really work because they are not you and they have different expenses to you.
 
Pricing structure can also be a tricky one here, some people charge per person, others by family some do a combination of the two by having a price per person and then a family bundle price or a family price for up to 4 for example and then an extra charge for additional people. Whatever you choose needs to feel good for you.
 
How should I advertise?
Here are some ways that I have had success with in promoting my family workshops:

• On my social media- both my personal and business page (and asking friends to share)
• Shared in local facebook groups
• Emailing current and previous clients (who have given consent for this type of communication)
• Giving fliers worded as ‘invitations’ to the people in my classes
• Posting fliers in local coffee shops, the library, the venue itself
• Giving fliers out at any community event that I am involved in
• Gifting a free family place in a raffle or other community event

 
Considerations
Terms and Conditions
Make sure that you are really clear about your terms and conditions for events such as this and share this at the point of booking. For example what happens if a family pull out last minute?  Have a policy in place before you even take bookings.
 
Payment
I always prefer to take full payment at the point of booking and I use either my own website or a site like bookwhen, this avoids  people reserving a spot, not paying and then not turning up. It happens!
 
Abilities and comfort levels
Make sure that you have information before the event about any health concerns so that you can be safe, also make sure that everyone know that the practices are optional. I always introduce everything as an invitation, not everyone is comfortable with everything and that is ok!
 
Safety
Make sure that you have risk assessment and insurance in place. If you are planning crafts, make sure that they are appropriate for the age and stage of development for the children attending. Ensure that parents know that they are responsible for keeping their children safe at the venue.
 
Photographs
Some people LOVE having photos of them being involved in an activity with their family, they love to share them with friends on social media and love the photos as a really special memory. Others HATE it! Or have very valid reasons why photographs of them and their family aren’t to be taken or shared on social media. Ensure that you get this information before the event, as you want people to be as comfortable as they can during the workshop. I personally have really cut down on the amount of photos that I take because I want people to be as present as possible.
 
I’d love to know your thoughts on this, is it something that you would like to do? Family workshops can be so much fun and I definitely enjoy the connections and the laughter that is created during them.
If you are interested in running a spring family workshop, check out my bundle for this.