Thank you very much to everybody who replied to our survey on the livestream classes and for your comments and suggestions. We had an overwhelmingly positive response with 85% of responders rating their online experience as 8/10 or more and nearly 50% at 10/10. 92.3% of responders were happy with the class times. A number of requests and comments recurred so we have prepared some FAQs to reply to those:

Can we have more time slots? Can we have early morning sessions? Later classes?

• We are currently operating at capacity in terms of technology and staff. Each class is supported by a receptionist who starts the hosting procedure 2 hours before the start time.
• At present we cannot offer early morning classes, but we are looking into offering one from June. Also, from June we will be changing the start time of some of the weekday 6 pm classes to 6.30 pm.

What does Beginner/General mean? And General/Intermediate?

• Beginners/General:

  Students should have at least 1 years’ regular Iyengar yoga practice.

• General/Intermediate:

  For strong General and Intermediate students. This level is not suitable for students who are new to General level practice.

Where are the other teachers? Why is my regular teacher not teaching?

• Seven of our teachers – Stuart Miller, Stephen Richardson, Rosemary da Silva, Ainhoa Acosta, Elisabeth Wengersky, Keiko Onishi and Alaric Newcombe – have chosen not to teach our livestream classes. Two teachers’ availability did not fit in with our livestream timetable, but we are hoping to include them from June. So please check the June timetable for classes with Patsy and Khaled as well as the current teachers.

Please can we have pranayama classes/philosophy lectures/workshops?

• We hope to include Pranayama classes in our livestream timetable from June.
• We will also arrange a Philosophy lecture plus Q&A.
• Given the limitations of the student/teacher relationship in livestream teaching, we consider that workshops are not suitable.

Do I have to attend classes with my regular teacher?

• Provided you have already attended classes with an Iyengar Yoga London teacher, you can attend livestream classes with any Iyengar Yoga London teacher.
• All students in online classes must be visible to the teacher, so keep your camera switched on.

The classes are too expensive. You must be raking it in.

• We have continuing overheads for staff and building regardless of where the classes are taught, and we are committed to engaging all teachers who wish to take part in delivering the livestream classes.
• While there are fewer teachers and half our regular classes in the livestream timetable, teachers are paid for two hours’ engagement for each 90-minute class. Currently reception staff are working more than their regular hours to support the livestream classes.
• We are also continuing to support two teachers providing weekly livestream classes to vulnerable groups through our Outreach Programme.
• Members suffering financial hardship because of the current emergency can email or phone the office to obtain the concessionary rate for livestream classes (£3).

Will the online classes continue after Iyengar Yoga London re-opens?

• Since we anticipate that we will not be able to offer a full timetable in the studios when we re-open, because of the need for social distancing, we will continue some livestream classes to make as full a timetable as possible.
• The Teaching Committee and Trustees are considering all the possibilities and permutations of running classes in the studios and online as safely and accessibly as possible. Even when we are fully open, we will continue with livestream classes if there is a continuing demand for them.

I am having connection problems

• We believe this is settling down as everyone has become familiar with the technology. If you have a connection problem the best thing is to leave the meeting and immediately sign back in using the same link.
• if you have recurring connection problems please do not log in at the last moment, but give yourself time to check your connection, as well as the camera angles so that you are ready to start promptly.
• Make sure your device is fully charged or even still charging.
• If you can send a message via the Zoom chat facility, one of our support team will pick it up.