The results are in! To see the write-up of the Free Yoga Boston Survey Results, take a look at the PDF document by clicking here.
The document guides you through each of the 10 questions that were asked and shows you the results. There are graphs displaying the numbers and illustrating trends. You’ll find dozens of comments shining a light on what’s important to people when taking a yoga class.
The survey was taken from June 2017 through October 2017. 75 people, mostly in the Greater Boston area, answered a survey and dove deeply into their likes, dislikes and feelings when it comes to yoga classes. Most, but not all, survey takers were women ages 25 – 34.
To give you a quick summary of the results, here are 5 key takeaways.
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1. Favorite Weekday Nights
For whatever reason, Monday and Wednesday evenings seem to be the weekday evenings of choice to attend yoga classes. Not surprisingly, weekend mornings were the best for most people.
2. Trends Aren’t So Trendy
Survey takers overwhelming preferred traditionally based yoga classes over the trendier classes. Based on the goat yoga craze, I thought that it might be more highly ranked. But not even close. Substance based yoga is another hot trend. But very few respondents were interested and one person was definitely not a fan. “Bummed to hear of substance- based yoga.”
Speaking of hot. Hot yoga was not a favorite. “Recently took a hot yoga class. I felt like I was going to pass out.”
3. Get The Music Right
Music was quite important to respondents enjoyment of a class. Bad music could be especially problematic. “[S]ome instructors have played very odd music (in my opinion) for a yoga class including those that mentioned “genocide”, “strippers”, etc. and was distracting[.]”
4. Instructors Should Be Hands On
While cost was a factor to some, what’s most important is the skill, kindness and enthusiasm of the instructor. “I love knowledgeable and enthusiastic teachers who create meaningful yoga flows that challenge attendees! I struggle with expensive classes that don’t challenge me physically.”
An instructor who can find the right balance of mindfulness, physicality, flow and intensity will hit the sweet spot for students. “Dislike – when it’s not a good flow and more like a boot camp class.”
5. Nobody Identified As Black
Respondents were asked to describe their race/ethnicity. 11 people did not respond to the question and nobody who answered identified as Black. This result was especially surprising and disappointing to me, as a Black person offering the survey. Did they just not respond to the survey? Did they take the survey and just not answer this question? I have more questions than answers.
I had hoped to show the inclusiveness of yoga here in Boston. Because there are Black people not just taking yoga classes in the Boston area, but also teaching it. From the POC (People of Color) Practice at Hive Soul Yoga, to Afro Flow Yoga®, to Linda Wellness Warrior, Mike Massey at 33 Degree Yoga and more.
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Overall, these takeaways give you a glimpse of the survey results. But they are just an appetizer before the meal. I hope that you’ll dig in and read the whole survey write-up. Again, you can find the PDF document by clicking here.
I’m very interested in what you think of the survey results! Let me know in the comments or send me an email!
