New yoga clients: online questionnaires + 6 questions I like to ask
There are so many different and amazing reasons why people take up yoga, which is why having an online questionnaire to get to know your client before your first session together is so valuable. It will help you prepare your first session together by identifying their goals, interests, insecurities and injuries.
You probably already ask new clients a few questions about their history of injury and current physical limitations. I like to go a bit deeper and ask them more personal questions about why they are seeking private yoga lessons.
I use Google Forms to create an online questionnaire for my new clients, but you could also use Typeform.
Here are six questions I like to include in my new client questionnaire:
1. How often do you practice yoga?
I ask this question with three options:
-regularly (daily or weekly)
-occasionally (monthly)
-never (this is my first time!)
In order to make a session accessible and welcoming for a new client, I want to ensure that I don’t use language that is foreign to them, or make it too basic if they already maintain a regular practice. Knowing their familiarity with yoga gives me a sense of where to start as I build our session.
2. What draws you to a yoga practice?
I ask my clients to check all options that apply:
-balance
-body acceptance/awareness
-flexibility
-injury rehabilitation
-meditation
-mindfulness
-spirituality
-strength
-stress relief
-weight management
-other
This may be the most important question because it will be the theme of our first session together. If a new client wants to focus on strictly physical aspects of yoga, then I want to make sure that I honor that until they invite me to introduce other themes and ideas during future sessions.
3. What is your primary goal for our first session?
This is an open response question on my form. It allows the client to elaborate on their response to the previous question. It is important for me to read in their own words why they want to pursue private yoga lessons. Their answer to this question is something that I often discuss with them in the first few minutes of our first session together so that I can make sure I fully understand what they are hoping to achieve.
4. Do you practice meditation and mindfulness? If so, please briefly describe.
Most people pursue private yoga lessons to learn asana, the physical side of yoga. This is completely understandable, but as a teacher, I find it incredibly important to remind my clients that the inner work is linked with the outer work. This question helps me to see how open a new client is to learning and practicing inner work. If the whole subject is brand new, I have the chance to gently introduce a new idea over time.
5. What kind of exercise do you enjoy most?
It may seem like a funny question, but this information has been very helpful for me to design a session that is meaningful and personal for my new client. If someone does not enjoy the physical practice of yoga, they will certainly not practice it on their own. If I know that someone enjoys rock climbing, I can create a flow or series of stretches to help open their hamstrings, helping them become better climbers. If someone loves to dance, we can play with fluid movement that mirrors a practice that they already love.
6. Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
I love including an open-ended question on my form because it invites my new clients to express something important to them that they would like me to know. Many people have chosen to leave this question blank, but one of my clients, for example, chose to use this space to tell me about how uncomfortable she has felt in yoga classes. She was looking to build confidence in her practice and a sense of belonging in her body. On her form, this question was the most important, and it changed our session entirely for me to know this ahead of time.
I hope this can help you as you develop your private teaching practice.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or would just like to send us your favorite energy bar recipe, write to us at: info@align-labs.com.
If you are a certified yoga teacher, visit align.yoga to register for a preview of the Align Yoga app.
