Private lesson or group class: how to choose
A group class costs less per person and gives you company, a fixed timetable and a room with its own energy, while a private lesson gives you a teacher's full attention, a pace set by your body and a lesson planned around your day. Neither is better for everyone, and many people do well with a mix of the two.
I teach private lessons, so you might expect this page to say a private lesson is always better. It is not. A good group class is one of the nicest things in a week, and for some people it is simply the right choice.
What follows is an honest comparison: what each gives you, what each costs, and when I would point you towards a studio instead. If you already know you want a private lesson, see the price and what a lesson includes.
What you get in a group class
A group class gives you company. There is something steadying about practising in a room where everyone is breathing at the same pace, and many people find they work harder, or stay longer, with others around them.
It gives you a timetable. Tuesday at seven is easy to protect in a calendar, and a class that runs whether or not you feel like it is a good habit-builder.
It costs less per person, because the teacher’s time is shared across the room. And a studio has its own space: heat, mirrors, a quiet changing room, a walk home afterwards that separates the practice from the rest of the day.
What it cannot give you is much individual attention. In a full room, a teacher sees your shape for a few seconds at a time, and the sequence is set for the middle of the room, not for your knee or your tired week.
What you get in a private lesson
A private lesson is planned around one body, or one household. We start by talking about how you arrive, and the lesson follows that: more movement on a restless day, more rest on a heavy one. Every correction is for you. If a shape does not suit your body, we change it until it does.
It also happens where you are. I come to your home, condo or office with the mats and props, so there is no commute, no class to rush to after work, and nobody watching. For many people that last part matters more than anything else.
Cost, compared honestly
A private lesson with me is ₱4,500 for 90 minutes, including a mini massage in savasana and sound healing to close. A single studio class costs noticeably less than that. For how the two compare across Manila, including freelance teachers and private classes at studios, read how private yoga prices compare in Manila, which lists the published figures with their dates.
The fair way to compare is by what you need. If you want an hour of movement with other people, a class is better value. If you want someone to build the practice around your body, a private lesson is paying for something a class does not sell.
When a group class is the better choice
- You want company. If the social side is what gets you onto the mat, a class gives you that and a private lesson does not.
- You want to practise often on a steady budget. Several classes a week cost less than several private lessons.
- You already know the basics and want variety: different teachers, different styles, a room full of energy.
- You like the ritual of going out to practise, and the walk home after.
When a private lesson is worth it
- You are new and would rather learn the basics properly, without feeling watched. The page on beginner lessons at your place explains how a first lesson runs.
- You are working around an injury or a health condition, with your doctor’s go-ahead, and need a teacher who can adapt every shape.
- You are pregnant or postpartum and cleared by your OB or midwife to exercise, and want a practice that changes week by week.
- You are short on time, and a teacher who comes to you saves the commute that would otherwise make yoga impossible.
- You want company, but not a crowd. A private lesson you share with a partner or a friend gives you both the attention and someone beside you.
- You want the whole lesson to be yours, including the pace, the room and the rest at the end.
Doing both
Many people do both, and it works well. A few private lessons first give you the shapes and the adjustments your body needs; a class then becomes a place to practise them. Some keep a private lesson every few weeks as a check-in, alongside their regular classes.
If you live near a studio, try a class there and see how it feels. If you would rather stay home, the same lesson can come to you, whether that is a quiet condo in Poblacion or a living room in Legaspi Village. The guide to starting yoga covers the rest of what a first-timer needs to know.