Small and familiar classes in Koh Samui
Up to fifteen people, where faces become familiar.
Small and familiar classes have up to fifteen people. That is enough for a group feeling and few enough that the facilitator can still keep an eye on everyone. Come regularly and you start recognizing the same faces.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Small and familiar does for you
You get a balance: some energy from the group and still some personal attention. Regulars nod to each other at the door, and that quiet sense of belonging is part of why people keep coming back. The facilitator usually has time for a cue or two meant just for you. It is a comfortable middle if tiny classes feel too exposed and full ones too anonymous.
It suits you if
- you want to become a regular somewhere
- you like some group energy without a crowd
- you want the occasional cue meant just for you
- you are past your first classes but still learning the basics
Read the full guide to Small and familiarWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Mats sit a comfortable distance apart, with space to stretch your arms wide. The facilitator leads from the front and walks around, giving cues and sometimes adjustments. The class follows a plan but can adapt to the group. If you are new, you will likely be asked your name and about injuries. Many weekly classes in neighborhood studios fall into this size.
Your first time
- Go to the same class at the same time for a few weeks; that is how faces become familiar.
- Introduce yourself to the facilitator before class and mention any injuries.
- Arrive about ten minutes early so you can set up without rushing.
Good to know
- Class size changes with the season, so a usually small class can be busier on Sunday mornings or in January.
Where it comes from
Fifteen is a familiar number in group practice. German health insurers' certified prevention courses have long worked with groups of roughly ten to fifteen people, a size seen as large enough to feel like a group and small enough for each person to be seen. Many neighborhood classes settle around the same size simply because that is what an Altbau studio floor holds comfortably.
Teaching yoga to groups rather than individuals is a mostly 20th-century development. T. Krishnamacharya taught groups of young students at the Mysore palace yogashala from 1933, and as yoga spread to Western cities, the group class became the default way to learn. Familiarity matters as much as size: a weekly class turns into a small community of regulars who know each other's names, something Buddhist and yoga traditions call sangha.
In Berlin, this is the size of the Kiez studio: one bright space, a dozen or so mats, a facilitator who knows the regulars and what their knees are like. It is how many people in the city practice week to week.
Words you will hear
- Kiez
- Berlin word for your neighborhood, the few streets you think of as home.
- Regulars
- The people who come to the same class every week.
- Cue
- A short instruction about what to do or notice in a pose.
- Sangha
- Sanskrit and Pali for community, used for a group that practices together.