ANYONE WHO HAS ATTENDED A CLASS offered by a spa in the last year knows that things are different now . Very different . The differences , of course , include masks , physical distancing , enhanced sanitation protocols and all of the other pandemic-related safety precautions necessary to offer such classes in person during these strange times , but they don ’ t stop there . In fact , those health and safetycentered adjustments represent just a fraction of all the ways in which classes have had to evolve to keep up with the times and meet guests where they are . Virtual and ondemand offerings have surged in popularity , and with that surge has come an opportunity for spas to evolve along with their guests ’ new needs and expectations .
Staying Safe , Staying Connected
Everything from the way classes are structured to the relationships between instructors and class participants has been re-examined as spas strive to offer guests a highquality experience despite the perceived limitations created by the pandemic . For instructors like Lyndi Rivers , who teaches yoga and leads other classes at Miraval Arizona , a big part of delivering that experience now involves recognizing the ways in which pandemic-related stress has changed the guests she interacts with . After a brief shutdown in 2020 , Miraval reopened last August , and since then , Rivers has often begun classes with an acknowledgement of the heightened anxiety guests may carry with them into the room . “ I ’ m noticing that with a lot of people , just that intensity of working at home full-time , needing full-time childcare — or even just working at home if you ’ re single and not having a lot of other interaction with humans — it ’ s been hard on a lot of people ,” Rivers says . “ A lot of people are coming just because they ’ re in need of reconnecting with other people , reconnecting with themselves , to just get that recharge and refresh to go back into a world that still is inherently stressful .”
“ A lot of people are coming [ to class ] just because they ’ re in need of reconnecting with other people , reconnecting with themselves , to just get that recharge and refresh to go back into a world that still is inherently stressful .”
— LYNDI RIVERS
APRIL 2021 ■ PULSE 21