The word private does the damage. It suggests indulgence, when what I am actually offering you is a diagnosis.
What a group class cannot do
Watch you for an hour.
With fifteen people I have, at best, a few minutes each. That is enough to correct what you are doing. It is not enough for me to work out why, which is a different job and takes an hour on one body.
Most persistent problems are of the second kind. The thing you keep being corrected on has a cause somewhere else, and nobody has had time to go looking.
Who gets the most out of one
People with a specific injury or restriction, who need to know what to do for the next three months rather than what to do this Tuesday.
Complete beginners who are anxious about the room. One private class before a first group class removes essentially all of it, and it is the single best use of the format that nobody thinks of.
Anyone stuck. Not frustrated with a pose, stuck: the same limitation for a year with no movement in it.
Who does not need one
People who are getting on fine. A private class is a tool for a question, and without a question it is just a quieter class with more attention than you needed.
Come with the question
The worst private class is the one that opens with “whatever you think”. You have bought someone’s undivided attention and handed the hour back.
Bring the thing. My shoulder does this. I cannot do that and I do not know why. I have three months before something and here is what I want.
One is often enough
That surprises people. It is not usually the start of a course. Frequently you get an answer, a short list of what to work on, and you take that back into the group classes for a season.
Message me and ask. I answer them, so I know who teaches what.