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My Top 3 Yoga Studio Deal Breakers
Pre-Covid I was a thriving new yoga teacher.
Ok I may be exaggerating with the thriving part but in September 2019 I started my journey as a part time yoga teacher at a local studio in Houston.
I taught 3 classes a week and was beginning to see familiar faces in each class. I was building genuine relationships with the students/staff and there was even interest from the studio manager to add a Holy Yoga class to the schedule. I even taught a few workshops with our Athleta partnership. Listen I really thought I was doing something and making a mini name for myself in the Houston Yoga Community.
And then the hater that is COVID came rushing in and knocked my train completely off course. Like many yoga studios, my studio home had to make the hard decision to close due to the pandemic. I was devastated. Let’s be honest, I was pissed and hurt. There was no attempt to shift to online teaching and I felt like the studio gave up and turned its back on the teachers and students.
After what feels like a lifetime of lockdown, studios are slowly starting to reopen and I am watching closely at how they navigate while we are technically still in the middle of a pandemic. As the world began to open its eyes to racial justice in the summer of 2020, I am watching yoga studios contribute to the conversation with an “we are one” message or worse…not contribute at all.
So here we are almost a year since the world closed and I realize how much I miss teaching yoga. I miss collective breathing and connection. I miss teaching so much that I am willing to teach virtually even though you can only see half bodies because of camera placement.
Searching for a studio home is not as easy for me now as it was when I first began teaching. A sista has boundaries and questions. I have Yoga Studio Deal Breakers.
Deal breaker: a factor or issue which, if unresolved during negotiations, would cause one party to withdraw from a deal.
*Click each tab for more information*
Diversity
How diverse is your studio’s staff and students?
It’s no secret that yoga in the west is associated with thin, white, and even upper class women. While the yoga studio I taught at was diverse in age amongst the students, there were only a handful of people of color who practiced there and I was the only black instructor at the time I taught there.
Diversity in yoga classes starts with diversity in the teaching community. If your teachers are all thin white women then I have to question if you are really committed to creating a yoga space that is welcoming to different ethnicities, body types, ages and genders.
Inclusivity
What are you actively doing to ensure your studio is inclusive to marginalized communities?
The keyword here is actively. While I do believe that taking the first step to actually discuss inclusivity in yoga spaces is progress, I have found that tangible action is lacking. Now I am not interested in being the spokesperson for all marginalized communities in a yoga studio, but I am willing to bring suggestions to the table if they are willing to listen and find ways to take action. Here are a few suggestions;
- Taking yoga to communities to make it accessible, affordable, and more convenient. Putting up signs and posting on social media hoping individuals of marginalized communities will come is not enough.
- Sponsor diverse, inclusive and social injustice related workshops and training for your teaching community.
- Hire a Diversity and Inclusive consultant to create strategies and solutions to remove unconscious bias and promote cultural education in your studio.
COVID Caution
How do you keep your staff and students safe while navigating COVID-19?
As the world attempts to operate in this “new normal” I have seen many business over people practices amongst yoga studios. Some immediately returned to offering in person classes with little to no plan in place outside of suggesting wearing a mask in the lobby.
This pandemic is nothing to take lightly as over 2 million lives have been affected by this virus in the US alone. Essential oils, sage, and openly ignoring the public health guidelines is not the answer and I would even go as far to say that it is insensitive to those who have suffered from this global pandemic. As wellness communities, there is a responsibility to provide accurate information regarding this virus and share resources with our communities.
Check out this amazing and informative Coronavirus Community Care Resource Guide from CTZNWELL.
2020 was the year of awareness regarding racism and public health. These topics rolled over into the yoga community through the public discussion of the lack of diversity & inclusion, whitewashing of yoga in the West, cultural appropriation, and the list goes on and on.
I truly believe that if a yoga studio is not taking these concerns seriously and joining the hard conversations, then they are choosing to not care. And I cannot…no I refuse to allow myself to align with any yoga business who continue to have a business over people practice.
Does this means I will never find another yoga studio to partner with in the future? I hope not, but I am prepared for that harsh reality because my boundaries are important.
Have you created your own Yoga Studio Dealbreakers?
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