Are Yoga Studios Near Me Ripping Me Off?

Yoga in Sydney and other parts of the world seems to have come of age in this hype driven modern world which has been looking for the newest health and wellness trends to jump into. There is a growing body of scientific research suggesting that yoga and mindfulness (which are interconnected because of elements such as breathing techniques, meditation, and concentration) have a huge beneficial impact on your mind body and emotional wellbeing when you practise it.

Yet many are wary to take up yoga because it seems the hourly rate (from $25 per hourly group class to even $50 per hourly group class for yoga classes in Sydney and Melbourne) charged by many yoga studios appear to be extremely high and not associated to the service provision.

In this article I will discuss the surprising truth behind why some yoga studios are charging more than what is required (to earn a good profit, leaving out greed) and why this may be the worst thing for you as a true practitioner of yoga.

So, the question is,

·       Are you paying too much compared to other programmes for your fitness by going to a hyped-up yoga studio?

·       Are you paying too much even if the benefits are extremely high and are yoga studios ripping you off?

There is no doubt that there are large benefits to be derived by practising yoga, meditation and mindfulness. These include,

·       Every nerve cell and blood vessel are completely massaged and derive new power to work at their optimum and effective level

·       Yoga improves blood circulation and ensures that every part of the body receives it well to nourish it with the nutrients

·       Yoga ensures your respiratory system works at the ideal level, providing fresh and nourishing oxygen to every cell in the body. Beyond this, a perfectly functioning respiratory system will detoxify the body.

·       Yoga ensures that all your muscles are exercised through various asanas(physical body movement). For example, when the sun salutation series is practised in the morning for about 15 to 20 minutes will provide a great workout to 80% of your muscles and skeletal system. This is never possible with other forms of exercise or even if you are very active on a day-to-day basis.

·       Yoga eliminates lethargy and makes sure that you are very active throughout the day

·       Yoga provides calmness and mindpower

·       Yoga eliminates excess body fat and ensures that your body is always young and youthful.

·       Many issues faced by women such as pain and discomfort during their menstrual cycle and pregnancy are cured. Ensures relaxed childbirth.

·       Increases a boost to your immunity and ensures that there is less likelihood of you becoming sick

·       Supports the symmetrical development of the body and ensures that all parts of the body get equal exercise and hence all internal and external bodily systems and their functions are coordinated and work at their optimal level.

These benefits, lure many people to consider taking yoga compared to other fitness regimes and programmes. Indeed, yoga has many greater benefits compared to any other form of exercises which I will discuss in another article.

Yet many do not know this and when other forms of exercise programmes such as going to the gym or taking up specific sports like swimming, tennis, netball or running are highly advertised and directly competing with the yoga practise programmes that are offered cost and pricing becomes an important consideration.

So, before you make such a decision (to run away from yoga) I would first like to mention there may not be a very clear-cut answer to this question. There are certain elements that increase the cost of providing a good yoga practise to their customers. However, the yoga industry tries to hide away from you the real truth so that they will be able to charge very high prices from you.

Here are the Reasons Why Yoga Studios Charge Such High Hourly Rates

·       Unfortunately, the first reason has to do with yoga being promoted in the West and amongst the white population who may not be aware, that yoga is being culturally appropriated. Even though yoga is a spiritual practise amongst the Southeast Asians such as Indians and Sri Lankans, the unfortunate reality today is that, yoga is simply seen as an exercise programme (most yoga books written by the predominantly white cis-group, is just physical exercise books) and more often as an entertainment programme. When yoga is considered an exercise programme many will be inclined to compare the price of yoga classes with those of another programme conducted at a fitness gym. Hence the cost charged may be high because the final consumer is uneducated and yoga studios capitalise on it.

·       Similarly, when yoga is promoted as a craze with cultural appropriation by combining it with meaningless and often insulting fusions such as dog yoga, goat yoga, beer yoga and tiger yoga, these programs require attracting one type of customer who want to spend their evening with their entertainment dollars. This may require large space or grounds for animal upkeep. Goat yoga, beer yoga and even dog yoga are promoted as Airbnb experiences which not only degrades yoga but has an enormous impact on any animal welfare. However, there is money to be made and because many like to enjoy a new experience these yoga centres target a specific niche at a higher price point due to their greed and the ignorance of this specific niche.

·       Many yoga studios rent out their spaces, and apart from rent expenses they incur utility costs such as electricity and water, advertising costs and other outgoings such as taxes and rates. Also, the space or rent cost is high because many yoga studios depend, for their advertising, not only by word of mouth but by being located at visually seen high traffic areas like roadside or village town centres and corporate officers. Many clients or customers may be willing to pay a higher price for the ease of travel or visiting the studio.

·       Many yoga studios spent a ton of money on creating a spa like experience, by providing extra but unnecessary features to their yoga programme such as bathtubs, juice bars personalised mugs and towels, cafes, music and television network programmes. A simple yoga practise does not require a spa like experience yet because yoga has been commercialised and yoga is considered a resource to be exploited many businesses are willing to incorporate these meaningless supplements to enhance their offerings to attract customers. More features mean more charges.

·       Many yoga programmes offer free products to attract new customers such as branded towels, t-shirts, subscriptions to online magazines and their subscription-based members only area of the website. This would obviously incur additional costs that are passed on to the final consumer which is you.

·       Many yoga studios are decorated and designed by interior decoration companies to resemble 5-star retreats and hotels. Although yoga just requires a simple, clean, quiet and well-ventilated space these external sensory additions such as ornaments, mood lighting, music, vibrations and many other random and meaningless symbols of luxury and uniqueness are added which obviously increases the cost of provision.

·       As mentioned earlier, since the cost of space is very high many individual small scale studio owners are only able to rent small spaces that cost a fortune because of their location. Given the fact that a small space with the high cost, it certainly means it can only pack in a small and limited number of yoga practitioners. The studio owner with that small space is trying to cover the cost of rent plus other outgoings and is compelled to charge a higher price.

·       We know many studios offer classes either in the evening or in the morning only because most people who appreciate a yoga practise are busy and stressed out of work and full commitments. They can only attend classes before work or in the evening after work. Given that there's a few peak time periods (2 hours in the morning and similarly in the evening) and the fact that the rest of the day the space is closed, rent has to be collected by way of fees which obviously has to be high. Some yoga studios have now tried to incorporate other programmes such as craft and art studios, language centres and after-school homework help to increase the asset turnover. This hopefully would bring the cost down of certain yoga studios which will benefit the consumer.

·       Given the new normal which is to work from home and social distancing regulations many real time one on one classes have begun to suffer. These classes have now moved to the virtual world, and this means that studio owners have now opted to develop courses (incurring costs for videography and film direction), advertising their online courses (copywriters creating deadlines and discounts) and maintaining their websites. Online classes require many add on apps for scheduling, accepting payments and conducting meetings and webinars. When such costs are added even these online programmes become expensive in the initial years which needs to be recouped by way of highly expensive subscriptions or classes.

·       There is a belief promoted by a few yoga studios as an exclusive programme. These classes are conducted in retreat like spaces for clients who are willing to pay a high price. Not only is the experience padded with features irrelevant yoga, but promoted as a catalyst for rich, famous and powerful to develop beneficial networks. Think yoga combined with a gentlemen’s club. This will obviously increase the cost of belonging to an exclusive network.

·       Even certain types of classes that are conducted and considered as community classes which have features like pay what you can, highly recommend a fairly high price per session. When the price is high there are fewer people attracted to these community classes and programmes and hence those who can afford a higher price but below the average market price of about $25 can attend them. It is noted when the recommended price is set low at about $5 these classes fill up quickly and hence, many do not even make an effort to attend them as they may not be able to get a spot in the class. Very popular and highly sought-after yoga teachers conduct these community classes as welfare programmes but in reality, these are huge money making ventures which ultimately affects the final consumer. These instructors are finally targeting those who can eventually pay the higher price to attend the real class because these are often free advertising and PR.

·       We need to consider the cost of staffing. Many yoga classes have teachers specialising in certain aspects of yoga such as yoga for the corporates, yoga for children and yoga Nidra. These teachers and lecturers maybe visitors who provide variety to the otherwise humdrum and repetitive programmes of many yoga studios. When the cost of such special teachers and extra assistants are hired to provide support (do pose demonstrations and corrections) during class, will increase the labour cost. This will have to be covered obviously by the student.

·       There is also a consideration where seeming legitimate fusions are made to the basic yoga practise such as Pilates. When such elements are added they would require exercise equipment and other sports gear like exercise balls and treadmills. Now equipment is involved the studio will have additional expenses such as leasing this equipment, more space requirement and additional staff to support the movement of these equipment before and after class and maintain them well.

What Does a Basic Yoga Programme Require?

Basically Nothing.

A true and traditional yoga programme only requires a quiet, clean and well-ventilated space devoid of other distractions. It does not require, it to be combined with any new age fusions such as animals (circus), beer (booze party), or combined with other exercise programmes that show off that the specific yoga studio and the instructor have created a unique product. Yoga in its pure and traditional form is capable of providing the short- and long-term benefits required for a healthy and quality life to the true yoga adherent.

When you really think about the reasons why yoga studios are charging $25 to $30 which can sometimes go as high as $50 per class, it seems to be a complete rip-off. However, this is only possible because you are supporting it. It is important when looking at a yoga practise that you consider becoming a part of to consider a simple yoga studio that can provide the pure and clear teaching of yoga that is devoid of all other completely meaningless additional paraphernalia to the core product.

It may be worth paying for a personal session where you can learn the basics and the fundamentals of yoga which involves combining and synchronising breathwork, body work and focus and concentration. Once this is mastered you will be able to practise on your own. Hence in the long term you would be able to save a great deal of money by keeping away from these fake yoga studios that are a complete mess from a yoga practise POV. These are driven by the profit motive with complete disregard and respect for the true and genuine traditional practise of yoga.

Copyright- Skanda Kumarasingam (Sydney Yoga School)