Yoga Bling

Last month, the New York Times featured a yoga teacher answering questions in a series called “Ask a Yoga Instructor.” On the very first day, the following question was offered by a reader.

“You majored in economics and business, so tell me why yoga classes are so [expletive] expensive. In terms of physical assets, instructors provide only the empty studio, some mood music, and maybe some extra for the heating bill, if you’re into hot/power yoga. What’s your margin? How much of each person’s membership fees do you get to keep at the end of the day? I’m not saying that there isn’t a value added that you bring to the classroom as an instructor, even beyond what an instructor of any other activity (aerobics, spin, kickboxing, etc.) may bring. But I want to know how much of it is because of the elitist aura that yoga practitioners want to maintain.”

How much of the price of yoga is because of the “elitist aura” is what this reader wants to know. This reader exemplifies the other roadblock to yoga teachers making money. The first, I explored, is the pervasive sense that yoga teachers are missionaries, offering their services as karma not in need of worldly payments. The second, exemplified here, is that students feel they are paying so much for yoga, their teachers must be rolling in the dough! How else could we afford $80 pants just to sit around cross legged?

This reader’s comment shows the tug of war between the price of yoga, the expense of maintaining a studio, and the challenge of making a living as a yoga teacher.

It is true that classes in a yoga studio carry a price tag that is often a deterrent to participation for lower income individuals. But, on the flip side, teachers are struggling to be able to piece together a schedule that supports a healthy lifestyle and pays the bills. How about a government sponsored yoga subsidy? We’ll get to that right after health care is worked out.